NYT redux: For Impatient Web Users, an Eye Blink Is Just Too Long to Wait
1 Mar 2012
A great way to start the day… seeing this article on the home page of The New York Times:
This is a must-read (and must-forward) article. The salient points:
“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.”
“People will visit a Web site less often if it is slower than a close competitor by more than 250 milliseconds.”
“Four out of five online users will click away if a video stalls while loading.”
“The two-second rule is still often cited as a standard for Web commerce sites. Yet experts in human-computer interaction say that rule is outdated. “The old two-second guideline has long been surpassed on the racetrack of Web expectations,” said Eric Horvitz, a scientist at Microsoft’s research labs.”
Mar 02, 2012 @ 01:42:45
The link to the NYT article is bad.
Mar 02, 2012 @ 05:14:15
Correct NYT link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/technology/impatient-web-users-flee-slow-loading-sites.html
Mar 02, 2012 @ 09:49:11
Thanks for catching this! I’ve updated the link.
Mar 03, 2012 @ 17:25:09
Why oh why are these sites being flooded with people complaining about sites taking minutes to load, and others decrying the downfall of patience? This is about Neuroscience and rhythm, not entitlement and overt frustration.
Our need for web speed: It’s about neuroscience, not entitlement
Mar 21, 2012 @ 10:38:38
[...] his comment on this post, Michael Howell summed up the situation precisely: Why oh why are these sites being flooded with [...]