Annemarie had just turned off all advertising for Byron Bay Candles.
After watching her daily orders drop from 30-40 to barely 10, she made the painful decision: stop throwing money at a broken website. With a shipping container of inventory arriving from China and cash flow stretched thin, she couldn’t afford to keep paying for traffic that wouldn’t convert.
The numbers told the story: 10.4/100 UX score on mobile. For a business where 70% of traffic came from smartphones, this wasn’t just a problem – it was a crisis.
Three Years of Treading Water
“I haven’t grown in three years,” Annemarie told us during our first call. While her competitors expanded, she was stuck manufacturing private label candles for other brands – essentially building her competitors’ businesses instead of her own.
The irony wasn’t lost on her. Byron Bay Candles had won Clean + Conscious Awards for their refillable candle system. They’d eliminated 21 million tons of potential landfill waste. Their products used 100% pure essential oils when most manufacturers used synthetic fragrances. The quality was exceptional.
But none of that mattered when customers couldn’t find products on the website.
Previous agencies and developers had taken her money and delivered nothing. No reports. No improvements. No accountability. “I’ve gone down so many different tunnels and paths,” she explained. “I need someone I can trust to make decisions on our behalf.”
When TikTok Ads rejected her campaigns with a blunt “your website is too slow,” she knew something had to change. But after being burned repeatedly, trust was the real barrier – not budget.
The UX Evaluation That Changed Everything
Our 239-point UX evaluation revealed what others had missed. This wasn’t about making the site “prettier” – it was about fixing fundamental friction points that were killing conversions:
- Mobile Homepage Disaster: The -10.4/100 score meant mobile visitors faced immediate barriers. Headers consumed precious screen space. Navigation mixed product categories with customer service links. The search function couldn’t handle typos – devastating when “most people can’t spell,” as we noted in our review.
- Category Chaos: Customers had to navigate through overly specific categories instead of browsing full ranges. No filtering by scent families, sizes, or candle types. On mobile, this meant endless scrolling and frustration.
- Search That Failed: With 40% of ecommerce users preferring search, Byron Bay Candles was hemorrhaging potential sales. The search delivered limited results, couldn’t handle misspellings, and lacked visual feedback about result counts.
- Checkout Friction: Mobile checkout required unnecessary fields, lacked progress indicators, and hadn’t been optimized for thumb-friendly interaction. Every additional tap was another chance for abandonment.
But here’s what made us different: we didn’t just identify problems. We showed Annemarie exactly how to fix them, backed by 150,000+ hours of ecommerce research. When we sent our initial video review, she implemented several changes immediately – before even hiring us.
“The way you explained analytics,” she said, “I finally understood what was happening.”
Rebuilding for the 70% (Mobile Users)
We didn’t rebuild Byron Bay Candles’ site. We transformed how it delivered content to the 70% of visitors using mobile devices. Using headless WooCommerce architecture, we separated the shopping experience from the WordPress backend while keeping Annemarie’s workflow exactly the same.
Smart Category Structure: We consolidated overly specific categories into logical groups, then added intelligent filtering. Shopping for candles? Filter by scent family (woody, fresh, floral), size (travel, standard, luxury), or purpose (relaxation, energizing, ambiance). Each category got filters that actually mattered to buyers.
Search That Works: Our instant search implementation included:
- Typo tolerance (because “lavendar” should find “lavender”)
- Visual result counts before clicking
- Predictive suggestions as users type
- Lightning-fast response even on 3G connections
Navigation Clarity: We separated product navigation from courtesy links. Product categories stayed prominent and thumb-accessible. Account, contact, and policy links moved to logical secondary positions. No more cognitive overload.
Mobile-First Checkout: We eliminated unnecessary fields, added clear progress indicators, and optimized every element for one-thumb operation. Express payment options for returning customers. Smart address autocomplete to reduce typing.
Performance Optimization: The technical implementation delivered sub-second page loads through:
Instant page transitions that feel native-app smooth
The Difference Specialization Makes
After 10 years working exclusively with WooCommerce, we knew things Annemarie’s previous developers didn’t. Like how Craftybase inventory could integrate seamlessly with a headless frontend. Or why her Klaviyo email flows weren’t tracking properly (and how to fix it).
We understood the unique challenges of Australian ecommerce:
- Competing against drop-shippers with unlimited ad budgets
- Managing wholesale and DTC channels from one platform
- Dealing with overseas suppliers and long lead times
- Balancing cash flow between inventory and marketing
- Competing against drop-shippers with unlimited ad budgets
Most importantly, we understood that Annemarie didn’t need another agency making promises. She needed partners who would answer the phone, explain things clearly, and work within her reality – including offering a 5-month payment plan when cash flow was tied up in inventory.
Six Months Later: Stable Foundation, Growing Confidence
The transformation wasn’t just in metrics – it was in capability. Six months after launch, Byron Bay Candles has achieved:
- Mobile Average Order Value: Up 76% – From $71 to $125, mobile visitors now spend nearly as much as desktop users. This single improvement fundamentally changed the economics of mobile traffic.
- UX Scores: From Red to Green – Every metric improved from “failing” to “good” or “excellent.” The site now provides the premium experience their products deserve.
- Search Success: 40% of Purchases – Customers can finally find what they want, even with imperfect spelling. The new search drives nearly half of all conversions.
- Advertising Resumed – After months of zero ad spend, Annemarie restarted campaigns last week. With mobile conversion barriers removed, she can finally invest in traffic with confidence.
- Time Reclaimed – Instead of managing two systems or explaining to customers why the site is slow, Annemarie can focus on what matters: developing new products and growing wholesale relationships.
But perhaps the most important change is invisible: trust. After three years of treading water and multiple failed attempts, Annemarie finally has a technical partner who delivers.
“I can’t go down another rabbit hole,” she told us initially. Six months later, she’s not in a rabbit hole – she’s building her brand instead of manufacturing for competitors.
The Reality of WooCommerce Performance
Not every business needs a complete platform rebuild. Not every story ends with 10x growth. Sometimes success looks like:
- Finally being able to run ads profitably
- Mobile visitors actually completing purchases
- Having confidence your site won’t crash during peak season
- Getting time back to focus on products instead of problems
Byron Bay Candles represents the majority of WooCommerce stores: established businesses with great products held back by technical debt. Businesses where every visitor counts because you can’t afford to waste traffic. Family operations where the website directly impacts whether Dad needs to work across the country.
The difference between struggling and thriving often isn’t about massive transformation. It’s about getting the fundamentals right with partners who understand your platform, your business model, and your constraints.
Your Mobile Reality Check
If you’re reading this thinking “this sounds exactly like us,” you’re not alone. Most WooCommerce stores share Byron Bay Candles’ challenges:
- 70%+ mobile traffic with terrible mobile experience
- Previous developers who couldn’t solve core issues
- Cash flow tied up in inventory, not available for endless testing
- Great products hidden behind poor user experience
- The exhaustion of explaining why your premium brand has a budget website
The question isn’t whether your mobile experience needs work. It’s whether you’re ready to fix it with specialists who understand WooCommerce inside and out.
Get Your Free UX Evaluation to see exactly where your mobile experience is failing – and more importantly, how to fix it. No vague promises. No technical jargon. Just clear, actionable insights like we provided Annemarie.
Ready to stop treading water? Schedule a Call to discuss your specific situation. We work with established WooCommerce stores doing $20k+ monthly who are ready to build their own brands, not someone else’s.
About This Project
Client: Byron Bay Candles
Industry: Eco-Friendly Home Fragrance
Location: Byron Bay, NSW, Australia
Challenge: 70% mobile traffic with -10.4/100 mobile UX score
Timeline: 60 days to launch, 6 months post-launch
Key Improvements:
- Mobile AOV increased 76% ($71 → $125)
- Search now drives 40% of conversions
- UX scores improved from “failing” to “good/excellent”
- Consolidated plugin architecture for better performance
- Mobile-first checkout optimization
Technologies Implemented:
- Edge server deployment for Australian market
- Headless WooCommerce architecture
- Intelligent search with typo tolerance
- Category-specific filtering system
- Mobile-optimized checkout flow