diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a445cc84..0cf08d25 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -118,6 +118,7 @@ As of Eel v0.12.0, the following options are available to `start()`:
  - **close_callback**, a lambda or function that is called when a websocket to a window closes (i.e. when the user closes the window). It should take two arguments; a string which is the relative path of the page that just closed, and a list of other websockets that are still open. *Default: `None`*
  - **app**, an instance of Bottle which will be used rather than creating a fresh one. This can be used to install middleware on the
  instance before starting eel, e.g. for session management, authentication, etc.
+ - **shutdown_delay**, timer configurable for Eel's shutdown detection mechanism, whereby when any websocket closes, it waits `shutdown_delay` seconds, and then checks if there are now any websocket connections. If not, then Eel closes. In case the user has closed the browser and wants to exit the program. Default: `1.0`
 
 
 
diff --git a/eel/__init__.py b/eel/__init__.py
index f3df71bb..effe4228 100644
--- a/eel/__init__.py
+++ b/eel/__init__.py
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@
     'disable_cache': True,                          # Sets the no-store response header when serving assets
     'default_path': 'index.html',                   # The default file to retrieve for the root URL
     'app': btl.default_app(),                       # Allows passing in a custom Bottle instance, e.g. with middleware
+    'shutdown_delay': 1.0                          # how long to wait after a websocket closes before detecting complete shutdown
 }
 
 # == Temporary (suppressable) error message to inform users of breaking API change for v1.0.0 ===
@@ -153,6 +154,10 @@ def start(*start_urls, **kwargs):
         _start_args['jinja_env'] = Environment(loader=FileSystemLoader(templates_path),
                                  autoescape=select_autoescape(['html', 'xml']))
 
+    # verify shutdown_delay is correct value
+    if not isinstance(_start_args['shutdown_delay'], (int, float)):
+        raise ValueError("`shutdown_delay` must be a number, \
+            got a {}".format(type(_start_args['shutdown_delay']))
 
     # Launch the browser to the starting URLs
     show(*start_urls)
@@ -380,7 +385,7 @@ def _websocket_close(page):
         if _shutdown:
             _shutdown.kill()
 
-        _shutdown = gvt.spawn_later(1.0, _detect_shutdown)
+        _shutdown = gvt.spawn_later(_start_args['shutdown_delay'], _detect_shutdown)
 
 
 def _set_response_headers(response):