How to Clean an E-commerce Website?

Running an ecommerce business is not just about setting up a website and listing your products. Like any on site-shop, your ecommerce website must look presentable and well-maintained better search engine placement. That’s why it also needs regular cleanup and maintenance. However, this cleaning does not involve duster and broom. 

This article provides a comprehensive guide on how to clean an e-commerce website for you.

What does cleaning an ecommerce website mean?

Cleaning of an e-commerce website refers to a systematic process that involves improvement of site functionality, enhancement of user experience and augmentation of overall performance. Before initiating the cleaning process, it is important to analyze the existing situation of your website i.e. carry out a website audit. It is like site health checkup that diagnosis the queries of your e-commerce website. 

What is the meaning of site Audit?

A thorough website audit allows you to investigate the goods and bads of your website conclusively.  This audit would provide a conducive blueprint that tells where the website stands and what must be done to improve it. You can use site audit tools The following parameters must be part of your audit list. 

Website Speed Performance  

 In this fast paced world, customers would not stay on your site if it is taking too long to load. Thus, one must check how much time the site is taking in loading pages. Are they quick enough? 

Furthermore, it is also needed to be checked if the pages are responsive and functional across different devices. If the page’s speed insights mobile score is low it means the website is not performing efficiently. 

Also check for the broken links, page errors and botches in your website which cause the website to lag. You can check tools like Google Search Console to check for page errors . Moreover, broken links can be identified using the Brokenlinkcheck tool.

Scan website architecture that is it logical, clear and organized? Check if

•  The title and description of the company are at the forefront of the page
• The content is adequately divided with header and footer to help users navigate the page better. 
• The page design is simple and appealing.
• The page layout is not littered with ads, external links or CTAs. 

Content Evaluation 

Content is the backbone of a website. You must give a thorough consideration to the quality and relevance of your content. The content structure must be according to the target audience, their needs and preferences. The content must be divided into proper headings and subheadings with complimenting images and graphs. 

Check which content is bringing more engagement and conversion. Using Google Analytics, you can also check which content has the least turn over rate. Delete that data.

Also check if the content is up to date and your product descriptions, blog posts and landing pages all follow the latest trends. Thus, a critical content analysis would give insight on which content must be deleted and which content can be repurposed. 

In addition to that, also conduct competitor content marketing analysis. Evaluate their content and find the gap where you can add value on your website. 

Website Analytics

Website Analytics are the most crucial component of website audit. Softwares like Google Analytics can help in analyzing the organic research coming on the site. It also assists in evaluating traffic patterns, demographics, bounce rates and overall user behavior.

You must conduct analysis of high exit rates or duration of sessions as they give insight about performance. You can make a web ranking report that would guide you in the cleaning process.

The website audit can be carried out using different softwares available. Best website audit software that can assist you in this ardent task include Ahref, Lumar and Semrush.

Why is it important to clean your e-commerce website regularly? 

The regular cleaning of e-commerce websites is instrumental for long time sustenance of online presence and business growth. Over time, the website becomes bemused with outdated data and bugs. This causes frustrating user experience for potential customers. 

Timely maintenance of e-commerce websites helps in building and retaining trust of customers by providing safer and efficient sites with least chance of data breaches. The updated and right information about right inventory has more chances of increased sales. It also helps in preventing downtime. Thus, following tips can help you maintain successful ecom websites.

Tips on How to Clean E-Commerce Website

Content Cleansing:

After a successful website audit, the first task is cleansing of content. Remove the data that is causing low traffic or high bounce rates. Replace this irrelevant and outdated data with new content. Update and revamp the product descriptions, blog posts or site reviews with fresh and more engaging quality pages of content. It's better to repurpose the relevant content already present on the website.

 Using the analytics, understand the likeliness of the target audience and customize the content as per their needs. Furthermore, focus on seo content production with relevant keywords, meta description and alt tags. Remove any duplicate content on the site as it damages your SEO ranking. 

White Space

An overcrowded website is neither visually appealing nor user friendly. Thus, keep adequate white space on your site that makes the products more visible. For a clean e-commerce website, Declutter your website pages with clear product listings and menu bar. A clear page layout will boosts engagement. 

Code Cleansing:

Code cleansing means increasing responsiveness and user friendliness of the webpage. Fix all the broken links, bugs and page errors that cause lag website. Ensure the website runs smoothly on all devices. It is also important to check for seo friendly performance of the website. It is because broken links cause harm to the SEO ranking of the website. 

The code should be lightweight and free of errors.You can also minify the CSS and Java Script file inorder to reduce the load. You should also eliminate any redundant redundant code as well. 

Optimizing Page Speed

The faster a page loads, there are more chances of customer retention and conversion. Check for the time your site takes to load. You can use Google Page Speed Insight or Pagespeed API to check speed. You can also enhance speed by compressing unoptimized images using CDNs. Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) reduce the load by distributing content across various servers.

E-commerce Website Hierarchical Navigation 

A major tip for maintaining an e-commerce website is to keep the navigation of the page simple. One way of doing it is through hierarchical navigation. It means the site structures should be logical and clear with clearly organized categories and subcategories. These categories are arranged on the basis of relevance and priority. This provides clarity and better accessibility to the customer.

Conclusion:

Cleaning an e-commerce website is essential for the smooth operations of the business. Regular website audits, content evaluation, speed optimization and code cleansing can help in maintaining an ecommerce website.