--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: takes a delay of just 250 milliseconds in…" description: "\"“takes a delay of just 250 milliseconds in page loading for people to start abandoning a site.”\" — Nicholas Carr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/nicholas-carr-4579_delay_takes-a-delay-of-just-250-milliseconds-i_637291.jpg" --- # takes a delay of just 250 milliseconds in page loading for… ![“takes a delay of just 250 milliseconds in page loading for people to start abandoning a site.” quote by Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/nicholas-carr-4579_delay_takes-a-delay-of-just-250-milliseconds-i_637291.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/nicholas-carr-4579_delay_takes-a-delay-of-just-250-milliseconds-i_637291.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/nicholas-carr-4579_delay_takes-a-delay-of-just-250-milliseconds-i_637291.jpg) > ““takes a delay of just 250 milliseconds in page loading for people to start abandoning a site.”” [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A 250‑ms delay in loading makes users abandon a site. **In simple terms:** Slow loading drives users away. Key Takeaway Speed up load times. Themes user experience web performance behavior cognitive load attention span Mood frustrated urgent Type practical warning When to use this quote - e‑commerce checkout - news site - mobile app - online forms Key Concepts human‑computer interaction psychology conversion rates Questions to Reflect On - How much delay is acceptable in your context? - What steps can you take to reduce load time? A Different Perspective Even small delays can compound, causing loss of trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [250 Milliseconds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/250-milliseconds-5123410/) [Abandoning Site](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandoning-site-5123408/) [Delay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delay/) [Delay Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delay-just-5123411/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Procrastination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/procrastination/) [Takes Delay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/takes-delay-5123409/) ## Related quotes > [Even speed, when we are anxious, seems like delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/even-speed-when-we-are-anxious-seems-like-delay/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [With certain projects, there are delays, and with others, things come together very quickly. It can be frustrating but it's not uncommon, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-crampton/with-certain-projects-there-are-delays-and-with-others-things-come/) [Barbara Crampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-crampton/) > [“For myself the delay may be compared with a reprieve; for in confidence I assure you, with the world it would obtain little credit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/for-myself-the-delay-may-be-compared-with-a-reprieve-for-in/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Time wears all his locks before,Take thy hold upon his forehead;When he flies he turns no more,And behind his scalp is naked.Works adjourn'd have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southwell/time-wears-all-his-locks-before-take-thy-hold-upon-his-forehead-when/) [Robert Southwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southwell/) > [Life admits not of delays; when pleasure can be had, it is fit to catch it. Every hour takes away part of the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/life-admits-not-of-delays-when-pleasure-can-be-had-it-is-fit-to-catch/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Never do today what you can put off till tomorrow. Delay may give clearer light as to what is best to be done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-burr/never-do-today-what-you-can-put-off-till-tomorrow-delay-may-give/) [Aaron Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-burr/) > [Delays are as much a part of God plan as answered prayers. God wants you to trust him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/delays-are-as-much-a-part-of-god-plan-as-answered-prayers-god-wants/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Face troubles from their birth, for 'tis too late to cure When long delay has given the evil strength. Haste then; postpone not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/face-troubles-from-their-birth-for-tis-too-late-to-cure-when-long/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [ When a man's life is at stake no delay is too long. \[Lat., Nulla unquam de morte cunctatio longa est.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/when-a-man-s-life-is-at-stake-no-delay-is-too-long-lat-nulla-unquam/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [ \[Every\] hour of delay abates the fame and force of the invader, and multiplies the resources of defensive war. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/every-hour-of-delay-abates-the-fame-and-force-of-the-invader-and/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [A delay does not solve the revenue problem,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-nickels/a-delay-does-not-solve-the-revenue-problem/) [Greg Nickels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-nickels/) > [I think FB should have a '5 second delay' after hitting ENTER; giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janie-ortiz/i-think-fb-should-have-a-5-second-delay-after-hitting-enter-giving/) [Janie Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janie-ortiz/) > [Procrastination comes in two types. Some of us procrastinate in order to pursue restful activities - spending time in bed, watching TV - while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-levitin/procrastination-comes-in-two-types-some-of-us-procrastinate-in-order/) [Daniel Levitin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-levitin/) > [Circumstances may cause interruptions and delays, but never lose sight of your goal. Prepare yourself in every way you can by increasing your knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-andretti/circumstances-may-cause-interruptions-and-delays-but-never-lose-sight/) [Mario Andretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-andretti/) > [Patience is a virtue Savannah, to tolerate delay. It implies self control and forbearance, as opposed to wanting what we want when we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-weaver/patience-is-a-virtue-savannah-to-tolerate-delay-it-implies-self/) [Catherine Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-weaver/) ## More by Nicholas Carr > [“For the last five centuries, ever since Gutenberg's printing press made book reading a popular pursuit, the linear, literary mind has been at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/for-the-last-five-centuries-ever-since-gutenberg-s-printing-press/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“In programming the World Wide Computer, we will be programming our lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/in-programming-the-world-wide-computer-we-will-be-programming-our/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“What we’re experiencing is, in a metaphorical sense, a reversal of the early trajectory of civilization: we are evolving from being cultivators of personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/what-we-re-experiencing-is-in-a-metaphorical-sense-a-reversal-of-the/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“As long as algorithms determine the distribution of profits, they will also determine what gets published. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/as-long-as-algorithms-determine-the-distribution-of-profits-they-will/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“those with the helpful software were found “to aimlessly click around” as they tried to crack the puzzle.27”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/those-with-the-helpful-software-were-found-to-aimlessly-click-around/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“Our brains turn into simple signal-processing units, quickly shepherding information into consciousness and then back out again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/our-brains-turn-into-simple-signal-processing-units-quickly/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“What is different, and troubling, is that skimming is becoming our dominant mode of reading. Once a means to an end, a way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/what-is-different-and-troubling-is-that-skimming-is-becoming-our/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“They failed to appreciate how the network would funnel the energies of the people into a centrally administered, tightly monitored information system organized to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/they-failed-to-appreciate-how-the-network-would-funnel-the-energies/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“In the long run, the IT department is unlikely to survive, at least not in its familiar form.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/in-the-long-run-the-it-department-is-unlikely-to-survive-at-least-not/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“Personal memory shapes and sustains the “collective memory” that underpins culture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/personal-memory-shapes-and-sustains-the-collective-memory-that/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“The near-continuous stream of new information pumped out by the Web also plays to our natural tendency to “vastly overvalue what happens to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/the-near-continuous-stream-of-new-information-pumped-out-by-the-web/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“The strip-mining of “relevant content” replaces the slow excavation of meaning.   IT”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/the-strip-mining-of-relevant-content-replaces-the-slow-excavation-of/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“The Net grants us instant access to a library of information unprecedented in its size and scope, and it makes it easy for us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/the-net-grants-us-instant-access-to-a-library-of-information/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“A 1989 study showed that readers of hypertext often ended up clicking distractedly “through pages instead of reading them carefully.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/a-1989-study-showed-that-readers-of-hypertext-often-ended-up-clicking/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“Activities of self-realization are subject to increasing marginal utility:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/activities-of-self-realization-are-subject-to-increasing-marginal/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) [Explore all 108 Nicholas Carr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) ## More Delay quotes > [Assuming normal winter weather, we currently anticipate the coal markets to remain difficult through 2015; while we always strive to operate a full capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-craft/assuming-normal-winter-weather-we-currently-anticipate-the-coal/) [Joe Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-craft/) > [The execution was set for the 29th of March, at nine in the morning. This delay was due to a desire on the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-execution-was-set-for-the-29th-of-march-at-nine-in-the-morning/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Even speed, when we are anxious, seems like delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/even-speed-when-we-are-anxious-seems-like-delay/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [Delay always heeds danger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/delay-always-heeds-danger/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The measured blood beats out the year's delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/the-measured-blood-beats-out-the-year-s-delay/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [Right is the eternal sun; the world cannot delay its coming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/right-is-the-eternal-sun-the-world-cannot-delay-its-coming/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [Naturally I feel no shame in writing these things because of the time which separates the moment when they are written--when only I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ernaux/naturally-i-feel-no-shame-in-writing-these-things-because-of-the-time/) [Annie Ernaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ernaux/) > [Circumstances may cause interruptions and delays, but never lose sight of your goal. Prepare yourself in every way you can by increasing your knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-andretti/circumstances-may-cause-interruptions-and-delays-but-never-lose-sight/) [Mario Andretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-andretti/) > [Systems program building is an entropy-decreasing process, hence inherently metastable. Program maintenance is an entropy-increasing process, and even its most skillful execution only delays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/systems-program-building-is-an-entropy-decreasing-process-hence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I take no pleasure in seeing DeLay swing gently in the wind. But the thing I believe in the most is ethics. If someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/i-take-no-pleasure-in-seeing-delay-swing-gently-in-the-wind-but-the/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [Procrastination comes in two types. Some of us procrastinate in order to pursue restful activities - spending time in bed, watching TV - while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-levitin/procrastination-comes-in-two-types-some-of-us-procrastinate-in-order/) [Daniel Levitin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-levitin/) > [Everyone I have spoken with so far recognises the need for the IRA to respond positively and every has said sooner is better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-reiss/everyone-i-have-spoken-with-so-far-recognises-the-need-for-the-ira-to/) [Mitchell Reiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-reiss/) > [If the politics of inaction and delay that have triumphed in this country continues for another decade, then Planetary Purgatory in the likely future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-romm/if-the-politics-of-inaction-and-delay-that-have-triumphed-in-this/) [Joseph J. Romm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-romm/) > [“Delay is never denial.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/delay-is-never-denial/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [We are being conditioned, as a population, to never wait, to never delay our gratification, to accept thoughtless, constant consumption as the new norm.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/we-are-being-conditioned-as-a-population-to-never-wait-to-never-delay/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) [Browse all 636 Delay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delay/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“takes a delay of just 250 milliseconds in page loading for people to start abandoning a site.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nicholas Carr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/takes-a-delay-of-just-250-milliseconds-in-page-loading-for-people-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Delay" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/takes-a-delay-of-just-250-milliseconds-in-page-loading-for-people-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/nicholas-carr-4579_delay_takes-a-delay-of-just-250-milliseconds-i_637291.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/nicholas-carr-4579_delay_takes-a-delay-of-just-250-milliseconds-i_637291.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/nicholas-carr-4579_delay_takes-a-delay-of-just-250-milliseconds-i_637291.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“takes a delay of just 250 milliseconds in page loading for people to start abandoning a site.” — Nicholas Carr", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nicholas Carr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“takes a delay of just 250...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/takes-a-delay-of-just-250-milliseconds-in-page-loading-for-people-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/takes-a-delay-of-just-250-milliseconds-in-page-loading-for-people-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```