IDG Contributor Network: Why do websites take so long to load?

How long do you wait for a page to load before giving up?

Five seconds?

Three seconds?

According to Slate, internet pages took about 30 seconds to load back in the digital dark ages of 1996. That’s almost unimaginable now, when the average user bounces after a fraction of that time. We expect a fast, responsive internet experience even on our mobile phones. Anything less leads to page abandonment.  

“These days, even 400 milliseconds — literally the blink of an eye — is too long, as Google engineers have discovered. That barely perceptible delay causes people to search less,” writes Steve Lohr for The New York Times.

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