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Hi there, hope you're having a great Friday!
This is Colm and Simon from CommerceGurus, with a handpicked weekly roundup of eCommerce articles.
We've just released something we're really excited about - a comprehensive guide to the Top 10 Best Free Apps for Shopify.
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Baymard's analysis of Desktop eCommerce UX highlights several key areas where many stores fall short, leading to potential user frustration and lost sales.
One significant issue is the absence of "Intermediary Category Pages," which serve as landing pages offering thumbnails, descriptions of subcategories, guides, and other related content.
These pages are crucial for users uncertain about their desired products, yet 13% of sites lack them entirely.
Also, the implementation of homepage carousels presents challenges. While carousels can be effective, 75% of sites that utilize them do so incorrectly.
Issues such as slides changing too quickly or lacking clear manual controls can hinder user interaction.
Read Baymard's eCommerce UX 10 Common Pitfalls and Best Practices
WordPress 6.8 introduced significant performance enhancements aimed at improving both the editing and browsing experiences.
Notable changes include:
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Speculative loading for faster page loads
A new speculative loading feature utilizes the Speculation Rules API to prefetch or prerender pages based on user interactions.
By default, links are prefetched when users interact with them, but configurations can be adjusted for more aggressive loading, potentially leading to near-instant page transitions.
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Optimized WP_Query caching
Enhancements to WP_Query improves cache hits for queries with equivalent arguments, even if the order differs.
This is particularly beneficial for sites or stores without persistent caching, as it reduces redundant database queries during a single page request.
Discover more WordPress 6.8 Performance Improvements
This article from Smashing Magazine emphasizes the importance of ensuring websites are fully operable via keyboard input.
This is crucial for accessibility, particularly for users with motor impairments or visual challenges who may rely solely on keyboards for navigation.
Effective keyboard navigation involves enabling users to interact with all site elements using keys like Tab, Enter, and Arrow keys, without the need for a mouse.
Neglecting keyboard accessibility can not only alienate a significant portion of users but may also have legal implications under accessibility regulations.
For more on eCommerce accessibility be sure to also check out our excellent chat with expert Bet Hannon.
Why Keyboard Navigation is so Important
Pascal Birchler has explored the creation of a fully functional carousel using modern CSS features, eliminating the need for JavaScript.
By removing JS dependencies, CSS carousels reduce load times and avoids blocking the main thread, leading to faster user experiences.
Native browser support also ensures features such as keyboard navigation are inherently accessible, even when JS is disabled.
Discover How to Build CSS Carousels
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Have a great week and best of luck with your projects!
Colm and Simon from CommerceGurus
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