Chapter 1. The Psychology of Web Performance
Fast Websites and Apps Create Happier Users
How Fast Do We Expect Web Pages to Be?
Our Need for Web Speed
Why Are We Impatient? Because Neuroscience
What Is “Flow” and How Does It Relate to How We Use the Web?
Questioning Our Assumptions: Do Delays Really Hurt Productivity?
What Does This Mean in Web Performance Terms?
Web Stress: It’s a Thing
Mobile Users Feel Web Stress, Too
What Does This Dissatisfaction with Mobile Performance Look Like at a Neuroscientific Level?
Takeaway
Chapter 2. Speed as Competitive Advantage
Retail Isn’t the Only Vertical Market Affected by Performance
Slow Time Versus Downtime: Which Hurts Your Business More?
Brand Perception
Slow Web Pages Undermine Brand Health
Conversions and Revenue
Who Converts When?
Different Pages in the Conversion Funnel Can Have Different Conversion Rates
People Are More Patient with Specialty Sites Than with General Merchandisers
Visitors in Some Countries Are More Patient Than Visitors in Others
Shopping Cart Abandonment
Page Views and Bounce Rate
Customer Satisfaction and Retention
Google Ranking and Organic Search Traffic
The “Slow” Label
Mobile Matters
Takeaway
Chapter 3. Measuring Performance from Within
Employee Satisfaction
Slow Performance Hurts Morale
Consumer Web Applications Have Raised the Bar for Performance
Bandwidth
Page Bloat (or, When Can We Expect the Average Web Page to Hit 3 MB?)
Takeaway
Chapter 4. Let’s Talk Solutions
What Is Latency—And Why Should You Care About It?
Network Infrastructure (or, Why More Bandwidth Isn’t Enough)
How Many People Actually Have Access to Faster Networks?
Servers
Load Balancers and ADCs
Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)
Frontend Optimization (FEO)
Mobile Optimization
Performance Measurement
Will Browser Evolution Save Us?
Takeaway
Chapter 5. The Future of Performance
How Can We Better Understand the Intersection Between Performance, User Experience, and Business Metrics?
What Impact Does Web Performance Have on Customer Lifetime Value?
Are Site Owners Optimizing the Right Pages?
Are We Measuring the Right Things?
How Fast Is Fast Enough?
How to Create a Culture of Performance in Your Business
Takeaway

If you want to convince your organization to conduct a web performance upgrade, this concise book will strengthen your case. Drawing upon her many years of web performance research, author Tammy Everts uses cases studies and other data to explain how web page speed and availability affect a host of business metrics. You’ll also learn how our human neurological need for quick, uncomplicated processes drives these metrics.

Ideal for managers, this book’s case studies demonstrate how Walmart, Staples.com, Mozilla, and other organizations significantly improved conversion rates through simple upgrades. Find out why happy customers return, while frustrated users can send your metrics—and your domain—into a tailspin.

You’ll explore:
What happens neurologically when people encounter slow or interrupted processes
How page speed affects metrics in retail and other industries, from media sites to SaaS providers
Why internal applications are often slower than consumer apps, and how this hurts employee morale and productivity
Common performance problems and the various technologies created to fight them
How to pioneer new metrics, and create an organizational culture of performance
About the Author