Weighted Images Pose New Challenge, Slow Load Times For Amazon, Others


Weighted Images Pose New Challenge, Slow Load Times For Amazon, Others




by  @lauriesullivan, April 8, 2020

Weighted images have always slowed web page-load times, but recent data points to issues for specific retailers including Amazon, Costco and The Home Depot.


The weightier the image, the less mobile friendly. There are no surprises there, but an analysis of Amazon Basics page shows a page weight at 29.3MB, according to LiquidPixels. On a 17Mbps mobile connection, that would take 13 seconds to download, the report states.


LiquidPixels’ data compares the home pages of 17 retailers through its analysis engine, exploring how images impact site-load times and performance. It also impacts website performance.


Amazon.com is one of the most visited sites in the world; however, most people view the pages that are customized to their preferences. An analysis of the Amazon Basics page showed a page weight of 29.3MB. On a 17Mbps mobile connection, it would take 13 seconds to download.


Image optimization is required for a site to download and render quickly on a mobile device. Google will prioritize its site indexing beginning in September by how well it’s optimized for mobile. Sites that do not optimize quickly will drop in organic search results, according to Steve Kristy, CEO at LiquidPixels.


The page weight for grocery store chain Tesco measured about 15.8MB. On a 17Mbps mobile connection it would take nearly seven seconds to download. If images were optimized, the image page weight would be about 12.4MB. With optimized content, the page would load in about five seconds. That’s a 28.6% increase in speed, or a two second savings.


Carefour, a U.K. grocery chain, and Chow Tai Fook, a privately held Hong Kong conglomerate with holdings in fine jewelry, property development, hospitality and retail, measure an “enormous” page weight of 48.6MB, which takes nearly 23 seconds to load on a standard mobile connection.


LiquidPixels estimates that by optimizing the images, the load time would improve by at least five seconds.

MediaPost.com: Search Marketing Daily

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