Survey: Mobile News Sites Too Sluggish

The Web and cable TV have created a generation of news addicts. But a new survey finds that the vast majority of mobile news sites load too slowly to meet users' expectations.

Compuware Corporation said its study found that 94 percent of sites measured take longer than five seconds to load.

The survey of 4,014 global mobile web users found that 71% stated they expect websites to load as quickly, almost as quickly or faster on their mobile phone compared to the computer they use at home – up from 58% in 2009.

The survey also found:

• 57 percent of mobile web users had a problem in the past year when accessing a website and 47 percent had a problem accessing an app on their phone;

• 46 percent of mobile web users are unlikely to return to a website that they had trouble accessing from their phone and 57 percent are unlikely to recommend the site;

• And 34 percent said they’d likely visit a competitor’s mobile website instead.

"One of the most convenient uses for web-enabled mobile devices is having instant access to breaking news from all over the world. If users seeking information in real time experience a slow or malfunctioning mobile website, they will go to competitor sites," said Jonathan Ranger, Gomez Benchmarks Practice Director at Compuware.

"Expectations for mobile service performance are high, with consumers expecting the mobile Internet to perform on par with the desktop Internet. These sites need to deliver fast and successful mobile experiences or risk not only driving away site visitors but potential advertising partners,"

The survey marks the launch of Compuware's U.S. Media News mobile site performance index, which measures the average response time, availability and consistency of mobile-optimized versions of select U.S. news media websites.

The benchmark allows organizations to compare and track mobile website performance against competitors and market leaders so they can compete more effectively and meet consumers' expectations for fast and reliable web and mobile site experiences.

Of the sixteen companies measured on the benchmark from June 1 through July 1, 2011, AOL News was the only company to provide an average response time under five seconds at 3.7 seconds, Compuware said.