According to Forbes, global e-commerce sales reached USD $4.2 trillion in 2021 are expected to continue growing as more and more companies move online.
If you also run an online store, you may have already realized that having a beautiful website is not enough to achieve concrete results. Websites need continuous care and attention, just like a house that always needs some sort of intervention to be maintained over time. In most cases it’s small things like changing a light bulb, tightening a screw, filling a small crack. But sometimes it also requires major cleaning, extraordinary maintenance, and emergency interventions. In short, there’s always something to do.
With a website, things are very similar. One day there’s a plugin to configure. Another day a quick update to install or a serious malware attack to handle. From simple tasks to more serious situations, it’s important to be ready, and always know what to do.
In the case of an e-commerce store, the matter becomes even more delicate.
The risks of a poorly maintained e-commerce site
A neglected online store leads to a loss of customers and opportunities. In Italy, the data speaks of a booming market. In 2018, 62% of Italians shopped on websites at least once, and this figure is constantly growing.
If you don’t take care of your e-commerce you’ll end up losing this slice of the market.
A lack of maintenance compromises the functioning of a site, making it vulnerable to external malware and virus attacks.
Today we want to delve deeper into the theme of e-commerce website management by telling you how regular and careful maintenance has improved not only the performance but also the sales of one of our long-time customers – AB Medical.
Optimizing an e-commerce store: our story with AB Medical
AB Medical is a nationally renowned entrepreneurial reality, active online since 2013. It offers orthopedic devices, assistive equipment, and personalized services for disabled people, with direct sales to the public through its own e-commerce platform.
We met the owner of the company, Aldo, when he approached us to optimize the navigation speed of the site through our Fast Site service. From that moment on, a relationship of trust was established, leading to WP-OK taking care of the security and maintenance of the online business, through our TOP subscription plan.
Prior to our intervention, AB Medical was getting decent traffic and purchases, but site managers continued to experience issues related to speed and lack of stability.
What we found: a fragile site
Through a first analysis, we immediately noticed a number of security issues affecting the site, such as:
- absence of reliable backups on the cloud. In case of serious problems, the site would have been lost, with no possibility to restore it;
- delayed system updates, with very serious consequences for both the functionality and the security of the e-commerce store;
- incorrect configuration of the security plugin.
The most serious problem, however, was in AB Medical’s team. No one took care of the site’s management. Because of this, delays and problems had accumulated over time, causing an increasingly compromised navigation experience for users.
How we intervened
In our experience, for an e-commerce store to be fully functional it must be:
- secure and up-to-date, but not just from a performance point of view. With the new GDPR regulations introduced in May 2018, security has become a legal requirement;
- navigable and intuitive, designed to make the checkout phase easy and pleasant for the customer. About 38% of users will leave a site if they don’t find it aesthetically pleasing;
- fast, because every second of loading time can cost the loss of a customer;
- audience-focused, with fast and reliable customer service.
Our work was focused on these four points.
In the very first days, we dedicated out time to solving the existing problems related to security. Within 24 hours from the start of the subscription, we secured the site and activated a plan of controlled updates.
The most important part of our work concerned the checkout phase in the store. We simplified the purchase process, increased automations, and made new payment methods available to the public.
We also helped AB Medical with the integration of external sales services such as eBay and Shippypro, as well as a digital accounting service.
More traffic, more revenue: the first results
After delegating the management and maintenance tasks to WP-OK, Aldo and his team were able to focus 100% on sales.
The optimization of the site led to more visits and with increased visits came more purchases. This translated into a 15% increase in revenue in the first three-quarters of 2019 and a reduction of the time spent working on the website estimated at about three hours per day.
Achieving these excellent results was possible not only thanks to our technical support team but also to Aldo and AB Medical who understood the importance of delegating the management and maintenance of the e-commerce site to a group of professionals.
With a continuous support service, AB Medical saved time and money.
We took charge of every problem as soon as it appeared and we always solved them within twelve hours from its reporting. This is very important for an e-commerce store that must always work in optimal conditions to be reliable and secure for the customers.
The words of Aldo, owner of AB Medical
“I would recommend the service offered by WP-OK to everyone, they are a team of knowledgeable guys who bend over backward to solve your problems. They are fast and focused on your problems, always solving them in the shortest time possible. I was impressed with their professionalism, speed, and helpfulness.
Now I can dedicate most of my time to the commercial activity of my site. I’m more relaxed knowing that all the technical issues will be solved by WP-OK’s team.”
We thank Aldo for agreeing to share his experience and some details that – we hope – can help you understand how important it is to pay attention to every aspect of your online shop.
As we said, a website is like a house: it’s not possible to solve every issue that emerges independently. A professional assistance service will allow you to focus your energies on what matters and help you get the most out of your e-commerce.
