How Drupal Optimization Can Improve Your Conversion Funnel (Unless You Fix These 3 Things)
If you're using Drupal to power your website, you’re already on the right track. But did you know that, despite all its power, your site could still be losing potential customers? Let’s dive into the three most common issues that can hurt your conversion rates and how to easily fix them.
Slow UX — How It Affects Your Conversions
The Problem:
Picture this: you’re excited to check out a website, but it’s taking forever to load. You wait… and wait. And then, you leave. Fast loading time is everything. No one has time to sit around waiting for a page to load. In fact, studies show that even a second delay can cause up to 20% drop in conversions! If your Drupal site is slow, it’s likely due to too many modules, large database queries, or poor caching.
So, what exactly is speed optimization for Drupal? It’s about improving how quickly your pages load by using various techniques like caching, optimizing database queries, and using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to speed up content delivery globally. Fast websites are happier websites.
The Fix:
I remember working with a client in the online education sector. Their website was as slow as molasses—users were dropping off before even seeing their great content. We stepped in, optimized their caching with Varnish and Memcache, and the page speed improved by 50%! Just two weeks later, they saw a 30% increase in conversions. It’s proof that even a little speed boost can go a long way.
Why It Helps Your Business:
Faster loading times make your site more user-friendly, and when users are happy, they stick around longer and convert more. Think of it this way: every millisecond you save on loading time is another chance to win over a customer. If you want to learn more about optimizing your site speed, we have a collection of resources available on our blog.
Outdated or Conflicting Modules — The Hidden Performance Killers
The Problem:
When you’re building a website on Drupal, modules are your best friends. They help extend functionality and make everything work smoothly. But when these modules are outdated or conflict with each other? They become the silent performance killers. We’ve seen websites where outdated modules caused massive slowdowns, preventing customers from using forms or accessing key content.
How Drupal Modules Affect Performance:
When discussing the impact of Drupal modules on your site's performance, it's important to understand that they are both a blessing and a curse. Modules provide essential functionality, but if they are not updated or conflict with each other, they can slow down your website significantly. Keeping your modules updated and making sure they are compatible with your Drupal version is essential for keeping things running smoothly.
For example, we once worked with an e-commerce client whose forms weren’t working properly. They weren’t able to capture customer information as their Webform module was outdated. Once we updated it to the latest version, everything ran smoothly again, and their conversion rate improved.
The Fix:
Regularly update both the modules and the Drupal core. Make sure to check the compatibility between modules before updating. This ensures that your site runs without glitches and performs at its best.
Why It Helps Your Business:
Updated and compatible modules help your site run smoothly and load faster, which ultimately improves conversion rates. A well-maintained site is more likely to deliver the results you're aiming for. If you're looking for professional help with Drupal development, our team can assist with everything from team replacement and project rescue to complete Drupal consulting and development.
JS Conflicts — The Silent Conversion Killer
The Problem:
We all love interactive elements—like dynamic forms, filters, and pop-ups—that make a website feel modern and user-friendly. But when JavaScript libraries (like jQuery and React) don’t play nice with each other, things can break fast. Your filters might freeze, buttons might stop working, and users will start abandoning your site in frustration. This can severely affect your conversion rates.
You may be wondering: why do JS conflicts hurt your marketing campaigns? Well, when your interactive elements aren’t functioning properly, it creates a poor user experience. Users get frustrated when they can’t engage with the content they want, and this often leads to them leaving the site. Fixing JS conflicts ensures that these key elements are running smoothly, which helps to maintain the flow of the user journey and increase conversions.
The Fix:
We had a client in the education sector who wanted to display interactive product filters on their site. After adding a new module, their filters broke. Why? Because jQuery and React didn’t get along. After resolving the conflicts and optimizing their JS code using Webpack, everything started running smoothly again.
Why It Helps Your Business:
When your site functions smoothly, without any hiccups or technical glitches, it builds trust with your users. Trust = more sales. Simple as that. Looking to implement a headless CMS solution with Drupal and Next.js? Check out our page on Headless CMS Solutions.
Key Takeaways
Here’s the bottom line: if your Drupal site is slow, out of date, or full of technical hiccups, it’s likely costing you conversions. The good news? It’s fixable. With simple tweaks to speed up your site, update your modules, and clean up JavaScript conflicts, you can provide a better user experience and watch your conversions rise.
Next Steps
Feeling ready to fix those issues and improve your site? We’re here to help. Want to know where your site is currently lagging? Start by checking your site's performance and identifying where it might be lagging.
