Master your WooCommerce website with these 5 Tips

If you want your WooCommerce store to stand out from the competition and drive traffic, you have to choose the right theme and plugins, i.e., WooCommerce banner images. In this post, we will share five ways to improve your store. With the right tools and methods, you can generate loyal customers and increase your sales.

Tip #1. Choose Well-Built Theme and Plugins

A fully bespoke WooCommerce theme is the best option for your site, but if you don’t have the budget to stretch to that, there are some available for free on WordPress.org. The WooCommerce theme you choose can have a significant impact on your store’s performance. It’s important to find a theme that strikes a balance between form and function. A theme that looks good and performs well will provide a better user experience.

Plugins are very similar to themes in that you need to choose a reputable one otherwise it could infect your site, or allow a malicious party to gain unmetered access. If it isn’t updated regularly by the plugin developers, it could even stop your site from functioning at all. That’s why it’s vital to have a good, tested, backup plan in place in case the worst does happen. On the less extreme side, it could slow down your site, or add bloat to the backend meaning it takes you longer to get things done. There are of course numerous plugins that do a simple feature really well, and of course, plugins are a lot cheaper and easier to use than something that’s been custom developed. That’s the benefits of the open ecosystem you get when using WordPress. WooCommerce Banner Image is a plugin that can add banner images to your pages. It’s a simple plugin that does one function with customisable options to easily modify banners to suit your needs.

Tip #2. Ensure User Security

We’ve already touched on how plugins can impact a site’s security but with the rise of e-commerce stores, it’s even more crucial to maintain a high level of security. Consumers use sensitive information online, such as debit/credit card details, and it’s essential to protect this information. By using a payment gateway, such as Stripe or PayPal, you’re letting them handle the security of processing card payments, meaning you don’t need to comply with the stringent laws regulating payments online, this has the added benefit of not needing to worry about your customers’ card details being stolen.

Internet users expect a certain level of security as standard by all websites. Adding an SSL certificate to your store will ensure that your website is marked as “secure” by search engines and encourage customers to visit your site. These come as standard with all sites hosted by us. Browser vendors are pushing more and more for sites to adopt a security-first approach. Your users will start to see big exclamation marks beside your URL if you don’t have an SSL certificate. SSL certificates are free for the most basic level of protection so there’s no reason you shouldn’t have one.

In a nutshell, to ensure the security of your website, use strong passwords, regularly backup your site, keep plugins and themes updated, and limit administrative access. These are all things we do by default for you, but it’s important to keep up good security habits when updating your site.

Tip #3. Speed up Your Site

A slow-loading website or product page can deter customers and affect your search engine ranking. Google and other major search engines prioritize websites that load quickly. When we build a site for you, we start with a heavily optimised platform, theme, and minimal plugins. But as your website grows and it’s important to keep on top of your speed. To speed up your website, you can use tools like Google Page Speed Insights to analyze your site and follow the recommended steps to improve its loading time. Some of the recommendations may need a developer to action.

Large images can slow down your site, so it’s important to optimize them before you upload; use high-quality images but keep their size minimal. Embedding videos directly on your site can also slow down your page, so consider uploading them to a video-sharing platform and linking to them instead.

Uninstalling old, unused themes and plugins not only improves the security of your site but can also speed it up too. Often, plugins add code to the site even if you’re not using them, so by uninstalling them, you’re reducing the amount of code needed to create the site.

Tip #4. Showcase your Best-Selling Products on the Home Page

Displaying your best-selling products on your home page can increase their visibility and improve your SEO position. Sliders or product of the day features can draw visitors to your store and give them ideas for their next purchase. High-quality images of your products from multiple angles can encourage customers to appreciate your products more deeply and make it easier for them to make a purchase.

Pop-ups can also be useful, when a customer is about to leave your site you could display a popup offering a discount code. This might encourage them to make a purchase from your store. You could also have a pop-up that displays after a user has been on your site for a certain amount of time. It could ask them if they’d like to sign up to your newsletter.

Integrating your website with Facebook Messenger can also make it easier for customers to reach out for help. It also allows you to link your website visitors with your Facebook followers, allowing for deeper analytics to be conducted.

Tip #5. Implement Up-Selling & Cross-Selling

Up-selling and cross-selling are effective methods of introducing customers to additional products in your store. Up-selling encourages customers to purchase a more expensive product, while cross-selling involves offering complementary products or accessories based on the products they are interested in. These methods can increase sales and improve the customer experience. WooCommerce has this functionality built in, but you’ll need a theme that displays these products in a unique and exciting way. To further promote upsell and cross-sell products, you can link your store with Mailchimp. Once a customer has purchased a product, you can email them about upsell or cross-sell opportunities.

Concluding Remarks

In conclusion, the right WooCommerce plugins and themes, improved security measures, faster loading times, and effective marketing strategies can help you make the most of your online store and drive traffic and sales.

If you want to take the stress out of developing and maintaining a WooCommerce website, speak to us today.