Slow websites cost small businesses 28800 USD a year Weblish speed report reveals
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Weblish's 2025 Website Speed and Conversion Report finds small businesses lose an average of $28,800 in revenue each year due to slow sites.
NY, UNITED STATES, December 17, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Weblish, the world’s first platform-based agency focused on small and medium-sized enterprises, has released new research showing that slow websites are causing small and medium-sized businesses an average of 28,800 dollars in lost revenue every year.
In its 2025 Small Business Website Speed and Conversion Report, Weblish reviewed 1,984 small business websites across sectors including clinics, restaurants, salons, professional services, and local retailers. The study combined website speed data with estimated traffic and conversion benchmarks to calculate how many leads and sales are lost when a site is too slow.
"Small companies are paying agencies and running ads, but in many cases they are sending a big part of that traffic to websites that are simply too slow for today’s customers," said Ali Asad Naqvi, Founder and CEO of Weblish. "Based on the data we gathered, the average small business is missing out on nearly 28,800 dollars each year, purely because of website speed."
How Weblish calculated the 28,800 dollar loss
For the report, Weblish measured:
* Mobile homepage load time using a standard 4G connection
* Conversion actions such as form submissions, call clicks and online bookings
* Typical traffic levels for small business websites
From the 1,984 sites analysed, Weblish found:
* The average mobile load time was 4.9 seconds.
* 71 percent of websites took longer than 3 seconds to load on mobile.
* Fast sites (under 3 seconds) converted, on average, at 2.9 percent.
* Slow sites (over 5 seconds) converted, on average, at 1.3 percent.
Using conservative assumptions, Weblish modelled a typical small business website as:
* 2,000 visits per month (24,000 visits per year)
If the site is fast (under 3 seconds):
* 24,000 x 2.9 percent = 696 enquiries or leads per year
If the site is slow (over 5 seconds):
* 24,000 x 1.3 percent = 312 enquiries or leads per year
That is a difference of 384 missed enquiries every year.
Assuming a modest 75 dollars in revenue per converted enquiry (after accounting for leads that do not convert into paying customers), the annual loss is:
* 384 missed enquiries x 75 dollars = 28,800 dollars per year
"In fact, we deliberately used very conservative numbers," Naqvi explained. "In many cases, a single new customer is worth far more than 75 dollars. That is why we believe a slow website can easily cause losses far beyond 28,800 dollars a year."
Main findings of the Website Speed and Conversion Report
The Weblish report highlights four central themes:
1. Speed is still too slow for mobile users
Seven out of ten small business websites take longer than 3 seconds to load on mobile, even though most traffic now comes from phones.
2. Fast sites convert far more leads than slow sites
Fast sites (under 3 seconds) generate more than twice as many enquiries as slow sites (over 5 seconds), based on Weblish’s conversion benchmarks.
3. Many businesses pay to send traffic to slow sites
Nearly half of the sites Weblish reviewed were actively running ads or investing in SEO. In practice, that means they were paying to send people to a slow, leaking funnel.
4. Speed issues are often solvable with simple tweaks
In most cases, slow load times were caused by oversized images, bloated themes, unused scripts and unoptimised plugins – not by the business model itself.
"It is like paying to put up a big billboard and then locking the door of your shop," Naqvi said. "The traffic is there, the interest is there, but a slow website makes people give up before they ever become a lead."
Why slow websites hurt small businesses the most
Weblish notes that slow websites often hit small businesses harder than large brands:
* Their websites have less traffic overall, so every missed enquiry matters more.
* They typically have simpler sales funnels, which means the website plays a critical role in converting interest into action.
* They often do not have dedicated technical staff, so speed issues go unnoticed or unresolved for years.
The report also points out that in an AI-accelerated environment, customer patience is shrinking. People expect websites to load almost instantly, especially on mobile.
"High-end brands are already trying to optimise for milliseconds," Naqvi said. "In comparison, too many small companies are still running websites that take four or five seconds to load. That difference in customer experience is turning into a serious revenue gap."
What small businesses can do next
Based on the research, Weblish recommends three practical steps that small businesses can implement immediately:
1. Test real mobile speed, not just desktop
Use any standard speed testing tool to see how long the mobile homepage takes to load on a 4G connection.
2. Identify one-second wins
Start with the basics: compress and resize images, remove unused plugins and trackers, and simplify the homepage layout.
3. Track conversions, not just traffic
Make sure form submissions, call clicks and online bookings are tracked, so improvements in speed can be directly linked to more enquiries.
To support this, Weblish offers a Website Speed and Conversion Check for small businesses, reviewing site performance and highlighting practical fixes that can be implemented in days rather than months.
How Weblish builds for speed
Weblish’s model revolves around fast, conversion-focused websites created specifically for small businesses:
* No setup fee for websites: Weblish designs and builds premium websites at no upfront cost.
* Lightweight, efficient builds: Websites are designed to be fast, clean and mobile-friendly from day one.
* Ongoing optimisation: Speed and conversion improvements are treated as regular monthly work, not one-off projects.
"A small business website does not need to be flashy," Naqvi said. "It needs to be fast, clear and focused on turning visitors into enquiries. Once you fix speed, everything else starts working better."
Visit Weblish and schedule a free call with one of the experts to find out how speed optimized your website is for free.
Ali Asad Naqvi
WEBLISH
+1 307-683-8063
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