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How to Clean Your Ecommerce Website for Better Performance
A few months ago, we worked with an online decor store that had incredible, unique products - but their website just wasn’t converting visitors into buyers. The owner was frustrated, wondering why traffic wasn’t translating into sales. After running a CRO audit, we found the culprit: cluttered navigation, slow load times, and a checkout process that felt more like an obstacle course than a seamless experience. Once we cleaned up their site, conversion rates jumped by 35%.
Sounds familiar? If your ecommerce website isn’t performing as well as it should, it might be time for a deep clean. Think of it like spring cleaning for your online store-removing the mess, streamlining the experience, and making sure your visitors can easily find what they need.
At Daminico, we specialize in CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) and Shopify design and development, helping fashion, beauty, and home decor brands optimize their websites for better performance. Here’s a practical guide to decluttering your ecommerce website and making it work for you-not against you.
1. Speed It Up: The Fastest Way to Better Conversions
Ever clicked on a website that took forever to load? Chances are, you didn’t stick around. Studies show that 53% of mobile users abandon a site that takes more than three seconds to load. Slow load times don’t just hurt your user experience-they can also impact your SEO rankings and overall credibility.
How to Clean Up Website Speed Issues:
- Compress Images: High-quality images are crucial for ecommerce, but oversized files can slow things down. Use tools like TinyPNG or Shopify’s built-in optimizer. Consider switching to next-gen formats like WebP for faster loading without quality loss.
- Minimize Apps & Plugins: More isn’t always better. Too many third-party apps can clog up your site’s performance. Audit your apps and remove any that aren’t essential. If an app is necessary, ensure it’s lightweight and optimized.
- Enable Lazy Loading: This loads images as users scroll, preventing unnecessary lag and making the initial page load faster.
- Use a CDN (Content Delivery Network): Shopify already uses a CDN, but if you’re on another platform, integrating one can boost speed globally, ensuring that your website loads quickly no matter where your users are.
- Optimize Your Code: Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files to reduce unnecessary bloat. Using asynchronous loading for scripts can also prevent render-blocking.
One of our fashion clients saw a 20% drop in bounce rates just by optimizing images, reducing unused JavaScript, and removing unnecessary apps. Sometimes, small changes create the biggest impact.
2. Declutter Your Navigation: Less Is More
A confusing navigation menu is like a messy store layout-if customers can’t find what they need, they’ll leave. An online beauty store we worked with had multiple dropdown menus, redundant categories, and a cluttered homepage. Visitors were overwhelmed, resulting in higher bounce rates and lower conversions. By simplifying their menu structure, we made it easier for shoppers to find products, resulting in a 28% increase in sales.
How to Simplify Navigation:
- Reduce Menu Options: Stick to 5-7 main categories to avoid overwhelming visitors. Too many options can lead to decision fatigue.
- Use Clear Labels: “Shop All” or “Best Sellers” perform better than vague or overly creative terms. Your navigation should be intuitive and user-friendly.
- Prioritize Mobile Navigation: 70% of ecommerce traffic comes from mobile. Ensure your menu is easy to use on small screens, with thumb-friendly tap targets and collapsible menus.
- Add a Search Bar: A well-placed, fast search function can be a game-changer for user experience. Implement autocomplete suggestions to guide users to popular products.
- Optimize Breadcrumbs: These provide users with an easy way to navigate back to previous pages and improve site structure for SEO.
3. Fix Your Product Pages: The Make-or-Break Moment
Your product pages are where the magic (or the frustration) happens. If a shopper lands on a cluttered, uninspiring product page, they won’t convert. We’ve seen clients with fantastic products struggle because their product pages didn’t provide enough information or trust signals to encourage a purchase.
How to Clean Up Product Pages:
- Use High-Quality, Optimized Images: Show multiple angles and lifestyle shots to help customers visualize the product in use. Videos can also significantly boost conversions.
- Improve Product Descriptions: Use compelling, benefit-driven copy. Instead of “100% Cotton,” say “Soft, breathable cotton that keeps you cool during summer nights.”
- Highlight Social Proof: Add reviews, testimonials, or UGC (User-Generated Content). Shoppers trust peer recommendations more than brand claims.
- Make Pricing & Shipping Info Clear: Unexpected costs at checkout are a major reason for cart abandonment. Display shipping fees, estimated delivery dates, and return policies upfront.
- Use Urgency and Scarcity: Features like “Only 3 left in stock” or “Limited-time discount” can encourage immediate purchases.
For a home decor client, we added UGC photos and a ‘Quick Buy’ button on product pages, leading to a 17% increase in purchases. The easier you make it for customers to decide, the better your conversion rates.
4. Optimize Your Checkout Flow: Stop Losing Customers at the Finish Line
Cart abandonment is a nightmare for ecommerce brands. On average, 69.8% of shoppers abandon their carts, often due to a complicated or slow checkout process.
How to Clean Up Checkout Pages:
- Enable Guest Checkout: Not everyone wants to create an account. Removing mandatory sign-ups can improve conversions.
- Reduce Form Fields: Only ask for essential info. The shorter the form, the higher the completion rate.
- Add Multiple Payment Options: Offer PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Buy Now, Pay Later services. More options mean fewer friction points.
- Show a Progress Bar: Let customers know how many steps are left. Transparency reduces anxiety and improves the checkout experience.
- Send Abandoned Cart Emails: A well-timed follow-up can recover lost sales. Offer a small discount or free shipping to encourage completion.
We helped a beauty brand streamline their checkout process, cutting the number of required fields in half. Their abandoned cart rate dropped by 12% within a month.
5. Refresh Your Homepage: First Impressions Matter
Your homepage is the front door of your online store. A cluttered homepage can overwhelm visitors, while a well-structured one guides them smoothly into the shopping experience.
How to Optimize Your Homepage:
- Prioritize a Clear Call-to-Action (CTA): Whether it’s new arrivals, bestsellers, or seasonal promotions, make it obvious what action users should take.
- Use Eye-Catching Banners Sparingly: Avoid excessive pop-ups that disrupt browsing. If you must use them, time them strategically.
- Highlight Trust Signals: Show trust badges, free shipping info, or guarantees upfront.
- Feature Best Sellers: If customers don’t know where to start, help them with a curated selection.
A Shopify brand we worked with replaced an outdated homepage layout with a streamlined design featuring their bestsellers front and center. Their conversion rate jumped from 1.8% to 3.2%-just by cleaning up the homepage!
6. Conduct Regular CRO Audits: The Key to Continuous Improvement
Your website isn’t a “set it and forget it” asset. Regularly auditing its performance ensures you’re always improving.
How to Run a CRO Audit:
- Check Google Analytics: Identify pages with high bounce rates and low conversions.
- Use Heatmaps: Tools like Hotjar show where users drop off.
- Test Your Site Regularly: Browse your own site on desktop and mobile to spot issues.
- A/B Test Key Changes: Try different headlines, CTA buttons, or checkout flows to see what works best.
Final Thoughts: Small Fixes, Big Impact
Cleaning up your ecommerce website isn’t just about aesthetics-it’s about creating a seamless, enjoyable shopping experience that converts visitors into customers. At Daminico, we’ve seen firsthand how simple optimizations can drive massive results for fashion, beauty, and home decor brands.
Need help with your website’s performance? Let’s chat! Whether it’s a full CRO audit, Shopify optimization, or just a fresh pair of eyes on your site, we’re here to help you turn browsers into buyers.