Robust Hosting With Slick eCommerce Means More Sales

Internet usage is constantly increasing, and according to Forrester global ecommerce is expected to grow by 67% by 2012. Consequently, a good ecommerce strategy for retailers is not only important, but imperative.   Ensuring your site is in the right language, accepts preferred payment methods and is optimized to showcase your products and services in a way that satisfies even the most impatient shoppers is just the beginning. 

Customers go online because it is a simpler way to shop; they are looking for a hassle free and quick experience.  While building your site is half the battle for attracting customers, if it takes a long time to load – no matter how impressive it is once they get there - customers will be more likely to turn their business elsewhere.  This is where web hosting comes in; a good provider can ensure that your site is always available and will not crash or slow down under increased traffic.

In fact, some potentially surprising statistics from Kissmetrics reveal just how important load time is for customer conversion rates.  A one second delay in page response can result in a 7% reduction in conversions.  Similarly, to use an example, if an e-commerce site is making $100,000 per day, a one second page delay could potentially cost over $2.5 million in lost sales every year.  It is clear that load time is not only important in terms of user experience, but something that will ultimately affect your bottom-line as a company.

Perhaps an equally important reason why a successful ecommerce site requires sound hosting is search engine optimization.  Although the quality and relevance of a website is still the most important factor, how fast a page loads has a direct effect on its Google ranking.  Google now measures page responsiveness and load time and then incorporates it in its overall ranking algorithm.  Even a half-second delay can be enough to plunge your site below those of your competitors, giving them an unnecessary advantage. 

Successful ecommerce is dependent on a smooth and enjoyable experience and as such, it is crucial to have speed and dependency.  A good hosting company will provide you with security, guaranteed uptime and peace of mind that your site will always perform its best - this why e2x is happy to be partnering with PEER 1 in order to offer the best possible ecommerce experience to all our customers.

About the Author

James Spalding

MD, e2x

James is a highly motivated business leader with a focus on using technology to provide businesses with a competitive advantage. He has over 25 years’ experience successfully leading teams to deliver challenging, large scale, business critical IT projects. He is passionate about the successful delivery of systems that deliver real business value in a sustainable and maintainable way, particularly the process and practices that inspire people to achieve them.

James co-founded e2x in 2001, creating a company that has embodied this delivery focus and passion. Specialising in java based web technologies, e2x has successfully delivered projects for many blue chip global organisations, including LEGO, Vodafone, Royal Mail and Philips.  

Prior to e2x, he founded rapidinsure.co.uk, an online insurance business, which was sold to the Berkley Morgan Group in 2000. His career previous to this included roles with Lockheed Martin, where he was responsible for developing and executing Lockheed’s strategy to penetrate the UK’s postal market, and IBM as a software engineer.