This month, we are covering a topic that is very familiar: optimising WordPress for speed, stability and security. But we’re taking it a bit further as we look at how other aspects of our work can be improved.

Our techies here like to boast aloud: “Yeaaaah! I’ve got page load speed down to 1.8 seconds.” Followed by a flow of technical jargon, from which I half-recognised words like ‘caching’, ‘minification’ and  ‘SQL query optimisation’.

When translated into a more business-friendly term, this means that you’re not making your customers wait as they interact with your website.

Consider these stats from Kissmetrics:

• 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less
• 40% of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load
• A 1-second delay in page response can result in a 7% reduction in conversions.
• If an e-commerce site is making $100,000 per day, a 1-second page delay could potentially cost you $2.5 million lost in sales every year.

Want to see for yourself how quick an optimised WordPress website can load? Check out The Australia Bullion Company that was built by one of our agency partners and sits on a Dedicated Server. Want to achieve the same? Get in touch and we can look at your current set up and recommend a solution.

Optimisation… beyond the platform

Your website is performing very well and generating a ton of leads. Great. But how effective are you managing the increasing influx of enquiries, each needing a prompt response, a follow-up, fulfilment (if they convert) and some kind of nurturing (if they don’t)?

If you haven’t streamlined your business operations, you risk alienating your customers the same way a slow website does. Instead, put solid processes in place and build a turn-key operation. Or, as Joel Gershman suggests — Create A Business That Can Run Without You.

Stay tuned for more WordPress and non-WordPress posts on optimisation this month. We’ll be covering technical aspects of WordPress optimisation and other efficient business processes, as well as featuring a piece about improving our physical performance while at work.