Edge Computing Is the Future of Fast Sites (Here’s How to Design for It)

Think about the last time you clicked away from a site because it took too long to load. It's an experience that happens constantly. Every second, slow websites lose valuable opportunities to engage users, drive conversions, and build loyalty. 

In a world where attention spans are short and competition is just a click away, website performance can be as impactful as content in determining your conversion rate. 

That's what makes edge computing an important trend to watch. It's emerging as a powerful tool for reducing website latency, improving load times, and boosting conversions, with the global market expected to grow to $424.15B by 2030. At that point, analysts say 74% of data will be processed outside of traditional data centers.

This article will help you understand how edge computing impacts UX and conversions, and outlines the conversations you should be having with your technology partners to prepare for an edge-first future.

What Is Edge Computing?

At its core, edge computing is about bringing the internet closer to the end user. Instead of sending every request to a massive data center hundreds or thousands of miles away, edge computing relies on local servers positioned closer to users.

As a result, every request a user makes gets processed faster. It's like the difference between stopping at your local corner store for groceries or waiting for a shipment from a warehouse across the state. Edge computing essentially works the same way by requesting data from a facility around the corner instead of across the country. That speeds up load times, provides a better experience to end users, and can lead to more conversions.

Edge Computing vs. Cloud Computing

To better understand why edge computing matters, it's worth comparing it to traditional cloud computing:

• Cloud computing: Relies on centralized data servers. When a user loads a website, their request often travels long distances to reach these servers. This setup facilitates large-scale processing and efficient data storage. However, it can create delays for users, which may lead them away from your business.
   
• Edge computing: Brings servers and processing power closer to the user, sometimes just a few miles away. This allows websites and apps to respond almost instantly whenever users query them.

Many businesses are adopting a hybrid model that combines cloud and edge computing. For example, you could run non-urgent tasks on cloud servers to manage costs. Then, process time-sensitive features at the edge, like live chat, real-time dashboards, and checkout flows.

Why Edge Computing Matters for Website UX and Conversions

Your website's performance directly influences whether users stay on your site, engage with your content, and, ultimately, convert. Studies show that bounce rates can increase by up to 123% when load times rise from one second to ten. Similarly, experts estimate that every one-second delay in speed reduces conversions by about 7%.

These metrics demonstrate that speed is crucial when optimizing for web conversions. Edge computing is an emerging solution that can fix your page speeds, boost retention, and help you convert more of the traffic you capture. When creating any strategy for website UX and conversions, edge computing is worth considering.

For example, websites today are often packed with rich media, personalization, and interactive features that can slow down load times. Edge computing enables you to keep these elements on page without having to sacrifice speed to do so.

Edge computing can be especially helpful for e-commerce checkouts and other real-time workflows. Even small amounts of latency can make these experiences feel broken to the user and lead them to seek an alternative solution elsewhere. When you process these workloads at the edge instead, the interactions remain fast, seamless, and conversion-friendly, even on mobile.

How To Design for Edge Computing in 4 Steps

Understanding mobile edge computing is one thing, but designing for it with minimal experience can be a challenge. To take advantage of the performance benefits, you may need to replan your site with decentralization and low-latency delivery in mind. 

Here's a four-step process you can follow to get started. You may need to partner with a web design agency to bring your vision to life, especially if you lack significant internal design expertise.

1. Assess Which Workloads Should Run at the Edge

Adopting edge computing isn't just about shifting infrastructure. It's about rethinking how your website is designed. That process starts with an assessment. The key question is which workloads you'll run on the edge and which can remain in your cloud.

Here are some tips:

• Prioritize: Forms, live dashboards, e-commerce checkout flows, and other media-heavy pages for edge computing. These often represent the biggest opportunities for improvement.
   
• Evaluate: Where real-time processing could make the biggest difference on your site. Monitor user data to identify where your bounce rate is highest and focus on these areas first.
   
• Defer: Non-critical and batch workloads to the cloud, where speed matters less than scalability and efficient storage.

If you need help with this process, it may be worth contacting a web design agency for personalized support. They can help you find your biggest opportunities for improvement through edge computing and may suggest other site changes that could unlock further benefits.

2. Collaborate with IT Teams and Partners

Edge computing is a collaborative effort. You'll need multiple groups working together efficiently to achieve transformational change on your site. Success will stem from open conversations and shared priorities, so try to:

• Discuss infrastructure and deployment strategies: In group settings, discuss how edge servers will need to be provisioned, scaled, and secured to reach your goals.
   
• Plan for scalability and resilience: Make sure the system you design together can handle traffic spikes without compromising performance. You may need to pull insights from multiple groups to solve this.
   
• Align front-end goals with edge capabilities: Finally, verify that your design priorities align with your new investment in edge computing. You'll see more impactful results when front and back-end teams work together on this.

Ultimately, it's important to get your whole team thinking about edge computing. If you try to silo these optimization efforts, you could miss key insights and face more challenges as a result.

3. Optimize Content and Architecture for Decentralization

To fully leverage edge computing, you'll need to design your website with decentralization in mind. That process starts with adopting edge-friendly caching strategies. These will help you instantly deliver assets, media, and frequently requested content from the nearest server to the user, enhancing speed.

You'll also want to embrace modular, cloud-native frameworks to complement your edge nodes. These are lightweight and flexible enough to scale across distributed environments without breaking.

Finally, your business should prepare for a hybrid-edge cloud model. Balancing speed with efficient storage gives you the best of both worlds. Users will enjoy the speed of local processing where it's valuable, and your business will enjoy the predictable, scalable benefits of cloud computing where speed matters less. This will likely become the preferred computing strategy as edge tactics continue to evolve.

4. Monitor Performance and Iterate

Finally, all that's left to do at this point is monitor your performance over time and iterate as the data rolls in. Pay attention to metrics like load times, real-time responsiveness, and overall user engagement. They'll help you understand how edge computing is impacting your site's user experience and will alert you when changes need to be made.

For example, analytics can reveal whether certain regions require additional edge nodes or if adjustments are needed to your content delivery system. The important thing is that you watch the data over time and respond to it as needed. Doing so will be the most effective way to keep your company at the forefront of the edge computing revolution.

Final Thoughts: Preparing for an Edge-First Future

Edge computing is more than a buzzword. It represents a fundamental shift in how companies today deliver digital experiences to end users. By processing data closer to your visitors, they'll enjoy speedier load times, better website performance, and, ultimately, be more likely to convert.

Experts say 74% of data will be processed outside of traditional data centers by 2030. It's a stark reminder for businesses that waiting too long to adopt edge computing could prove fatal. If your competitors adopt the technology before you do, it could damage your brand's reputation and bring down conversions.

Companies that bring web designers into their edge computing conversation today will be better positioned for the future of digital commerce. An agency could help you design a hybrid cloud-edge computing solution, rethink your architecture for decentralization, and create a faster, more enjoyable website.

About the Author

Jeanette Godreau Senior Content Marketing Specialist at Clutch

Jeanette Godreau crafts in-depth content on web design, graphic design, and branding to help B2B buyers make confident decisions on Clutch.  

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