Average Load Time - What Does it Mean?

Average load time is the average amount of time (in seconds) that it takes a web page to load, from the start of the pageview (meaning when someone clicks on a page link) to the completion of the page load in a web browser. 

To put it simply, it's the average amount of time it takes for a page to show up on a screen. The average load time across all industries is 10.3 seconds on desktop and 27.3 seconds on mobile.

What does average load time consist of? 

Average load time consists of two components:

1. The network and server time: how fast the internet connection is and how quickly things like photos and other files load 
2. The browser time: how long it takes for the browser to parse and execute the content and render the page so that it is available for a user

That means that any given web page will likely have different average load times in different browsers, in different locations, and on different devices.

Why is average load time important?  

First and foremost, the sheer volume of websites today means that no one has (or wants) to suffer slow average load times. If one of your pages doesn’t load quickly, users will leave your site. 

Search engines like Google also use average load times to determine site rankings, meaning those that load quickly are more likely to rank higher. While average load time is just one factor in ranking algorithms, they’re important. A strong average load time also provides a better user experience, so slow load times mean higher bounce rates.