How important ....... ?

[glowlite]

How important do you consider page load times? Or graphic load times? Is that something you monitor/consider during design?

Dial-up users are most likely not potential buyers anyway, are they?

If your freesite pages or images are 'slow to load' and 'piss the surfer off' then paysite pages, tours, sales and content downloads seem out of the question.

hummmmmmmmh?

Current stats show the US as 'sucking hind tit' as far as broadband internet users (66%) with Canada leading the pack at 80+%. That's not households that have the internet but households that use the internet. There's a big difference. And this only applies to the geos who actually spend money online. (UK-CA-AU-US) Japan and China fall into a high number of broadband users but they just don't spend money as global consumers.

[swedguy]

Originally Posted by glowlite

Dial-up users are most likely not potential buyers anyway, are they?

They bought porn when there were not broadband around, so why would they stop now?

[Toby]

I switched from virtual hosting to a decicated server several months ago specifically to increase page load speed. My sales are up over 20% since the switch, when alot of people are complaining about slow sales.

I think a quick loading page makes a HUGE difference, and it has nothing to do with dial-up users. Get that content in their face before they lose interest and close the page.

[glowlite]

The 20% is significant Toby, can ya' loan me a C note?

Yeah, shared servers can be a real bottle neck, that's for certain.

Do you think load times are the reason you've increased sales by 20% ? Since it's only been a few months have you figured in the cost of a redundant server? If not, how much does your backup system set you back? How many domains are you hosting? Do you sell hosting to anyone?

All those things fall into the big picture as far as bottom line costs.

[Toby]

I do think the faster load times are the biggest reason for the improved sales.

This is a managed box with the same host I was using for virtual. I have no experience with managing Linux servers, nor do I have the time or desire to learn. They handle backups as part of the pkg. I figure that the additional sales have already paid for the setup fees on the new box, and the monthly charge is only $50 more than my virtual plan. There is lots of cheaper hosting out there, but you get what you pay for.

I have just 6 domains on that box, and one is still in the development stage, should do the job for me for some time to come. Reselling hosting isn't something I've even considered, not really interested in having anyone elses stuff on my box. That's why I switched from virtual hosting.

[glowlite]

That sounds like a good move on your part Toby, the 20% is no small matter. The reason I asked about the other stuff is it's some of the things many people don't think of when getting a ded server. Things the seller never mentions until you're up to your ass in alligators.

Sounds like you're happy with your host, which is at least half the battle Toby. The fact you have a backup system being maintained by your host is no small $$$ matter. A fully qualified backup can cost as much as your primary. A lot of peeps don't consider that when they decide to get their own server. Until it's too late. Many (not all) hosts hit you with an upsell 60 to 90 days after the fact for backup services.

Having 6 active domains is no small matter either. Don't sell yourself short Lookin' good dude!

Have ya' thought about that hunderd bucks? |confused| I'll send ya' a self addressed stamped envelope if ya' want?

[glowlite]

Originally Posted by swedguy

They bought porn when there were not broadband around, so why would they stop now?

Well, I don't know swedguy, that was my question. I understand they bought porn when there was no broadband. There was no option and nothing to compare it to.

I loved the taste of bologna until I had my first hamburger. I loved the taste of hamburger until I ate my first T-bone. I loved the taste of T-bone until I ate my first standing Rib. I loved the taste of standing Rib until I ate my first pussy.
ain't nuthun been right since ........!

"They" is relevent to "when". If you're referring to 6 months ago or 6 years ago it's an apples to oranges comparison. I'm talking about today, March 2006, not yesteryear.

Did you worry about 20% of the internet users who had 10" amber monitors in 1998? If not, then why worry about 20% of the users who have dialup today? Broadband grows at nearly 1% per month. It doesn't appear it will level off until ISP's refuse to pipe bb to the 'back 40'. Moz/NN/FF users currently comprise a bigger user base than dialup.

My question was; How important do you consider page load times? Or graphic load times? Is that something you monitor/consider during design?

[babymaker]

I don't worry too much about dial-up users, since i sell mostly revshare full membership ccbill sites. someone not willing to pay more than 9.99 a month for crappy dial-up is not going to shell out 30-40 a month for 2+ years for a ccbill porn membership, or be able to view my 1.5-2+ meg clips lol

[glowlite]

You summed it all up babymaker

I don't know why I needed 4 paragraphs to say what you did in 2 sentences.

[babymaker]

Thanx Glowlite

[MrYum]

Very well said Babymaker

I'm a big believer that load times matter too. I try to keep pages as light as possible...validate every page before it goes live...and have one of the fastest hosts in the biz for my main sites

For backups, I have a 2nd drive in the server which is rsync'd daily. Kind of a down n dirty, but cheaper option than paying the host extra for backups.

[pvtspanky]

I think load times should always be considered with everything you build. Broadband or not, get a gallery listed on thehun and try submitting anything else while it's on the main page. If your shit's not optimized, your screwed.

I don't have a dedicated server yet, I cant wait to get one. ATM to get around server lag, I have multiple domains on different servers/hosts. If one slows down, I switch to another to even the load.

[Mr. Stiff]

I think this is real important.. Some sites will decline your galleries/sites if they load to slow and you might also miss some clicks because surfers want to see more, while the 'want to see more?' banner isn't loaded yet..

[SirMoby]

Originally Posted by glowlite

I loved the taste of bologna until I had my first hamburger. I loved the taste of hamburger until I ate my first T-bone. I loved the taste of T-bone until I ate my first standing Rib. I loved the taste of standing Rib until I ate my first pussy.

Bologna can taste better then some pussy although in generally I do prefer hamburgers and pussy more

[tigermom]

Originally Posted by glowlite

I loved the taste of bologna until I had my first hamburger. I loved the taste of hamburger until I ate my first T-bone. I loved the taste of T-bone until I ate my first standing Rib. I loved the taste of standing Rib until I ate my first pussy.
ain't nuthun been right since ........!

Ewwwwwwwwww.... lol Larry, I have to wonder if you prefer your steaks well done or raw and bleeding....

As for the question. I try to cut down on image size and loading time, not out of cosideration for those on dial-up. I had the "pleasure" of going back to dial up for the weekend a few weeks ago, and I wouldn't surf ANY porn sites. Anything with more than a couple of pictures was a nightmare to load. Like you said, if someone is cheap enough to stick to that... I don't consider him a potential customers.

Still, trying to lower loading times is a good idea IMHO, both so your visitors get their content as fast as possible (increasing the chance for a sale) and also to conserve bandwidth. My sites are on dedicated btw, and I still try to monitor my bandwidth and keep it down. Why pay extra on bandwidth when I can just server them smaller files?

I sometimes actually mention this as a selling point too, saying something like "this sample gallery includes lower quality images - join the site to see the high quality large, hi-res images."

[MarkTiarra]

VERY important. Being that it's my job to guarantee sales returns on my designs, I have to monitor every aspect of my client's projects that I can. Increased speed on their page load times can bring up sales more dramatically than anything other single factor. This is not to say you design your pages so graphically free as they have no visual appeal, but there is a balancing act and having great hosting is well worth the investment.

[VicD]

Nothing more annoying then a slow loading site

[juggernaut]

When I build sites and even now with my existing sites, I consider load times and page size important. If a person is on dial up and they can get to my site rather easy and fast, then I like to think they will be more inclined to come back to my site. Before I start to build I put everything in order first and work on them. Graphics go in one folder as masters and changed ones go in a different folder. I do the same thing with my pages. I build them, keep masters and then clean them as best I can in other folders. It's not that hard after you do it a little while, I have a rhythm to it now.
In today’s world with live streaming video and clips, if someone is on dial up and can't watch that stuff, I try to help them out with small page and image sizes. Hey everyone needs to rub one out right?