Introduction
Online holiday shopping is set to break records again this year. Salesforce predicts that Black Friday will be the biggest day for digital, with 72% of shoppers preferring to shop online, while only 31% still enjoy heading to the store on Black Friday¹. During Connections 2024, Salesforce also anticipated that shoppers will ignore most October and early November deals, assuming that the best prices will come during the Cyber Five.
As those critical days approach, it’s time to fire up your eCommerce site to handle the increased traffic. Just like prepping a holiday feast, these ten sizzlin’ fixes will turn up the heat on your site speed before the holiday rush.
Quick Fixes to Enhance Site Speed and Improve Conversions
- Optimize Images
Compress images using tools like TinyPNG or ImageOptim to reduce file size without losing quality. - Enable Browser Caching
Anticipate the user’s next likely actions and prefetch those pages to enhance loading speed, especially for frequently accessed pages. Caching the shopping cart, often one of the slowest pages, can significantly reduce frustration and minimize cart abandonment. - Minimize HTTP Requests
Consolidate files and reduce the number of requests needed to load your page. - Optimize CSS Delivery
Minify and combine CSS files to reduce file sizes and the number of requests. - Reduce Redirects
Minimize the use of redirects, which can increase load times by requiring additional HTTP requests. - Remove Render-Blocking JavaScript
Optimize the loading of JavaScript files to prevent them from blocking the rendering of your page content. - Use Asynchronous Loading for CSS and JavaScript
Implement asynchronous loading to improve page rendering speed. - Monitor Site Speed and Performance
Use tools like Yottaa Insights to regularly check and improve your site’s performance.
Conclusion
With the Cyber Five fast approaching, it’s time to turn up the heat and get your site ready for the holiday rush. Implementing these eight sizzlin’ fixes will significantly enhance your site speed, providing a better user experience and maximizing your sales potential. Yottaa offers comprehensive solutions to monitor, analyze, and optimize your site’s performance. Act now to ensure your site is ready to handle the surge in online shopping.
¹ https://www.salesforce.com/blog/holiday-shopping-predictions/
