Page Speed

Page load time is how long it takes for all content on a webpage to appear. Studies show users are willing to wait 2-10 seconds. Slow pages often cause frustration and longer load times than we tolerate (10.3 secs on desktop, 27.3 secs on mobile).

The results suggest that the presence of feedback prolongs Web users’ tolerable waiting time and the tolerable waiting time for information retrieval is approximately 2 seconds. (Nah, 2004)

Pages which were retrieved faster were judged significantly more interesting than their slower counterparts. (Ramsay, 1998)

Reducing load times is not always easy, so feedback is another solution to maintain user experience. This allows transparency into the process and gives an estimation of waiting time, allowing users to do other activities while waiting.

1. Faster pages are perceived as more interesting than slower pages.
2. Tolerable waiting time for a page to load is about 2 seconds.
3. When loading feedback is provided, it reaches 10 seconds.

Evidence and further readings

Here you can find a list of references to dive deeper on the subject.

• Nah, F. F. H. (2004). "A study on tolerable waiting time: how long are Web users willing to wait?" 
• Carl J. Pearson Phd, 2024
• Ramsay, J., Barbesi, A. and Preece, J., 1998, A psychological investigation of long retrieval times on the world wide web. Interacting with Computer