Want to see what separates high performing ecommerce stores from everyone else?
Great products? Clever ads? Awesome content?
Yes. And…
No.
If you guessed that their tech stack is another huge reason why, you’re exactly right.
As an ecommerce store owner yourself you know your products inside-out. But do you know how your tech stack impacts your rankings?
Most store owners don’t. They happily throw money into ads and marketing while their websites crawl along like steam engines from the 2010’s. And pay the price in lost revenue as a result.
Successful ecommerce SEO strategies start with the right tech stack.
Your tech stack has a massive impact on every element that goes into SEO success. Page speed? Check. Crawlability? You betcha. User experience? Of course! When you stack the tech deck in your favour, sales and rankings go up.
Ready to learn how?
Why Your Tech Stack Matters More Than You Think
Your tech stack is literally the foundation your ecommerce business is built on.
It doesn’t matter how good your products look or sound if your website doesn’t load quickly, doesn’t play nicely with search engines, or provide a great experience for shoppers.
There’s plenty of research that proves customers spend more on sites that are quick and easy to use. But did you know that Google has too?
Google ranks sites based on user experience. Core Web Vitals are a confirmed ranking factor. Which means how well your site stacks up from a technical perspective directly impacts how well you rank.
Upgrading your tech stack improves site speed, crawlability, user experience and more. Which means better rankings, more traffic and higher conversion rates.
Staring down in the mouth at conversions? Many ecommerce brands on Magento are turning to Hyva Themes for that SEO performance boost. Hyva Themes is a Magento frontend framework that’s lightning-fast out of the box, and working with an official Hyva Themes Agency partner is just one way ecommerce stores are improving website speed through technology.
Long story short? Your tech stack choices matter — a lot.
How Site Speed Impacts Rankings & Revenue
Page speed is everything.
Site speed affects your SEO rankings, user experience, and revenue. Those three things affect your business anywhere you go online. So if you’re not providing a fast site speed, you’re hurting yourself.
Let’s look at the numbers…
Cloudflare’s research shows how page speed impacts conversion rates on ecommerce websites. Sites that load in 1 second convert three times better than sites that take 5 seconds to load.
That’s huge. Just ONE second of load time can mean the difference between a few conversions, and your checkout page blowing up.
Google says that over half of mobile site visits are abandoned if pages take longer than 3 seconds to load. Mobile ecommerce traffic has surpassed desktop. Stop losing sales because of a slow website.
Every second your site takes to load is pushing customers straight into the arms of your competition.
Each second of delay can cost you up to a 7% decrease in conversions. Sure, that number might not sound like a lot. But for a solid performing ecommerce store, that could equal $1000’s in lost revenue per month.
See how page speed directly impacts tech stack decisions below.
The Role of Frontend Frameworks in SEO Performance
Fun fact: the frontend framework you use matters to Google.
It impacts how quickly your pages load, and how Google ranks you based on user experience.
Older frontend frameworks were bulky. Chock full of code that made pages heavy and slow to load. When pages load slowly, your Core Web Vitals scores suffer.
Google ranks sites based on Core Web Vitals. So if your site runs on a slow framework, you’re saying bye-bye to higher rankings.
New frontend frameworks are made with speed in mind. They’re lightweight and lean out needless code to improve page speed.
And page speed = better SEO performance.
Google rewards sites that provide value to users. And load quickly.
Better website speed = better user experience = better rankings.
Case in point: Google and NitroPack research looked into how page load time impacts conversions. Take a look:
Improving load times by ONE-tenth of ONE SECOND boosted conversions by up to 8.4%
Those aren’t small numbers. Pay attention to the technical aspects of your site. Your frontend framework can make or break your SEO performance.
4x Tech Stack Choices That Will Drive Ecommerce Growth
Okay, so you’re sold on making your tech stack a priority. But what can you do about it?
You can start by focusing on the stack choices that will make the biggest impact.
Here are four of them.
Pick An Easy-to-Use Ecommerce Platform
The platform you build your store on sets the stage for every tech related decision you make. You want an ecommerce platform that allows for:
- Clean URL structures
- Server response times under 200ms
- Flexible customisation options when needed
Pretty much every SEO and user experience related choice you make can be tied back to the platform you started with.
Invest In Solid Hosting Infrastructure
This one can’t be stressed enough.
Hosting doesn’t matter that much, right?
Wrong.
Hosting is everything. Slow site response times hurt your SEO, and your ability to rank well. Sticking with a cheap host may save you money now, but will cost you in lost revenue later.
Pay for premium hosting that offers:
- CDN integration
- Server-side caching
- Dedicated server resources
Every second counts when it comes to page speed. Good hosting can help you gain those few milliseconds you need to stay ahead of the competition.
Optimise Your Frontend Setup
If your frontend is heavy and bloated, it’s going to kill your site speed. New frontend frameworks are optimised to reduce JavaScript bloat. Giving your store a SEO leg-up.
Again, page speed improves your SEO game. When your pages load faster, you rank better and drive more traffic.
Prioritise Mobile Performance
Last but not least, make sure your site is properly optimised for mobile shoppers. Mobile traffic accounts for over two-thirds of all ecommerce sales. You don’t want to leave money on the table by providing a poor mobile experience.
Ensure your site:
- Uses responsive design
- Is compressing image sizes
- Limits render-blocking Javascript
Making your site mobile-friendly is easy. And better mobile performance = better mobile SEO = more conversions.
Bringing It All Together
Your tech stack has a direct impact on your ecommerce business’s bottom line.
Website speed, frontend choices, mobile responsiveness. Every decision you make when building and optimising your store matters.
Here’s your checklist:
- Your tech stack plays a big role in how Google ranks you.
- Site speed is crucial to your conversion rates.
- Frontend frameworks have a big impact on SEO performance.
- There are specific areas of your tech stack that you can improve to drive growth.
Businesses who take their tech stack seriously are leaving the competition in the dust. High performing ecommerce sites aren’t successful by chance.
They’re successful because they know that technology matters.
