Marfeel, a Barcelona-based ad tech specialising in mobile site optimisation, has today (January 17) launched Progressive Web App (PWA) technology, allowing publishers to “dramatically” increase page load times to as little as 0.7 seconds.
A report last year found the UK languished in seventh place within Europe for mobile site loads speeds with an average of 8.9 seconds, while research by Google found that 53% of visitors abandon a site when page loads exceed three seconds.
For e-commerce sites in general, a recent study revealed that every extra second in loading time can account for a 7% reduction in overall conversions.
The launch of Marfeel’s PWA technology arrives as the popularity of app-store downloads continues to wane. Now, the company wants to bring the benefits of traditional native apps to web apps via “super-speedy mobile sites”, even when the user is relying on a 3G connection.
Publishers integrating the tech will have their content made visible and ready for interaction in “less than one second”, according to Marfeel, “even in chancy network conditions”.
Other upgrades include better user experience as a result of more responsive controls and “significant” boosts to SEO, as well as the ability to send users push notifications from the browser.
The “next mainstay” for mobile ads
Under PWA compliance audits by Google’s Lighthouse tool – which examines websites for performance such as mobile-friendliness on all devices and speed of loading over a 3G connection – Marfeel claims it outpaced major publishers with a score of 80+ (ranked from 1-100), including The Verge (60) and Washington Post (50).
While Juan Margenat, the group’s co-founder and COO, says that “progressive” web app technology may be unfamiliar to publishers today, he believes it’s destined to become “the next mainstay in the mobile ad ecosystem”.
“Google pioneered this concept, and we’re pleased to commit to it as part of our philosophy of continuous improvement and staying on the edge of mobile evolution.”
Having tested the technology, online news publication Brasil 24 – which receives over 30 million page views per month – commended the product and its features for its potential to steadily draw back users for return visits.
“Along with the dramatically faster page loads that Marfeel’s PWA delivers, we’re bringing our users exciting new features like push notifications through their browsers and the ability to add sites to their home screens,” according to site owner Leonardo Attuch.