How to Scale WooCommerce Store in 2024 – Easy Methods

Building your WooCommerce store and growing your customer base is surely very rewarding. But what if you don’t scale your store during high-traffic periods? Your story may crash, driving all the coming visitors away.

So, prepare your WooCommerce store for sudden traffic surges, especially during viral promotions, marketing campaigns, or special events, to avoid losing customers and revenue. Also, it’d help you save your store’s reputation.

Thankfully, platforms like Cloudways Autonomous handle this job of scaling for you, and that too without any manual intervention, but more on that later.

This blog is all about learning what scaling WooCommerce means and offers practical strategies to help your store manage high traffic.

What Is WooCommerce Scalability?

WooCommerce scalability refers to the platform’s ability to grow and handle traffic surges without affecting performance or user experience. This means your store should be able to manage an increasing number of products, visitors, and transactions smoothly.

Akamai reports that a 100-millisecond delay in page load time can reduce conversions by up to 7%, which is not something a store owner can afford.

There are two types of scaling for your WooCommerce store:

• Horizontal Scaling: Adding more servers to your infrastructure.
• Vertical Scaling: Increasing the resources of your existing server.

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How Scalable Is WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is highly scalable and capable of handling unlimited product and transaction capacity. While factors such as server power and installed plugins affect performance, WooCommerce itself is built with performance and growth in mind, allowing stores to manage millions of visitors with a variety of product offerings.

What would be the point if high traffic volumes caused your store to crash? Take ClickBank, one of the top 100 online retailers with over 200 million customers; it uses WooCommerce to power its marketplace and handles a large user base and complex e-commerce transactions. This proves Woo’s capability to handle high traffic when using the right scaling methods.

However, achieving this level of scalability requires a reliable hosting provider. Cloudways Autonomous is one option that offers features specifically designed for high-performance WooCommerce stores. Interested in learning more about Autonomous? Click here.

How to Scale Your WooCommerce Store (Easy Methods)

Scaling WooCommerce can feel overwhelming without a clear plan and the right tools. Here are some of the best practices to help you scale your WooCommerce store with ease:

1. Choose a Scalable WooCommerce Hosting Provider

You need a scalable hosting solution for your Woo store that automatically scales up during traffic spikes without slowing down or crashing. With automatic scaling, your store remains fast and stable, avoiding downtime and lost sales without needing manual server upgrades.

Always opt for a scalable hosting solution that offers automatic scaling coupled with high uptime, security, and speed.

Key Considerations for Choosing a Hosting Provider:

1. Scalability: The hosting service should adapt to your business growth, adding resources as needed.
2. Performance Features: Look for built-in caching and staging environments for a fast, error-free storefront.
3. Security: Features like SSL certificates, backups, and DDoS protection should be included for ultimate peace of mind.
4. Support: Reliable technical support, so you’re never left hanging in case of an issue.
5. Value Over Cost: Prioritize features and reliability over rock-bottom prices.

Cloudways Autonomous meets all these criteria and more, offering automatic resource management and high availability. Powered by Kubernetes, it scales up during traffic spikes and down during quieter periods, assuring faster loading times and a reliable shopping experience as your WooCommerce store grows.

2. Update WordPress Core, Plugins, and Themes

It’s a rule of thumb to regularly update your WordPress core, themes, and plugins for your site’s optimal health and performance. WooCommerce constantly evolves, so outdated software can cause compatibility issues, leading to an underperforming website.

Also, keeping your site updated involves decluttering, and unnecessary plugins, heavy images, and bloated code can all slow down your site. The best practice is to regularly audit your plugins and remove any inactive or unimportant ones.

Other than plugins and themes, optimize the media on your site as well. Sure, images are essential for showcasing your products, but large files can be a performance nightmare. Image optimization tools or plugins that compress images without compromising quality can really help.

Choosing the Right Plugins

Choosing the right plugins is also crucial because they can both help with scalability and hinder it. Plugins can add important features like payment gateways, SEO tools, and inventory management, making your store more capable of handling increased traffic and sales. Some plugins can even boost site performance.

However, plugin bloat—caused by adding too many plugins—can slow down your site. Each plugin adds code and processes that consume server resources, potentially degrading performance. Compatibility issues between plugins from different developers can also cause crashes or slowdowns.

When selecting plugins, check reviews and ratings, and test their performance. It’s best to take a minimalist approach, installing only the essential plugins for your store’s functionality.

Also, choose a host that integrates well with your chosen plugins. Cloudways Autonomous, for example, integrates with performance-boosting plugins like Redis OCP. By caching frequently accessed data, Redis reduces the load on your primary database, improving overall site performance.

3. Use Content Delivery Network (CDN) for Global Reach

If your store has a global presence, you must optimize your server resources for fast load times and reliable performance. And to serve cached content efficiently from multiple global locations, use a Content Delivery Network (CDN).

CDNs distribute all your site’s content (like images and videos) across servers worldwide. This reduces the load on your main servers, and content is delivered from the closest location to each visitor, resulting in faster loading times for everyone.

While WooCommerce itself doesn’t offer a built-in CDN, you can manually integrate it on your site or use a plugin. But if you are a Cloudways user, we offer built-in Cloudflare Enterprise (free for Autonomous users), which instantly reduces your website load times by 70% with Edge Page Caching.

4. Clean Up Your Site Code

Adding features can improve your website, but overloading it with too many can slow it down. Focus on the essentials—features that directly benefit your users—and regularly evaluate and remove anything unnecessary. This will help your site run more efficiently.

You can optimize your store’s codebase by:

• Reducing HTTP requests
• Reducing database queries
• Caching static resources
• Eliminating unused code
• Reducing file size

5. Use Caching Strategies

Caching is a powerful tool that stores temporary copies of your website’s content, allowing your server to deliver pages much faster to returning visitors. It also reduces server strain, particularly during traffic spikes.

However, caching must be set up carefully. Dynamic pages like the Cart, My Account, and Checkout shouldn’t be cached, as they contain user-specific information. Instead, focus on caching static content such as your About Us, FAQ, and Contact pages, as well as product and category listings. Enabling object caching also helps optimize database performance.

You don’t need advanced technical knowledge to implement caching effectively. Popular plugins like Breeze and W3 Total Cache offer user-friendly interfaces for configuring caching settings. They allow you to easily exclude dynamic pages while enabling caching for the rest of your site, ensuring a fast and smooth shopping experience for your customers.

6. Don’t Forget Front-End Optimization

Front-end optimization helps optimize load times and creates a smoother visitor experience. By fine-tuning images, scripts, and other elements, your Woo store performs well, even during high traffic. Here’s how:

i) Lazy Loading

Lazy loading holds off on loading images and other media until you’re about to see them on the page. This cuts down on loading times and saves data.

ii) Minify CSS and JavaScript

Minifying CSS and JavaScript means trimming down the code without breaking anything. It’s like removing unnecessary words from a sentence without changing the meaning. This reduces file sizes, leading to quicker load times.

iii) Server-level Optimization

Finally, server-level optimization involves making improvements directly on the server that hosts your website. Upgrading to faster hardware, opting for SSDs over traditional hard drives, and fine-tuning server configurations can all enhance performance. For those using managed hosting services like Cloudways, these optimizations are taken care of, ensuring your WooCommerce store runs efficiently even during high-traffic times.

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How to Automate WooCommerce Scaling with Autonomous

Cloudways Autonomous is a managed hosting solution specifically designed for high-traffic websites and the unpredictable demands of WooCommerce stores. It simplifies scaling by offering true autoscaling and a high-availability infrastructure built on Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE). Autonomous is equipped to handle any number of simultaneous users without sacrificing speed.

How Autonomous gives you WooCommerce scalability:

• High availability: Downtime can seriously impact your business. That’s why Autonomous focuses on redundancy and failover mechanisms. If any server issues arise, your store automatically switches to a healthy backup server, keeping your website online and accessible to customers nearly all the time.
• Automatic scaling: Thanks to Kubernetes, Cloudways Autonomous automatically allocates resources like processing power and storage. When traffic spikes, your store expands to accommodate the increased load, providing a smooth and fast experience for your customers. Once traffic subsides, it scales back down, helping you save on unnecessary costs.
• Unlimited PHP workers: They handle multiple customer requests simultaneously, preventing slowdowns during traffic spikes. This translates to better performance under load and the flexibility to handle growth, all without constant plan adjustments.
• Cloudflare Enterprise: With Cloudflare’s edge caching and global CDN, your website delivers content quickly, no matter where your visitors are located. This also adds an additional layer of security to protect your site.
  

What to Do After Scaling WooCommerce?

After scaling your WooCommerce store, you must check if it can handle the increased traffic effectively. So, you must strengthen performance and security to capitalize on your growth while protecting your business’s integrity. Here’s what to focus on next:

1) Focus on Performance

With increased traffic comes greater responsibility. Walmart reported in 2012 that even a 1-second improvement in page load time led to a 2% increase in conversions. Fast forward to 2024, and with online shopping being the norm globally, performance optimization is more critical than ever. Keep these points in mind:

Test Your Store’s Performance: Regular performance tests with tools like Google PageSpeed Insights are super important for identifying and fixing issues before they impact customers. Focus on metrics like speed, Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), and interactivity delays. Understanding and optimizing your performance sets a solid foundation for a scalable WooCommerce store that can thrive under pressure.

Choose a Performance-Focused Theme: Select themes that are recognized for their fast loading times and responsive design. Look for options with positive user reviews. Popular choices like Astra (which is customizable and performance-oriented) and Divi (offering flexibility with a drag-and-drop builder) can be excellent starting points.

2) Take Security Measures When Scaling WooCommerce

As your WooCommerce scales and attracts attention, taking security seriously is super important. According to WooCommerce, hacks can impact your site’s ranking in search engines. Plus, security breaches can also significantly impact customer trust.

A website aiming to handle increased traffic cannot afford to crash servers and slow down. So, here are some security measures to keep in mind:

SSL: To protect sensitive customer data like credit card details or login credentials, you need an SSL certificate (Secure Sockets Layer). It helps you by encrypting the data, making it difficult for hackers to intercept anything.

WAF: If you had a store somewhere down the street, you would make sure to keep a security guard, right? Your WooCommerce store needs the same and a Web Application Firewall (WAF) does just that. It keeps an eye on incoming traffic and filters out any malicious attempts like SQL injections or hacker bots.

Malware scanning: Malware scanning is a proactive security approach that can significantly reduce the chances of data breaches, protecting your customers’ information. Malware scans identify and automatically remove any malicious software that might have gotten to your website. Its a great idea to schedule automated scans and perform manual checks every now and then as well.

3) Don’t Forget UX

Who wouldn’t want their customers coming back for more? As you scale, you need to keep user experience in mind. Here are three key areas to prioritize:

Navigation: Kissmetrics reported that 44% of online shoppers will tell their friends about a bad experience online. So, make sure your website navigation is clear and easy to use. Customers should be able to find the products they’re looking for quickly and effortlessly.

Payment Gateways: Offer a variety of trusted payment gateways to cater to your customers’ preferences. Integrate secure and familiar gateways like PayPal, Stripe, or popular local processors to build trust and minimize friction during checkout.

Checkout Process: You’re so close to making a sale so make the final step to purchase as fast and painless as possible. Firstly, reduce the number of steps needed from the customer. Secondly, do offer guest checkout options. According to a Baymard Institute study, 26% of users abandon their shopping cart because the site required them to create an account. Also, make sure the instructions are easy to follow and clear.

4) Craft High-Quality Product Pages and Descriptions

I am sure you don’t want a salesman in a store boring you with irrelevant product details or wasting your time with fluff. So, don’t underestimate the role of product pages, basically your salesmen, on your WooCommerce store.

Clear descriptions with features and benefits increase conversions and even if a customer doesn’t buy immediately, a well-informed customer is more likely to return. Plus, search engines love informative content. Product pages rich in relevant keywords can improve your store’s ranking, attracting organic traffic.

Remember, people buy solutions, not specifications. Here are some tips:

1. Focus on benefits that matter to the customer. Instead of just stating “machine washable,” explain how it saves time and effort on laundry day.
2. Include customer reviews and social proof to build trust.
3. You don’t want to use technical jargon in the copy to make it as clear as possible.
4. Use visual aids, like images and videos of the products to further optimize your store and improve user experience.

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Final Thoughts

What’s cool about having a WooCommerce store is its potential to grow exponentially. But growth, i.e., a large number of visitors simultaneously or a sudden increase in traffic on your dream sale, can quickly turn into a disaster if your hosting doesn’t support you. This is why scalable Woo hosting is the need of now.

With a solution like Cloudways Autonomous, you don’t only get hosting with basic benefits, but a fully managed scalable hosting solution for WooCommerce scalability. You can focus on growing your business without worrying about infrastructure limitations. It’s the perfect recipe for a scalable and successful future.