Having a custom WooCommerce theme that suits your brand, is user-friendly, and not bulky is not a luxury but a necessity. A bulky WooCommerce theme will make your website’s user interface complicated and increase the loading time.
WooCommerce is an open-source platform, as we are well aware, and there are thousands of ways to customize your store. Custom WooCommerce theme development is one of the many customizations. Curating a theme from scratch is a rewarding experience, but it comes with its share of complications.
This is why websites/companies usually hire a third-party WooCommerce development service provider.
But what is the need for WooCommerce Theme Development?
In A Hurry? Here’s A Brief Summary…
- 88.5% customers leave the website because of non-responsive themes.
- 40% users abandon a website because of slow loading speed.
- It just takes 0.05 seconds for 94% of customers to form an initial impression based on your website design.
- Websites can experience a 7% drop in conversion rates for just a 1-second delay in the loading speed.
- 75% of customers judge the credibility of a website based on its design.
- 90% WooCommerce vulnerabilities can be related to plugins, but 6% of the vulnerabilities are related to themes.
- 40% of WooCommerce websites, if not updated in 6 months, make them vulnerable to security threats.
- For every $1 invested in a well-designed UX theme, you can expect a return of $100.
- 72% of customers will tell more than 5 websites about a good experience.
- 85% of users want companies to have a solid mobile website, which outperforms their desktop websites.
A responsive theme is crucial, why? Imagine your customer lands on the checkout page, and the finish line is in sight.
But wait a second!
The customer leaves the checkout page. A Clunky checkout experience is to blame. Having a responsive theme incorporated makes all the difference.
In This Blog, We Will Talk About…
- 5 Hidden Reasons For Low Conversion Rates
- Why Custom WooCommerce Themes Development Matters?
- How WP Swings Can Help?
(Jump to the section that interests you the most!)
In this article, we will discuss the hidden reasons that lead to low conversion rates, how custom WooCommerce theme development helps, and how WP Swings can make everything better…
5 Hidden Reasons For Low Conversion Rates
You created a website on WooCommerce; it’s a new venture, and you are excited. Your store is getting traffic, which means all marketing activities are paying off. The listed products are solid, and the pricing is competitive. In short, everything is perfect.
Yet conversions remain inconsistent.
Here’s the catch: Your theme is costing you sales. Not because generic themes are bad, but because those themes were built without considering the needs of your customers.
Generic WooCommerce theme development prioritizes aesthetics and usability. On the contrary, a high-converting WooCommerce store focuses on speed, intent, and a structured decision flow.
From slow webpages to cluttered checkout pages, from various plugin conflicts to misplaced CTA buttons (Call-To-Action), all the issues resulting in low conversion rates stem from one overlooked element: the THEME.
Here’s what you, as a WooCommerce store owner, may be missing, which is slowly decreasing your conversion rates.
1. Complicated Checkout Page
The checkout page is the final finish line. Here, the purchase either seals the deal or entirely abandons your website. The default checkout provided by WooCommerce is functional, but it is not suitable for conversions. What are the issues? A generic theme has too many fields, distracting layouts, no guest checkout option, and lacks multiple payment options.
A custom WooCommerce theme development allows store owners to –
- Simplify the checkout fields. Only ask for the necessary information from the customers.
- Allow guest checkout options, don’t force customers to create an account, and
- Include visual reassurance elements, like a one-page checkout.
You’ll be surprised to know that micro-friction in the checkout process compounds quickly.
2. Plugin Conflicts
If you are running a WooCommerce store, you must also have plugins installed in your store for its smooth operation. Plugins like wallet systems or loyalty programs. Generic themes often conflict with these extensions, resulting in broken layouts, confusing user experience, and inconsistent user interface. A custom WooCommerce theme development ensures plugins’ native designs are incorporated into the WooCommerce store.
3. Slow Load Times
Slow page loads are no longer a SEO factor; it is, in fact, a conversion factor. You’ll be surprised to know that many marketplace theme bundles provide unused and unoptimized scripts, heavy page builders, or generic sliders. Results? The load time of websites increases, and so does the TTFB (Time to First Byte). Even a one-second delay in loading speed can reduce the conversion rates by 7%. Custom WooCommerce theme development eliminates this issue from the root.
4. Generic Templates
Most of the templates available in the market prioritize aesthetics, not customers’ behavioural patterns. There is no strategic whitespace that allows customers to focus on your products, use overused template elements that customers often recognize, and trust signals (testimonials, guarantees, and security badges) are not placed correctly.
Custom WooCommerce theme development incorporates CRO (conversion rate optimization) principles from the beginning. This also solves the issue of redesigning your website later on, saving you money & efforts.
5. Poor Mobile Experience
85% of users want companies to have a solid mobile website, which outperforms their desktop websites. Many themes are responsive, but are not optimized for mobile. The common problems with these themes are the sticky elements that hover over the CTA buttons, which confuse customers; large images optimized for desktop, which slow mobile loading speed; and checkout friction on small screens.
Since most WooCommerce stores’ traffic is mobile-dominant, this can be a silent reason for a decrease in conversion rates. A custom WooCommerce theme development can be designed keeping a mobile-first approach in mind.
Why Custom WooCommerce Themes Development Matters?
Let us address the elephant in the room while asking you a simple question: Is Your Store Underperforming?
Your WooCommerce store can look good, and underperform at the same time. We have already addressed that the traffic is not the problem here; the foundation is to blame.
Pre-built themes are built for mass adoption. And your WooCommerce store deserves to be unique and have a structured design flow aligned with your products, customers, and the mission & vision of your brand.
Hiring the right WooCommerce development agency helps you; trust us, the benefits go beyond just the designs –
1. Strategizing Begins Before Designing
When you hire the right WooCommerce theme development agency, don’t just start with colours and fonts. They are responsible for mapping your conversion funnel, conducting in-depth research on your buyers’ intent, analyzing drop-off points (understanding the core reasons for your website’s abandonment rates), and curating layouts around your revenue goals.
Custom WooCommerce theme development ensures that WooCommerce stores are built around their business objectives, not a pre-built template designed solely for aesthetics.
2. Performance-First Layouts
Generic theme development often comes loaded with excess JavaScript and full CSS frameworks (even if store owners use only 30% of the theme, 100% is still loaded), which affects first contentful paint and slows down the store. To appeal for mass adoption, they bundle everything “just in case”, adding to unnecessary technical baggage.
A custom WooCommerce theme development creates layouts tailored to your website’s functionalities. Results? Faster loading times, higher conversion rates, and fewer cart abandonments.
3. Smooth Feature & Plugin Integrations
If you are a WooCommerce store owner, merely running your website without any third-party extensions is not possible. So if you run loyalty programs or allow custom checkout flows for your customers. Generic themes are not designed to run smoothly with such complex integrations.
Hiring an agency for WooCommerce theme development ensures no layout conflicts, seamless future compatibility, and consistency in user interfaces. You eliminate patchwork design fixes for the coming years.
4. Checkout Optimization
As we have already established, checkout is where most revenue leaks happen. The average online shopping cart abandonment rate is 70%, with 17% customers abandoning their carts due to long and complex checkouts.
Hiring an agency for custom WooCommerce theme development for checkouts can remove unnecessary information fields, add more trust elements, and design a checkout flow that is frictionless on mobile devices.
A custom checkout UX directly influences revenue flow.
5. Data-Driven Analysis
This is one of the many benefits of hiring an agency for custom WooCommerce theme development, and why it matters so much. An agency will not just create a custom WooCommerce theme and disappear. They will carefully study the conversion metrics, conduct various usability tests, and optimize regularly based on the results. Custom WooCommerce theme development is an evolving asset, not just a static theme.
How WP Swings Can Help?
WooCommerce development services and experts are a dime a dozen. But very few have the respectable credentials to back up their claims.
Partnering with WP Swings doesn’t just mean getting a custom WooCommerce theme; it means getting a design that is tailored to reflect your brand identity and delivers an exceptional shopping experience for your customers, an experience they deserve.
Our Custom WooCommerce theme development services include strategizing, designing responsive and user-friendly themes that sit well with your brand’s identity. The themes that we curate are fully compatible with WooCommerce and its extensions.
With WP Swings, WooCommerce store owners can enjoy a fast loading time and smooth navigation with no revenue leaks.
Discuss, Plan, Build – Create Custom WooCommerce Theme!
About the Author: Muskaan Sabarwal
