What are Monitoring Tools
Monitoring tools are used to continuously keep track of the status of the system in use, in order to have the earliest warning of failures, defects or problems and to improve them. There are monitoring tools for servers, networks, databases, security, performance, website and internet usage, and applications.
I used to work in a call centre and occasionally I would be asked to monitor website chats. It was both incredibly boring and strangely exciting at the same time! If you don’t work in a call centre, or don’t know what I’m talking about, then you probably need an Ecommerce monitoring tool. These little gems can provide peace of mind to website owners who are often without. They may even be able to stop you from pulling your hair out (although mine is so crazy and curly that it probably doesn’t get pulled out that often).
Ecommerce monitoring tools are an extremely useful tool every store owner should have. If you’re not using them, then you’re missing out on critical performance data about your store. Monitoring your ecommerce store has multiple applications for ensuring success. You can get data about: page views, product views, conversion rates, average order value and more sales information.
What are eCommerce Monitoring Tools?
Ecommerce monitoring services give you tangible data about your website’s performance. They continuously keep track of your site’s status, flag potential failures, defects, or problems, and present solutions to pressing issues like speed, usability, and page bloat.
Knowing what to measure is half the battle because you don’t want constant notifications about the small stuff. There are hundreds of tools out there, which is why you should think carefully about what KPIs matter the most.
While every eCommerce website is different, here are some areas you should consider monitoring:
- Loading speed
- Usability
- Page bloat
- Website traffic
- Bounce rate
- Conversion rate
- Shopping cart abandonment
- Social media shares
Why are E-commerce Monitoring Tools so Important?
Meeting your goals can’t be left to guesswork or gut feelings. Instead, take a data-driven approach with tried and tested results.
Monitoring tools highlight actual problems and give insight into how to improve your website’s overall performance. You’re no longer stumbling around in the dark, wondering “why?”. You get to the heart of issues quickly, saving all-important time and resources in the process.
To summarise, the benefits of eCommerce monitoring tools include:
- Accurate indicators of website performance
- Immediate notification and solutions of problems like downtime
- Real-time reports on website visitors, conversions, and more
- Easy-to-implement strategies on how to improve speed, traffic, and more
- Effortless to set up and cost-effective
5 eCommerce Monitoring Tools to Revolutionise Your eCommerce Site
As mentioned, choosing the most effective eCommerce monitoring tools saves plenty of fuss. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Instead, focus on:
- Page Load Speed Alerts
- Page Bloat
- User Journey Mapping
- Ecommerce Audits
- Google Analytics
1 – Page Load Speed Alerts
When it comes to eCommerce, speed matters. According to the latest research, 40% of people abandon a website that takes more than three seconds to load. Similarly, Google found that 53% of mobile visitors leave a webpage that doesn’t load within three seconds.
Slow websites leak sales and traffic. One worrying report even estimated that UK businesses lose roughly $80 billion in unrealised sales every year due to clunky websites. Plus, they frustrate potential customers and paint your brand as being unreliable.
Thankfully, speed alerts identify problem pages that slow your website down, so you can remedy them. Key culprits often include large amounts of text, redirected links, and unoptimised images.
2 – Page Bloat
Page bloat is precisely what it sounds like – websites stuffed with videos, large images, and broken code. Pages get bigger and bigger until they’re no longer usable or loadable, leading to crashes and a ballooning bounce rate (the percentage of visitors who navigate away from a website after viewing only one page).
Ecommerce monitoring tools manage page bloat by checking third-party JavaScript speed and optimising visuals. Ultimately, they put your website on a digital diet to reduce the overall size while retaining necessary content.
3 – User Journey Mapping
Your website has one goal – to drive visitors towards purchasing a product or service. However, it’s easier said than done.
If you’re losing sales and don’t know why it could be down to your user journey. Broken hyperlinks, unclear CTAs, illegible fonts, and unintuitive navigation can funnel customers away from the checkout, leading to a devastating loss in revenue.
Arguably, user journey mapping is one of the most vital tools on our list. It’s a visual representation of the customer experience, showing businesses how their website looks and performs from a third-party viewpoint. Most importantly, it reveals where your website’s not meeting customer needs and provides solutions.
4 – eCommerce Audits
Regular eCommerce audits are tools for success. They monitor crucial areas of your business, including SEO (search engine optimisation), UX (user experience), and CRO (conversion rate optimisation), and offer a blueprint for optimising your digital offerings moving forward.
Extensive reviews pinpoint breaks in your sales funnel so you can fix them, ultimately leading to more conversions. Additionally, they highlight technical issues that put off potential customers.
While you can undertake audits in-house, third-party assessments are most effective. Experts with in-depth technical knowledge provide immeasurable value because they aren’t blinded by proximity, meaning they can see problems you can’t.
5 – Google Analytics
Google Analytics (GA) is a free tool any business can use to collect data about their website’s performance. It makes it easy to understand how users engage with content, and measures points of sale and other touchpoints for a more complete view.
While GA is helpful, it’s what you do with the data afterward that makes a difference. If you’re unsure how to turn numbers into tangible results, an expert eCommerce agency can help.
We work with our clients to create amazing websites with Magento. Our team are experts in creating eCommerce stores that convert visitors into customers using insightful design and powerful development.
Our services don’t stop there, once you’re up and online we can help keep things secure, develop new ideas, functionality and keep your conversions soaring.
Design & UX
First impressions are everything, so getting the look, feel and overall experience right plays a huge part in conversion.
First impressions count, so nailing the tone and feel of a website ensures the customer has the right experience making them more likely to buy.
- Discovery and User Research
- Wireframing & Prototyping
- User Experience & Interface Design
- QA Testing
eCommerce Development
Our developers hold certifications across a number of eCommerce platforms helping to code and build conversion focused eCommerce experiences
Magento & Aero eCommerce websites designed & built for your customers to exceed your brief and grow your online business.
- Magento 1 to Magento 2 Migrations
- Replatforming to Magento, Aero, Shopify
- Custom Web Development
- 3rd Party Integrations
- Auditing
- Internationalisation
- Security Patching & Updates
Maintain & Optimise
We work in partnership with our clients working not just on a project basis but long term as an extension of their business.
Need to keep your site up to date, implement new features and protect against attacks? Our team are here to help you.
- Retainers
- Training
- Consultancy
- Security
eCommerce Strategy
If you’re taking a journey you need plan to get there! We work alongside our clients to help identify strategies and process where we can help to grow your online business.
We pride ourselves in delivering websites that uphold the Magento high standards. Our internal processes make the whole website design and build process straightforward and enjoyable. We will firstly sit down with you to get to know your business. Doing this allows us to make an accurate technical specification proposal that covers all functionality that you’d expect to see and more often than not, extra functionality that you may not have even considered.
- User Experience
- Reporting & Analytics
- A/B Split Testing
- Growth Plans
Digital Marketing
Building and launching a website designed to convert is only one part of the puzzle. Attracting new visitors and shouting about your brand is essential.
We can boost your online presence helping you to capture more customers through SEO and Pay Per Click management.
- SEO/SEM
- Pay Per Click
- Remarketing
- Shopping Feed Campaigns
- Conversion Rate Optimisation
Magento 1 Migrations
Magento 1 is now unsupported meaning there will be no more support from Adobe and no more security updates. Magento 2 will not only continue to receive ongoing patches and enhancements but it will improve your sites performance whilst helping to improve the customer experience especially when checking out.
Magento 2 has all the third-party modules Magento 1 had and more allowing you to take your online store to the next level.
CONCLUSION
If you own an ecommerce store, then you know that the most difficult thing is to keep on top of everything that is happening in your store. There are so many different things that need to be done and you cannot even come close to doing them all by yourself. That is where third-party ecommerce monitoring software comes into play.
Is Ecommerce a world you aren’t familiar with? In this blog I’ll give you a small overview on what it’s about. If you want to know some more technical information on these tools, just write me an email, I’ll be happy to help you out.