Now that we have started discussing the eCommerce niche market in detail, it is about time that we spoke of how to dramatically improve your website for the best results in such a competitive vertical. You could have the best products on the market, but a shady or cheap-looking website could squash any chance that you may have of getting sales.

We have gathered the best tips and tricks our experts have found while digging around and composed an easy-to-follow list that you can check off as you go along.

Discover our 5 best tips by reading the article below!

• eCommerce Hosting Provider
• WordPress Caching Plugin
• The Latest PHP Version
• Reduce Database Requests
• Track Your Performance

eCommerce Hosting Provider

A key ingredient in ensuring your performance is up to par is having the right hosting service on your side. Unfortunately, not all providers were created equally, but there is a simple way to ensure you are not signing up for a total dud.

The best hosting service provider will have the following features:

• A stable platform that is maintained and updated to the industry’s highest standards.
• Said platform will be optimized for WordPress, WooCommerce, and other relevant plugins.
• Servers that are optimized for performance and speed by including built-in caching, security, and other performance-improving tools.

Our experts’ favorite hosting platform is SiteGround, that is the officially recommended platform by WordPress.

WordPress Caching Plugin

One of the biggest issues that high-traffic eCommerce affiliate websites encounter is that the amount of visitors at any given time can slow down the loading times and even cause it to crash. A caching plugin is an incredible feature that can help you avoid this problem.

Rather than generate a page each time, the plugin will show the lead a cached version of the page. This, in turn, frees up your servers and allows them to run more efficiently.

SiteGround and Bluehost have their own caching systems, but you can also employ plugins such as WP Rocket, which is considered one of the best options and comes fully equipped with beginner-friendly settings.

The Latest PHP Version

Both commonly used platforms WordPress and WooPress are mainly written in the PHP programming language. As a result, the best thing you can do is use the latest version that comes out, as each one increases the performance and runs faster compared to its predecessor.

You can easily check what version you are currently using on your website by going to Tools >> Site Health and then switching to the Info tab and then on the Server option on your WordPress dashboard. Should you find that your affiliate website is running on a PHP lower than 8.0, it would be in your best interest to approach your hosting service provider so that they can update it.

Reduce Database Requests

The next topic on our list is more expert-oriented but we know it is important enough to address anyway. WordPress and WooCommerce use their databases to store vast amounts of content and settings, as well as themes and plugins that are at your disposal which make queries in order to fetch and display the desired information.

Database queries are usually very fast and your website can run hundreds of them within a few milliseconds. However, a traffic spike can clash with them and cause your website’s loading time to drag considerably.

You can check these requests by harnessing a plugin such as Query Monitor on WordPress, and the plugin will be added to your admin bar upon activation.

Track Your Performance

Altering a live eCommerce affiliate website can be a risky move, as it can crash during a single sale or a sale promotion. So many things can go wrong at the worst possible time, and the effect can mess with your business’s normal functioning.

A staging website can assist you with offering helpful performance-related tips, new plugin suggestions, and themes that will not reduce your website’s usual speed. The staging website acts as a clone of your real website, where you can test out new features before adding them. In other words, you get a cruelty-free test bunny for all your experiments.

Get more of ROI Collective’s expert-approved how-to and advanced guides right here!