It is a widely held belief that web sites must be getting faster, rather than slower, thanks to the rapid evolution of browsers, devices, and networks. But is this actually the case? Our latest ecommerce web performance survey, conducted across the top 500 retail sites (as ranked by Alexa.com), indicates otherwise.
We've been measuring the performance of leading retail websites since 2010. The purpose of this research has been to gain ongoing visibility into the real-world performance of top ecommerce sites – to learn how these sites perform for visitors using the internet under normal browsing conditions.
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In June and July 2013, we tested the load times (in Internet Explorer 10, Firefox 23, and Chrome 27) and page composition of every home page in the Alexa Retail 500. We then analyzed this data alongside benchmark data from previous surveys.
The goal was to identify trends and find answers to questions such as:
- Assuming that page speed is an increasingly urgent issue for online retailers, has this urgency translated into faster pages over time?
- How fast are web pages, both in terms of their time to deliver usable content to visitors and in terms of total load time? Why is it important for site owners to understand this critical distinction?
- How quickly have retailers moved to adopt core performance best practices, such as using a content delivery network (CDN)?
- How do different browsers compare in terms of page rendering speed, and what does this comparison mean?
To get the answers to these questions, find out which sites delivered the best user experience, and get useful tips for making your pages faster, I encourage you to download our free report today.
DOWNLOAD: State of the Union for Ecommerce Page Speed & Web Performance [Summer 2013]