"Let's face it, life is mainly wasted time."
- John Berryman
Nowhere is the cliche that 'time is money' more true than on the world wide web. It applies equally to the user experience and the web development process.
Some reasons why speed is a necessity online:
You have 10 seconds
Research shows that computer users will wait about 10 seconds for a page to load before they get distracted and either abandon the page or start doing other tasks while they wait.
So web pages must load quickly. A range of factors influence load times, including how many elements are sent to the web browser and their size, and processing time on the server before the page is sent to the user.
Users are efficiency experts
Once the page is in view, users expect almost instant gratification. They tend to quickly scan for elements of interest. Too bad that many sites thwart this behavior. Ambiguous names and arcane terminology contribute to the problem, as do cluttered pages and bloated code.
The ability to find answers fast is fundamental to user satisfaction, which drives web site usage first time and every time.
Rapid development works
One of the keys to efficient web production is a commitment to iterate and improve. That means creating prototypes early and revising them often. It also requires using the right tools for the job, so that code can be written quickly and reused in modular form.
The end result is a fast and efficient development process that will maximize your investment, both up front and in on-going use.
