The pandemic has forever changed the nature of retail, seeing consumers shift rapidly to online channels and this trend is set to continue well into the recovery and beyond. As consumers become increasingly savvy online, the demand for seamless eCommerce solution has never been stronger.

Now is the time for businesses to amplify their offering and fine tune their services to meet ever-more challenging consumer demand and expectations.

While all businesses love a boost to their online visitor numbers, brands that are unprepared for increased traffic risk their websites crashing or lagging. Simple but often overlooked issues like out of date plug-ins, code errors, and inadequate bandwidth can interrupt the customer journey, driving both customers and revenue to competitors. Without the right processes and partners your brilliant brand could fall short in this highly competitive space.

So how do businesses get ahead online?

Speed up your eCommerce solution

Over the last couple of years, the pace of digital transformation has reset customer expectations. From accessing information about restrictions to purchasing a new pair of shoes, websites need to provide quick results and an easy navigation experience for large groups of users.

The importance of a fast-loading website cannot be overstated. A recent survey found that over half of users (52 per cent) would leave a website if it doesn’t load within six seconds. A further 45 per cent of customers stated that businesses with slow-loading pages left a negative impression.

The reality is that every website is different. Businesses have different goals, products, themes, infrastructure, plugins, and buyers. It’s important to get expert advice from an agency or host on how best to maximise your performance.

Increasing website efficiency often comes down to simply managing unused themes or plugins and culling any software that is clogging up the back end. While this process can be time consuming, web hosting platforms such as WP Engine can easily take on the load. In fact, WP Engine manages the highest percentage of top WordPress hosts’ sites that load under 200 milliseconds.

Enhance the customer experience

Convenience has become the driver of many decisions online and the easier you make the customer journey, the more likely you are to have a positive outcome.

Younger generations have become a guiding force for the adoption of new technologies, and their expectations for digital experiences are constantly moving the needle of ‘what’s next’ in the way we interact online. WP Engine’s 2021 Generational Resilience Report revealed that Gen Z has high expectations for an increasingly more ‘human’ web, with 56 per cent believing that websites will begin exhibiting human emotions in the next five years.

One way to create this experience for your users is to invest in chat bots that can provide up-to-date information or direct access to customer support. You can explore personalised recommendations and add a ‘wish list’ to make saving options easy. Try connecting email marketing to your webpage to check in with the consumer if/when they abandon their cart.

WP Engine recently worked with its agency partner, G Squared, to improve the user experience for market-leading bedding manufacture, Sealy of Australia. Replacing outdated technology and design with a modern user experience, WP Engine made it easier for users to navigate the catalogue of mattresses and use a new Mattress Selector tool to find recommendations tailor-made to their sleeping habits. This created a seamless experience for these users resulting in a massive 85 per cent completion rate from customers using the tool.

Share the eCommerce solution load

Your website needs to be a top priority for your business but there are many spinning plates you need to balance. Whether you are a small business or a huge enterprise, a web hosting platform like WP Engine allows you to pass these plates into trusted hands.

The web hosting platform will be consistently monitoring for glitches, bugs and plug-ins that are impacting your website’s performance and provide solutions to rectify issues. Better yet, they will act as a security blanket, alerting you to any vulnerabilities that would put your users or your website at risk. With 80 per cent of Australian organisations surveyed by Sophos being hit with ransomware in 2021 (up from 45 per cent in 2020), it is a very real issue that businesses need to be prepared for. A safe website not only attracts more users, but also allows them to feel comfortable with sharing their personal data.

A strong, safe and speedy website is the key to succeeding online. Be sure to make your website (and its upkeep) a priority to avoid falling behind competitors. With the right support around you, you can not only keep your customers happy but drive growth and be fully prepared for increased traffic in the months and years ahead.

Written by Mark Randall, WP Engine’s Country Manager, ANZ