There is always a debate about how important is the speed to the software industry. They say and I quote “if the customer/user is not complaining , there is no issue and we are fine”.

I will try here to discuss this in a different way.

what is the hidden cost you pay when your site/service is slow and how you are losing although the customer is not complaining.

Speed-Revenue dilemma

“The speed of the site negatively impacts a user’s session depth, no matter how small the delay…The data suggests, both in terms of user experience and financial impact, that there are clear and highly valued benefits in making the site even faster. 

Users get even MORE impatient when it comes to website speed. Want proof? Have a look at the Financial Times Case study:

They add a 5-second delay to each page load time. Notable facts they found:

• The first-second delay resulted in a 4.9% drop in the number of articles a visitor read
• The three-second delay resulted in a 7.9% drop
• Visitors read less when delays occurred

• Effect on Sale: 79% of customers who report dissatisfaction with website performance are less likely to buy from that same site again.
• Speed Affects Revenue: If your site makes $100,000/month, a one second improvement in page speed brings $7,000 month

Speed-Satisfaction dilemma

Also customer loyalty can be affected by the site / service speed 👇

To sum up , there will be always a cost for slowness , as described here in the article. Revenue , satisfaction and loyalty are the price you pay or the correct word is you lose when you neglect the speed of your site/service , and yes your customer may not complain but also this is not a proof that he/she is satisfied with your service.

Sources :

https://www.machmetrics.com/speed-blog/how-does-page-load-time-affect-your-site-revenue/

https://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/building-websites/website-load-time-statistics/

Please share your tips, experience, comments, and questions for further enriching this topic of discussion.