We are halfway through 2022, and if you have not looked at your website since January, now is the time. For San Antonio retailers…boutiques, gift shops, specialty stores…your website is either working for you or it is not. A mid-year audit helps you figure out which one it is and fix problems before the critical holiday shopping season. For a broader view of retail optimization, see our Google Business Profile mid-year audit guide and year-end website optimization for retail.
Check Your Website Speed
Pull up Google PageSpeed Insights and type in your URL. You will get separate scores for mobile and desktop. If either score is below 50, you have a serious problem. Below 70 means there is room for improvement.
The most common speed killers for retail websites:
- Oversized product images. That 4000x3000 pixel photo of a handbag does not need to be that big on a web page. Compress your images using a tool like TinyPNG.
- Too many apps or plugins. Every Shopify app or WordPress plugin adds code that slows your site. Remove anything you are not actively using.
- Cheap hosting. If you are on a shared hosting plan that costs $5/month, your site is sharing server resources with hundreds of other sites. Consider upgrading.
Every second of load time costs you sales. Amazon found that every 100ms of latency cost them 1% in sales. Your numbers may vary, but the principle is the same. For a complete audit of your online presence, our Google Business Profile mid-year review for retailers covers the search side. When Q4 arrives, our customer retention strategies for the holiday rush and year-end retail website planning guide will help you turn this mid-year work into holiday revenue.
Review Your Product Pages
Click through your top-selling product pages as if you were a first-time visitor. Ask yourself:
- Are the photos high-quality and showing multiple angles?
- Is the description helpful and specific, not just copied from the manufacturer?
- Is the price clearly displayed?
- Is the “Add to Cart” button easy to find?
- Are there customer reviews on the page?
If any answer is no, fix it. Product pages are where buying decisions happen. Everything on your site funnels toward those pages.
Test Your Checkout Process
Abandoned carts are the silent killer of online retail. The average cart abandonment rate is nearly 70%. Test your own checkout by placing a test order:
- How many steps does it take to complete a purchase?
- Do you require account creation? (Do not.)
- Are shipping costs clear before the final step?
- Do you offer multiple payment options…credit card, PayPal, Apple Pay?
- Does the checkout work smoothly on a phone?
Every extra step and every surprise fee costs you completed orders. Simplify ruthlessly.
Update Your Local Content
If your website mentions “holiday hours” from last December or a promotion that ended in March, it looks abandoned. Update every page to reflect current information:
- Current store hours (including summer hours if applicable)
- Current promotions
- Updated “About” page with any new team members or milestones
- Blog content from the past few months (or start a blog if you do not have one)
For San Antonio retailers, make sure your site mentions your location, neighborhood, and service area. “Located in the heart of Southtown, San Antonio” helps with local SEO and helps customers find you.
Prepare for Q4 Now
The holiday shopping season will be here before you know it. The website improvements you make in July and August give Google time to index your changes and give you time to test everything before the rush.
Do not wait until November to fix a broken checkout process. Do it now.
For free website audit checklists and retail marketing guides, visit https://gift.growmysmallbusiness.com/.