More traffic = more sales = a happy Shopify merchant, right? Well, not so fast. While increased traffic and clicks are every ecommerce entrepreneur and marketer’s dream, the adage is also true: Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.
That said, the equation sometimes looks more like this: more traffic = slower website = unhappy shoppers. When this happens — especially during shopping frenzies like Black Friday or Cyber Monday — shoppers’ frustrations and annoyances are exacerbated, which not only reduces their likelihood of purchasing from you but also damages your brand image.
In fact, one study found that 79% of customers dissatisfied with a site’s performance are unlikely to return — ouch!
The good news is there’s no need to sacrifice site speed or website experience in the name of growth and traffic.
✅ Choose an ecommerce provider and hosting service that provides a fast and reliable connection like Shopify.
Research any memory or bandwidth scaling limits for peak traffic times.
Compare loading times from different providers.
✅ Leverage a CDN, or content delivery network.
✅ Make sure your site is designed for a mobile-first experience.
Continuously test your mobile speed using Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool.
✅ Optimize your website for speed.
Remove any unnecessary apps, plugins, or widgets.
Use smaller and fewer images while still ensuring their resolution and quality.
Reduce the number of pop-ups.
Make thumbnail images smaller.
Narrow down your homepage carousel’s slides.
Use native videos sparingly and prioritize lite embeds.
Audit and prune any broken links or redirects.
Optimize other media files (e.g., PDF)
Choose a fast theme.
The stakes are higher than ever, but with Shopify Plus and its cloud-based technology, CDNs, and infrastructure upgrades, managing your increased traffic and growth will be a breeze. Learn more about how Shopify Plus can tackle your other growth challenges right here.
What are you waiting for? Get started with Shopify Plus now.
Last updated on January 11th, 2022.