IBO Case Study How we sped up the hunting and gardening website for even greener numbers
The speed of a website is an important evaluative factor from an SEO perspective, as well as for the customer of an e-commerce site and their customer experience – CX. Long loading times and slow responses cause an increased bounce rate and consequently fewer conversions. According to statistics, as much as 83% of users expect a website to load in less than 3 seconds. So how to deal with slow loading? While in some cases advanced software optimization helps, in others it is necessary to take more decisive action and replace the server. The result is then a more responsive website, where a visitor spends more time, which is not only a positive signal for SEO but also a greater likelihood of making a purchase. The same is true for our client IBO.
Project scope
The goal of the collaboration was to speed up the website and at the same time solve the situation with the insufficient disk capacity of the previous server solution. Given the deteriorating technical condition of the disks, the increasing number of products, and the gradually growing website traffic, we provided the client with comprehensive speed optimization including the replacement of a new server.
Faster page loading by a quarter
When comparing the period before the launch of the new server and after the launch, we already noticed a nearly 25% faster average page loading time within a month. Considering that the main season for the e-shop started in March, the increasing number of visits to the website also speaks in favor of the acceleration in line with the greater influx.
website speed
1,84 s
Decrease in page abandonment rate
In the same observed period (before the launch of the new server and after the launch), we recorded on average a lower bounce rate, which is a usual consequence of faster page loading.
bounce rate
- 10 %
Improvement of the conversion ratio
Accelerating the website by changing the server and at the same time automation using artificial intelligence contributes to an increased conversion rate and click-through rate from three specific places where we deployed AI in the form of a recommendation system. From the product page, shopping cart, and pop-up window.
CR basket
9,97 %
CR pop-up window
14,31 %
Key Milestones of Cooperation
Thanks to DevOps, we identified the first issues through monitoring.
In addition to active custom development, we provide our clients with a complete ecosystem called DevOps. Thanks to this sophisticated management of development and operations, we continuously monitor the website's status. This is independent of whether it is our own BUXUS editorial system or another system (WordPress, etc.). As the number of sales commodities and the demand from visitors increased over the years for IBO, the first signal was issues with the disks within the current solution.
Optimal solution in the form of server replacement
Before deciding to replace the server, we considered other, less invasive options. Examples include software interventions, such as database optimization, various backend processes, and the like. However, time was also a deciding factor, as the client had been using the previous server for approximately 5 years. For this reason, we concluded that replacing the server with a new one would be the most suitable option, which is also an investment in the future.
Launching the website on a new server
As part of the preparation, we gathered all the necessary data and key connections (accounting system, etc.) and secured the selected solution so that we could carry out the server replacement in early March 2024 without any problems and significant disruptions to the website's operation. Although the usual solution is to perform the replacement in the shortest possible time frame so that the client does not have to bear the costs of two servers at the same time, in the case of IBO, we temporarily kept the old solution functional. The reason was to capture the still ongoing visits from associated domains, which we then gradually redirected to the new server.
Summary through the eyes of ui42 – not a step without DevOps
The exchange of a server is not a step that websites and e-shops should fear. The first signals that suggest the need to examine the suitability of a server or to solve the acceleration of a website, for example by optimizing software elements, are the running out of disk capacity and slow page loading. Even in the case of connections to various external systems or the existence of multiple domains, it is possible to manage the entire process within one month and even without disrupting the operation of the website. The result is a faster website from the first click, where users spend more time and the associated increased conversion rate.
How does IBO evaluate our cooperation?
ui42 is our reliable partner, with whom we always solve all deficiencies and problems. It was the same with the server exchange, when we could fully rely on ui42, both with the selection of a new server and with the migration of all our e-shops to the new server.
Contact us
Do you want to speed up your website?
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Boris Henezi
Sales Executive