diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 11befce8..b93e5534 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. By default, the value of **shutdown_delay** is `1.0` second
 
 
 
diff --git a/eel/__init__.py b/eel/__init__.py
index f3df71bb..a630e1e1 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):