Decrease the Required Page Views per Visitor

Visitors come to a website or webshop with a purpose, such as looking up information, purchasing something, or making a donation. In general, the less effort it takes to achieve their goal, the higher the conversion rate of the website or webshop will be.

Introduction

Because of how websites are constructed, visitors often have to collect information on multiple pages to achieve their goals. This allows for multiple page views. Is that positive or negative and what is its impact?

Context

A page view refers to the loading of a page in an internet browser. You have made one or more page views on this website to arrive at this article. Reducing the number of page views a visitor needs to reach his or her goal can have several benefits. Now I can imagine that this may sound contradictory, page views (just like conversions) seem like something you should want more of? The important difference here is in the word 'required' page views. If a visitor can achieve his or her goal with just five page views, that's probably a better situation than if it took ten page views.

Relevance

To clarify the relevance of fewer required page views, it helps to look at an organization from a broader perspective. Instead of just focusing on increasing sales, you can also consider other factors. The Triple Bottom Line is a good example of this. Within this framework, the value that an organization generates is divided into three factors: People, Planet, and Profit. For each of these factors, we will now look at how reducing the number of required page views can make a positive contribution.

People

This article will use a fairly broad definition of the people factor. Normally, within the triple bottom line framework, only the people who produce or deliver the products or services are considered. However, here we also look at the people who purchase the products or services and how that affects their lives.

• Less waiting: Hardly anyone likes having to wait for a loading web page. If a visitor needs fewer page views to achieve a goal, this will have a positive impact on their mood. In addition, by not having to load new pages every time, visitors are less disturbed from their flow and will therefore achieve their goals faster. This in turn means that they will have more time to focus on other matters.
• Better for the battery: Loading fewer pages means that the processor of your laptop or mobile phone doesn't have to work hard as often. This then ensures that you don't have to charge this battery as often (or for a long time), so it lasts longer. This is not only positive because it means users will buy a new device less often, but it is also good for the environment.
• Better on older hardware: Older hardware (phone, tablet, laptop, desktop) usually has more difficulty putting a page on the screen. This is because they contain a less powerful processor, video card, and RAM. By ensuring that a visitor has to load fewer pages, you make the website easier to reach for visitors who use older hardware. Even with a slower connection, a reduction in the number of required page views can have a positive effect.
• Less customer service: Some of the visitors who cannot find answers to their questions will turn to customer service. This influx of visitors results in long waiting times and a high workload. However, a well-thought-out website can help reduce some of that workload. If visitors can find the answers to their questions more easily and quickly, they will no longer have to contact customer service. This may also reduce the waiting time for visitors who still need customer service despite the improved website.

Planet

The planet factor can be broken down into a large number of components. However, many of these can be captured under the reduce, reuse, recycle framework. Reducing the number of page views required on a website can fall under 'reduce'.

The reason why fewer required page views means a reduced environmental impact is actually quite simple. Every page you view on a website produces a small amount of CO₂ emissions. This is because the server on which the website is hosted must process the request, then items usually have to be looked up in a database, all results must be sent from the server to the browser, where scripts must then be run to view the page. rendering, etc. All these processes require electricity and generating that electricity results in CO₂ emissions. Via the Green web check you can see whether your website uses sustainable energy sources or not. You can then use Website Carbon or Ecograder to see what impact your website has on the environment.

Profit

Finally, there is the profit factor, which relates, among other things, to the economic value that the company creates after deducting its costs. Reducing the number of required page views can also easily have a positive impact on this factor.

A website that helps visitors achieve their goals more easily and quickly will increase conversion. Simply put, a website that provides less friction also results in higher sales. A more positive experience on the website can also lead to better customer reviews, which in turn can help convince more other visitors to convert into customers.

Caching

An aspect that cannot be left unexposed in the context of page views is caching. With the help of caching, you can ensure that all files (images, scripts, style sheets) do not have to be reloaded with every new page view. Internet browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Edge make extensive use of caching to reduce the number of loaded files as much as possible. Websites can also use additional caching to further reduce the number of required files that need to be loaded with each page view.

In theory, all this caching ensures that so-called repeat page views have significantly less negative impact on both the environment and the loading time that visitors experience. Unfortunately, web pages often contain files that are not on any other page (such as product photos) and caching is not always set up correctly. Caching certainly has a dampening effect on the positive effect of fewer page views, but it certainly does not ensure that this effect is reduced to zero.

Examples

Below are some examples of how websites and web shops can reduce the required number of page views. Frequent use is made of ideas presented in the book Sustainable Web Design by author Tom Greenwood.

Homepage

Nowadays, the homepage often serves as an 'overview page' of the website. It is therefore important to give a clear picture on this page of what exactly visitors can achieve and how this can be done as easily as possible.

Find out top tasks

As described in the article webshop optimization, it is important to make it clear on the homepage what a company stands for. However, to reduce the number of required page views, it can also help to research the so-called top tasks of visitors. These are the reasons why they most likely came to the website. Websites such as De Bilt and Profile are good examples of websites where the top tasks are clearly presented to visitors at the top of the homepage. With the help of user research such as surveys, a better picture of the top tasks of a website can be obtained.

Less yo-yo visitors on the homepage

Analyzes show that on some websites visitors keep jumping back and forth like a yo-yo to the homepage and other pages on the website. The reason for this may be, for example, that the (mobile) navigation options are too limited or difficult to find. The website can also be constructed in such an illogical manner that visitors simply do not know where to click to reach the page on the website they are looking for. Research methods such as user testing can help to clarify how the number of yo-yo visitors can be reduced.

Category page

Visitors who load on a category page are often looking for one or more products from that category. The challenge here is to offer them the right information on the category page so that they can find the product they are looking for with as few page views as possible.

Layout optimization

In some web shops it is possible to exercise some control over the layout. This way you can sometimes determine how many items are shown in a row or how large the displayed thumbnails are. By letting visitors decide for themselves how they display their information, you may be able to prevent them from randomly clicking open a large number of product pages in the hope that they will find the information they are looking for with less effort.

Card optimization

The so-called cards on which products are shown on a category page can also be optimized. For example, you can think of showing available sizes and colors of products. Offering alternative images (for example from a different angle or of the product in a different context) can also help visitors.

Better filters

By offering the right filters in a user-friendly way, you can ensure that visitors find the desired products faster. They then have to scroll down less on the category page and view fewer pages before they see the product they are looking for.

Product page

When a visitor arrives at a product page, it can be assumed that he or she may be interested in the product shown. To ensure that this visitor has to view as few other pages as possible, it is important to show as much relevant information as possible on the product page.

Improve shown information

Showing relevant information such as product reviews or, for example, a well-developed size chart can, in addition to increasing the conversion rate and reducing page views, also reduce returns. Other information that can also help with these goals is, for example, explanations about shipping and displaying frequently asked questions.

Shopping cart

A significant portion of visitors in the shopping cart plan to purchase one or more products. However, it is very important to ensure that they are presented with as much relevant information as possible about the products and the checkout process.

Zoom in on thumbnails

Most shopping carts nowadays show small images of the products you have in your shopping cart. Unfortunately, those images are often so small that you cannot clearly see whether or not you have added the correct product to your shopping cart. By allowing you to zoom in on such images, you prevent visitors from having to click back to the product page, which reduces the number of page views.

Information per product

Also ensure that all relevant information is clearly displayed for each product. Consider the price, quantity, color, type, and name of the product. As soon as that information is missing or unclear, visitors will click back to the product page, which costs extra page views and takes them out of the checkout flow.

Show additional information

In addition to information per product, visitors in the shopping cart are also looking for broader information about their order. Consider things like shipping costs, return policy, delivery time, and which payment methods are accepted. Therefore, make sure that this information is clearly shown in the shopping cart.

Checkout

When a visitor goes to the checkout, there should be as few reasons as possible to have to leave again. Therefore, make sure that no important information is missing at checkout.

Keep showing the shopping cart

Personally, I always find it exciting when web shops no longer show the contents of the shopping cart as soon as I start the checkout. Exactly at the moment when the uncertainty about the webshop is greatest (after all, you are going to pay now), the webshops hide a rather crucial part of your order. The result is that visitors will click back to the shopping cart to check whether they are indeed paying for the correct products.

Allow jumps between steps

Many online shops now show a so-called step indicator at the top of the page. This makes it visible at which step of the checkout a visitor is currently. What many web shops unfortunately do not yet do is to make it possible to jump from any step to any other step. If visitors have to go back or forward through the steps one by one, this will cost unnecessary page views and frustration, which may cause them to drop out.

Conclusion

Reducing the number of required page views on a website can be an effective means of optimizing several things at the same time. As described in the article, there can be a positive impact on all three factors of the triple bottom line. Try, for example based on the examples described, to ensure that visitors need as few page views as possible to achieve their goal.