A Day in the Life of a Persuasion Architect: Deja Vu: Web Rage Still Lurks

I had to do a double take when I read this article. I am still irked that these fundamental conversion issues keep popping their ugly head.

It's Mouse Rage Syndrome, and it infects all Internet users sooner or later, according to a study of 2,500 Web users that was released Tuesday. Conducted by the Social Issues Research Centre in the United Kingdom, the study identified key factors that can negatively affect cardio functions, as well as the immune and nervous systems.

What's the root cause of Mouse Rage Syndrome? It's primarily caused by badly designed and hosted Web sites, according to the research center.

All Web surfers are familiar with the causes: slow-loading pages, layouts that are difficult to navigate, pesky pop-ups, and unnecessary ads, including banners. And, of course, the killer cause: site unavailability.

"The test results indicate that users want Google-style speed, function, and accuracy from all of the Web sites they visit, and they want it now," according to the SIRC report. "Unfortunately, many Web sites and their servers cannot deliver this."

Courtesy of EETimes

I thought we had beat the drum one too many times when we published "Get That SIte to Me Fast" in GrokDotCom in 5/2002. In case you need more evidence, in November Akamai and Jupiter Research put out a press release about research that shows 4 seconds as the new threshold of acceptability for retail web page response times.

If you aren't sure how long your site takes to load you may be held liable for Web Rage!