We all know that customer expectations on the digital marketplace are soaring and demanding exceptional online experiences that convert visitors into loyal customers. As an e-commerce business owner, you face the constant challenge of delivering a high-performing website that not only meets these expectations but also drives revenue growth. However, optimizing your Drupal-BigCommerce website for peak performance requires effort, investment, and time. It involves delving into various technical aspects such as site speed optimization and database management. These tasks demand expertise and meticulous attention to detail.
How Drupal and BigCommerce Opretae together for Great Commerce Experience?
Drupal and BigCommerce are like a synchronized team of explorers, embarking on a thrilling expedition to uncover new frontiers in the world of e-commerce.
Drupal as the seasoned explorer, equipped with a vast knowledge of diverse terrains provides a robust content management system and a flexible platform that allows you to navigate and adapt to the ever-changing digital landscape. BigCommerce is the adventurous trailblazer, armed with cutting-edge tools and scalable infrastructure for e-commerce. Drupal serves as the content management system and provides a flexible platform for creating and managing content. It allows for customization, content organization, and user management. BigCommerce, on the other hand, handles the e-commerce aspects such as product listings, inventory management, order processing, and secure transactions.
The integration between Drupal and BigCommerce enables businesses to leverage the strengths of both platforms, combining powerful content management capabilities with robust e-commerce functionalities to deliver a comprehensive and user-friendly online shopping experience.
Related: 7 Ecommerce Trends to Focus on in 2023
What Type of Businesses Thrive with Drupal and BigCommerce?
Drupal-BigCommerce is an ideal choice for various businesses, ranging from small startups to enterprise-level ventures. Its flexibility and scalability make it suitable for industries such as retail, fashion, electronics, and more, but it presents its unique challenges as well, when you aim for high performance.
Drupal-BigCommerce empowers you to create personalized shopping experiences, manage extensive product catalogues, and streamline order fulfilment, catering to the unique needs of your business. While platforms like WooCommerce and Shopify offer their own advantages, Drupal-BigCommerce stands out in allowing for customizations and seamless commerce and content integrations. All tailored to specific business requirements. Combined with the robust features and scalability of BigCommerce, Drupal provides a powerful, enterprise-grade solution that can handle the demands of growing businesses.
Website owners often grapple with optimizing performance, improving conversions, and maximising their online visibility. The complex integration of these two platforms requires a deep understanding of both Drupal and BigCommerce, as well as expertise in leveraging their capabilities to deliver seamless user experiences and achieve business success.
Related: Which E-Commerce Platform to Choose for B2C & B2B Transactions? – Expert Guide
How to Improve the Performance of a Drupal BigCommerce Site?
If your online store is built on the Drupal and integrates BigCommerce, there are several optimization techniques – some of them very obvious, some not that much – you can implement to improve its performance and increase your ROI.
Enable Caching for Lightning-Fast Page Load Times
One of the first steps towards improving your website’s performance is enabling caching. Drupal offers built-in caching mechanisms that, when properly configured, can significantly reduce page load times and enhance user experience. Utilize modules like “Boost” or “Varnish” to implement page caching and alleviate the load on your server. With faster page load times, you can capture visitors’ attention, reduce bounce rates, and increase conversions.
Related: How to Tune Your Website to Increase Relevant Traffic
Optimize Drupal and BigCommerce Configurations
Review and fine-tune your Drupal and BigCommerce configurations to ensure optimal performance. Disable unnecessary modules or features that are not actively used to reduce server overhead. Fine-tune your BigCommerce store settings, especially those related to caching and product images. By optimizing these configurations, you can create a seamless browsing experience for your customers, leading to improved conversions and higher online visibility.
Fix Redirects for a Smooth Customer Journey
As your BigCommerce store evolves over time, content architecture changes such as creating new categories and sub-categories for your products might accumulate and get cinfusing. While these developments are natural, they can sometimes result in unclear paths as certain products and sub-categories may still be linked to older categories. The good news is that BigCommerce offers a solution by automatically redirecting users. However, if category names have been changed multiple times, a trail of redirects may accumulate, leading to slower load times on your online store. To avoid this, your developer needs to review all the site’s redirect pages and perform necessary cleanups.
Use Content Delivery Networks
Implementing a CDN improves website performance and online visibility. CDNs help distribute your static content, such as images, CSS, and JavaScript files, across multiple servers globally. By delivering content from servers closest to your users, CDNs reduce latency and ensure faster page load times, thereby improving conversions and enhancing your website’s visibility in search engine rankings.
Server Optimization for Uninterrupted Performance
Ensure your server is properly optimized to handle the demands of your Drupal-BigCommerce website. Consider utilizing a dedicated server or a Virtual Private Server (VPS) to have more control over the server environment. Fine-tune server settings such as PHP configuration, database configuration, and web server settings (e.g., Apache or Nginx) to match your website’s requirements. A well-optimized server guarantees reliable performance, higher online visibility, and increased conversions.
Image Optimization for Enhanced User Experience
Large image files can slow down page load times, resulting in frustrated visitors and lower conversions. Use image optimization techniques, such as compression and resizing, to reduce file sizes without compromising quality. Drupal modules like “ImageAPI Optimize” or “ImageMagick” can automate this process, ensuring your product images are visually appealing while maintaining optimal website performance.
Minify and Combine Files to Reduce HTTP Requests
Minifying and combining your CSS and JavaScript files can have a significant impact on website performance. By reducing the number of HTTP requests and file sizes, you can achieve faster page load times. Drupal modules like “AdvAgg” or “Asset Injector” can help with this task by compressing and aggregating files.
Database Optimization for Efficient Performance
Optimize your Drupal and BigCommerce databases to maintain efficient website performance. Regularly perform maintenance tasks, such as cleaning up unused data and optimizing database tables. Identify and optimize slow-performing queries within custom modules to ensure smooth operation and faster response times.
Monitor Performance, Track Conversions
Implement monitoring tools to measure your website’s performance and track conversions. Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, Pingdom, or New Relic provide valuable insights into your website’s speed and user experience. By continuously monitoring performance, you can identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions to optimize conversions, increase online visibility, and boost your bottom line.
Invest in Professional Help
As a good leader of your business it’s important to recognize that tackling these optimization challenges becomes even more daunting without the proper developer resources. Hiring a professional Drupal developer who is experienced in working with BigCommerce can make a significant difference. Remember that your website’s performance directly impacts your bottom line. Look for developers who have a deep understanding of both platforms, possess a track record of successful projects, and stay up-to-date with the latest optimization techniques. Their expertise can help you achieve your ARR growth goals with a positive ROI.
Contact DrDesign Drupal BigCommerce Developers to evaluate if your e-commerce site is aligned with your business operations and goals.