Virtina helps eCommerce store owners get the most out of their online business. It is what we do best. So, it is no wonder we were the first choice for a leading eCommerce store selling boat kits. Our client ran their eCommerce business on the WooCommerce platform and faced severe performance issues.
The client approached us for assistance in enhancing the load speed of their WooCommerce website. The client was facing multiple issues in their WooCommerce store. During deep analysis, we found that most of the client's store issues were related to long query times and unoptimized plugins. Below we explain how Virtina fixed the problems on the client's website and optimized it for better performance.
Overcoming the Challenges With WooCommerce Core Functionality Limitations
The most significant challenge we faced as a team with the client's project was the WooCommerce functionality limitations. Typically, WooCommerce is an eCommerce platform that can handle almost anything you throw at it.
However, the client had a few different zones for product delivery with more than 5000 postcodes or ZIP codes. The client also used multiple plugins for shipping cost calculation that rely on the query. Hence, it took the client's website significantly more time to determine delivery eligibility and calculate the prices for addresses belonging to such zones.
Price Calculation Optimization to Minimize Query Time With Custom Coding
The client's primary requirement was to fix the query issue on their website, which was causing significant delays in displaying the shipping cost. Due to prolonged query time, it took the website significantly longer to determine delivery eligibility and shipping price for orders.
Sometimes the website takes 15 to 30 seconds to display the accurate shipping price. The prolonged query time significantly impacted the buying experience leading to customer dissatisfaction.
Our expert team fixed the problem by assessing the existing codebase and writing a custom code for the rate calculation process. Virtina successfully identified the code sections causing slow query time and eliminated unnecessary calls, significantly reducing the time for rate calculation.
Pickup-only Order Optimization
The client had several items on their WooCommerce store exclusively available for pickup. In other words, customers could not have such items delivered to their address. However, WooCommerce does not have the option to have an exclusive pick-up-only option for selected items.
The WooCommerce store would display other delivery options, even for pick-up-only items. It confused customers, and they would proceed with the purchase expecting delivery to their address. Our expert team hide the other delivery options for pick-up-only items and ensured a seamless buying experience on the client's online store.
User Experience Enhancing on the WooCommerce Store
The slow query time has a significant impact on the customer experience. However, that's not the only element that significantly affected user experience. Thanks to our holistic approach, we found several factors that can negatively influence the customer experience on the client's WooCommerce store.
International Shipping Quote Request Feature Customization
One of the things we did to enhance the user experience on the client's WooCommerce store was replacing the Buy Now button with the Request for Quote button. It allowed international customers to access special prices quoted by the client.
The customization eliminated the confusion caused by international orders and streamlined the purchase journey. As a result, the client's WooCommerce store now has more accurate pricing and serves the needs of dynamic international shipping costs.
Shipping Priority Display
Another task we completed for the client to ensure a better user experience on their WooCommerce store is the shipping priority display. The client wanted to display the price for ground shipping as default for all orders.
By prioritizing ground shipping for orders, we could display the more affordable option for customers. This quick change enables customers to make quicker buying decisions and increases conversion rates. Customers could still opt for other delivery options, such as express delivery, based on their unique requirements.
Fast and Efficient Product Sorting
The expert team at Virtina also implemented a faster and more efficient product sorting capability for the client's eCommerce store. We found that the product sorting took too much time, which often caused customers to abandon the website.
Our experts analyzed the WooCommerce store to find the root cause for the delay. We found the delay resulted from an incompatibility issue with the WooCommerce platform and the JetSmart Filter plugin. Under normal conditions, this is not a significant issue on WooCommerce.
However, the client used multiple plugins and a complex query, significantly delaying the sorting process. Our experts found the specific code snippet causing the issue and quickly removed the same. We replaced the problematic code with an optimized custom code. As a result, customers can now quickly sort the product per price without any unnecessary complications.
Checkout Page Optimization
The client faced multiple issues that prevented them from ensuring a seamless customer buying journey. At Viritna, we understand the significance of an optimized checkout process. We did a holistic analysis of the WooCommerce store's checkout process.
Hiding Loader on the Checkout Page
One of the first things we did to optimize the checkout process on the client's WooCommerce store was to minimize delays. The single-page checkout process we implemented for the client displayed the essential details.
Our experts successfully hid unnecessary details from the checkout page. Before optimization, the checkout page would display a loader in the background. Moreover, the loader would work whenever the customer changed their shipping details in real-time.
Our experts ensured the loader worked in the background, enhancing the user experience. As a result, we secured real-time updates on the WooCommerce website's checkout process without compromising the user experience.
Plugin Compatibility Optimization
The experts at Virtina found that plugin compatibility was the primary reason behind the performance issues on the client's WooCommerce store. As the client used multiple plugins that often relied on each other, the site faced several problems compromising the user experience.
Besides the WooCommerce plugin for WordPress, the client also used Multi Shipment Carrier and JetSmart plugins. The code for these plugins, combined with prolonged query time, clashed in multiple places deteriorating the website's performance.
Virtina could identify problematic code thanks to our team and their years of experience. Our experts quickly eliminated unnecessary calls and replaced the code with custom, optimized code for better performance, including the checkout process.
Speed Optimization and Bug Fixes for WooCommerce
Slow loading was one of the client's most problematic issues on their WooCommerce store. Our experts were able to find out the root cause of this problem. It involved the use of multiple plugins and unoptimized coding.
Besides the several plugin compatibility issues mentioned above, other issues affected the site's performance. Virtina did a holistic bug check on the client's eCommerce website for bugs affecting its performance.
We quickly identified and removed various bugs on the client's WooCommerce store. After removing the bugs and fixing the plugin-related issues, the WooCommerce store worked seamlessly. As a result, the site's overall performance improved along with its stability.
Results and Benefits of WooCommerce Website Speed Enhancement
The result of the WooCommerce project Virtina undertook is evident. Our experts did an in-depth analysis of the client's website and found the reason behind the slow loading. The Virtina team quickly optimized the query calling function to improve the load time on the client's website significantly.
As a result, we significantly reduced the query time for shipping rate calculation with custom coding. Our expertise played a pivotal role in optimizing the client's WooCommerce website load speed. We created a responsive system and ensured the user did not have to wait around.
We also implemented several interface changes to the client's WooCommerce website. We even optimized the shopping experience for international customers and made additional changes for the site's optimal performance. The result is a highly-responsive eCommerce website that meets the admin and customers' needs.
