{"id":133437,"date":"2023-08-10T11:41:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-10T16:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/?p=133437"},"modified":"2025-07-17T13:50:07","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T18:50:07","slug":"7-common-woocommerce-mistakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/case-studies\/7-common-woocommerce-mistakes\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Common WooCommerce Campaign Mistakes to Avoid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Most online stores rely on big promotions and sales, such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday<\/a>, for a significant portion of their annual revenue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this in mind, preparing for an eCommerce campaign is critical, and knowing what the most common pitfalls are can help give you a leg up against the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are seven traps eCommerce sites can fall into ahead of Black Friday (and beyond)\u2014read on so you’re not one of them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Not Preparing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is a popular saying that states, \u201cFailing to plan is planning to fail\u201d\u2014or something to that effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong, I can fully understand the urgency to hit targets and the motivation to launch a promotion with as little delay as possible. However, in doing so, you will be hampering your own efforts. Take a breath, work backward from your goal, and put a timeline in place to make sure that you’re ready to launch your campaign logistically, technically, and in terms of content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preparation can start with running your site through a speed test to identify areas of opportunity. A free speed test like Google\u2019s Page Speed Insights<\/a> can measure and report on Core Web Vitals for your eCommerce site.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Core Web Vitals<\/a> are critical to all web experiences and represent distinct facets of the user experience. These measurements are used by Google and play an important part in your site\u2019s ability to rank in Google Search which can have a huge impact on your bottom line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding your eCommerce site\u2019s user experience will provide clues as to where you should focus your energy before launching a big sale to ensure a great return on investment. Not only will you achieve a better ROI, you will also set yourself up to have a calmer, less stressful campaign launch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Faulty Resource Allocation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Allocating the right amount of resources to a campaign launch is integral to its success and part of the planning process. This goes for human resources as well as technical ones, though right now I am more likely to forgive the former than the latter. It\u2019s mind-boggling how often customers go to purchase a product during a big promotion only to find the site stalls during the payment step. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve already mentioned testing your page speed to ensure you have the best Core Web Vitals for ranking on Google. Another important step in gauging your site\u2019s ability to handle an influx of traffic is to load test it. A load test<\/strong> measures how your site performs when it has to load more resources and deal with heightened traffic. It basically simulates demand on a system with the purpose of determining how it will function during a spike in traffic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Load testing tools<\/a> can help you determine if you need extra server resources to meet the expected demand of your upcoming event or sale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another great tool to leverage is Google Analytics. Most sites use Google Analytics to report on real-time traffic as well as historical data. If your eCommerce site has experienced an annual sale or big event in the past, you can leverage these unique data insights. You\u2019ll be able to review traffic fluctuations down to the number of sessions and visitors during any given timeframe which will help you plan accordingly for the present year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don’t have these historical insights or don’t feel that it is an accurate representation of traffic and sales during a big event, verify that your Google Analytics<\/a> and Tag Manager<\/a> are set up correctly to track events and conversions. There are plenty of help documents and videos available to walk you through this verification process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. No Disaster Recovery Plan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most people like to focus on the positives, but if the worst happens, what is your plan B? It\u2019s scary to think, but the reality is that your site could buckle under the pressure due to a spike in traffic during your big event. In the event your server goes down, or if other unexpected issues arise, having backups will limit loss of data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We recommend having the best infrastructure possible so that a plan B is not necessary. In the event something does go awry, it\u2019s imperative to have recent backups, but having the backups isn\u2019t enough. You need to know how to restore a backup in the event the server goes down and be prepared to switch over to redundancy services as a last resort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check with your hosting provider to see if they offer routine backups. Some hosts perform daily backups on specific plans only or offer weekly backups instead. Other hosts may charge extra for backups or require an upgraded plan. Backups exist for all environments on WP Engine by default (Production, Staging, and Development). They are stored offsite and can be easily accessed<\/a> even if your site or server is down.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Going Cheap<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is tied to both a failure to plan and inadequate resources, but choosing the cheap route is also a failure point of its own. We know that every cent counts when it comes to running a business and it would seem like choosing a lower cost budget host is an easy way to save a few bucks. But choosing a lower-cost budget host may put your site at risk with \u201cnoisy neighbors\u201d or other sites on your shared server that hog valuable resources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This can place a limit on your site\u2019s ability to handle traffic spikes, process payments, or deliver search results for inquiring customers. Imagine your site having to compete for server resources with 100 other eCommerce stores each experiencing Black Friday traffic spikes\u2014even the best marketing in the world is not going to move your revenue needle if your site collapses when it is most needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s best to view your hosting provider as a partner in business that can support your business needs. Check with your host to see if they offer containerized solutions for your site. Containerized servers like those offered by WP Engine can shield your eCommerce site from having to fight for server resources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


Additionally, our eCommerce<\/a> plans include proprietary features like EverCache\u00ae for WooCommerce<\/a> and the Smart Scale add-on to provide extra resources that WooCommerce sites need to meet demand during planned big events or flash sales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a good hard look at what you are spending money on and where, and ask yourself how much is due to good research and planning ahead versus sunk costs, spreadsheet-thinking, or\u2014worst of all\u2014penny pinching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is nothing more expensive than a promotion that damages your brand and the trust your audience has in you, so spending a little extra for premium hosting may actually cost you less in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Launching Too Late<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If the first time your prospect hears about your deals is on launch weekend, then you’ve already tied one hand behind your back. Throughout the year, it may be helpful to pause and reflect on: <\/p>\n\n\n\n