Download Times

By now you’ve probably got most of your connectivity-related terminology down – Modems, DSL, bandwidth, cable etc. – some of which are taking the industry by storm – namely DSL and Cable. These are two of the most popular ways to connect your computer to the Internet because of they are dedicated, fast, and relatively inexpensive.

If you are a Web Designer, you might be wondering if you can stop worrying about designing for slow connections. My best advice would be to answer that question with a solid “no.” Even if you are a multimedia company showcasing streaming video on your site, you will still be marketing to a wide range of connection speeds. So keeping it “lean” is definitely a priority because you would want to ensure that 100% of your target market is able to view your site effectively – including the people at the lower end of the bandwidth scale. People at the high end already have a fast connection for a reason, because they do not like to wait for pages to load. I’m no psychologist, but I’d also be willing to bet they’re more impatient than people with standard modems. So optimizing your pages for these people is also a must.

Remember, no matter who your target market is, the faster you can imbed your company ideology into their minds, the faster you will generate a sale or inquiry, and the more apt your target market will be to visit your site again.