4 signs its time to change your online eCommerce template or operator

When is the right time to evaluate if you should upgrade your website template or provider? Many entrepreneurs worry about the changes or upgrade their site too late or after it has cost them thousands of lost sales, so here are some signs to keep in mind indicating its time to re-evaluate.

1. The high total cost of the site

There are hundreds of templates out there, and even more, developers promise a beautiful and responsive website. But the truth is the costs of launching and operating a website needs to be covered by the revenues expected, at least after a certain period of time. If developer costs, hosting and security fees, maintenance costs and payment gateway fees are significantly higher or even equal to the earnings, it’s time to downgrade the package or reconsider the online site. As a rule of thumb for simple web stores, the investment made in startup costs should be recuperated within 6 months of the start of sales, with the recurring fees not exceeding 5-10% of the monthly income.

2. Poor technical performance

As the website traffic and online purchases grow, so does the need for hosting and fast loading times of the website, especially with large inventory. Templates that are too outdated or slow displaying or slow loading times during peak hours cost you sales and one of the signs you need to upgrade right away. Not only are performance metrics important, but also the flexibility to add the tools needed for growth in the ever-changing landscape of plugins. Tools such as Google Analytics, Facebook pixels, and reviews are critical, and if the template or provider does not accommodate for such integrations, entrepreneurs are surely leaving behind important opportunities for growth and acquiring customers.

3. Non-mobile friendly customer experience

Online shoppers today expect a smooth buying experience, including mobile-friendly visuals and ordering through social media or instant chatting on the site. To create a customer experience and provide a seamless buyer journey, website templates need to be designed with a mobile-first mentality, and ultimately give your clients the same experience. Over 70% of purchases in Saudi Arabia take place through mobile in 2019 according to AMEinfo for example, so you can only imagine the number of potential customers you can target. Make sure your website template is mobile-friendly.

4. Bad customer service

When choosing an online store service provider, you should consider the customer service provided first and foremost. In the event that you have a technical issue, hosting downtime, problems with payments or the inability to edit the site, you would need to contact the provider’s customer service as quickly as possible. With every delay potentially costing you lost sales, access to quick help and most important a helpful response rather than a random bot could make the difference with which provider to end up with. Test the customer service with some questions to see their response time, it might save you time and money in the long term and look for any red flags in their reviews.

Paymennt Shops provides an easy-to-use, mobile-optimized online store template to start selling online in minutes, supported by a secure electronic payment gateway, with the ability to add an unlimited number of products including taxes, custom shipping rates, analytics and custom domain use.