If you’ve ever opened your website during a sale and it suddenly stops, refuses to load, or crashes completely, you already know the feeling.
Orders stop coming in.
Customers get frustrated.
Your business begins to lose money by the second.
This was the exact situation one of our clients, a fast-growing hair vendor, found herself in. Her experience is a perfect example of why websites crash and what you can do to finally put an end to it.
So sit back with a cup of tea… because what I’m about to share will feel all too familiar, and it might just save your next sales day.
The Day Everything Went Wrong
Our client is a successful hair vendor, the kind of business owner whose products practically sell themselves. Premium wigs, lush bundles… her customers love her. And for a long time, her website made selling easy. Every sales day felt smooth: orders came in back-to-back, payments were processed quickly, and customers checked out without stress.
But then something changed.
It started small, a few customers complaining that the site was slow. Then one day, she opened her website during a promo and within minutes, traffic poured in as usual… excited shoppers rushing to grab their favourite wigs.
And then it happened.
Her website suddenly froze.
Then it crashed.
Not once.
Not twice.
But over and over again.
Customers were seeing blank white screens.
Some couldn’t complete their purchase.
Others got stuck at a never-ending “Loading…” circle.
And while her website was misbehaving, her DM was blowing up:
“I’ve been trying to buy for 20 minutes. What’s happening?”
“Your site keeps freezing.”
“Abeg, I give up.”
That day, frustration hit her hard. She realised something most business owners discover too late:
A website that looks good is useless if it can’t handle traffic.
Why Do Websites Crash?
Website crashes don’t happen by accident. They happen because something underneath the surface isn’t strong enough to carry the weight of your customers.
Here are the most common reasons:
1. Sudden Traffic Surge (The Most Common Reason)
This was our client’s biggest problem.
Her hosting plan was too small, too weak, and not built for a fast-growing business. So when hundreds of people tried to open the website at once, the server panicked… and shut down.
Think of it like a one-lane road suddenly trying to carry hundreds of cars during rush hour. Everybody gets stuck.
A traffic surge is good news for your business, but terrible for a weak website.
2. Using a Cheap or Shared Hosting Platform
Many low-budget websites use shared hosting, meaning:
● Your website shares the same space with hundreds of other sites ● If one site has issues, others suffer
● Bandwidth is limited
● Speed is inconsistent
It’s the online version of living in a crowded apartment building where everyone is using one small generator.
Shared hosting = shared problems.
3. Poorly Built Website Structure
Sometimes the website “designer” is the problem.
If your site is built with:
● heavy plugins
● unoptimized images
● too many add-ons
● poor coding
● outdated templates
…it becomes slow, unstable, and easily prone to crashing.
This is very common in low-cost, corner-shop website setups.
4. Outdated Software & Plugins
When updates are ignored, your website becomes:
● slow
● buggy
● vulnerable to attacks
● unstable under pressure
Imagine trying to run 2025 apps on a 2010 smartphone.
It will struggle. It will freeze. It will crash.
5. Security Attacks
Cyber attacks are more common than most businesses realise.
Hackers target:
● E-Commerce stores
● payment portals
● checkout pages
● login areas
An attempted breach can overwhelm your site and cause a shutdown.
6. Incompatible or Heavy Third-Party Integrations
Some websites use too many external tools — payment apps, marketing widgets, chatbots, pop-ups, plug-ins, analytics, etc.
Individually, they’re fine.
Together?
They can break your site.
When Our Client Finally Reached Her Breaking Point
After everything she had gone through, she was exhausted.
Frustrated. And honestly, heartbroken.
Her website kept crashing at the peak moments that should have brought her the most money. She lost sales she should have earned.
Some loyal customers moved to competitors out of frustration.
And the money she had spent on ads? Completely gone.
At that point, she knew she couldn’t continue like this.
So she did what many business owners do: she opened up to her online community and asked for help. And thankfully, a few people who knew us and had worked with us before recommended Asktopsy.
That was when she reached out.
Not because she wanted “something cheap.”
Not because she wanted a quick fix.
But because she needed a real solution.
Something dependable.
Something built for growth.
When we audited her website, the problems were obvious:
● Her hosting didn’t have the capacity for large visitor numbers.
● The platform she was using wasn’t made for serious eCommerce.
● Her checkout system was shaky.
● The site relied on heavy plugins that slowed everything down.
● She had no security protection.
● No backup.
● No structure designed for growth.
She didn’t just need a repair.
She needed an upgrade.
She needed a website that could grow with her business, one built intentionally for eCommerce and capable of handling hundreds (even thousands) of customers at once without stress.
So we gave her one recommendation:
Upgrade to Shopify.
Choosing Shopify is like moving from a one-room apartment to a luxury high-rise with stable electricity, running water, strong security, and room to expand.
Shopify is built to handle large spikes in visitor numbers easily, so your online store stays open even when traffic rises unexpectedly.
It doesn’t panic when customers rush in at once.
It doesn’t crash during sales.
It doesn’t freeze at checkout.
And it won’t get overwhelmed by too many visitors.
How Switching to Shopify Changed Everything. After migrating her store to Shopify, here’s what happened:
1. Zero Crashes Even During High Traffic
She ran another sale; this time, thousands of visitors came.
Not a single glitch.
No downtime.
Not a single error.
2. Faster Checkout
Customers completed orders in seconds, not minutes.
3. Better User Experience
Smooth browsing.
Clean product pages.
Mobile-friendly.
Professional.
4. Strong Security
No more fear of hacking or payment failures.
5. Stable Payments
No errors. No delays. No failed transactions.
6. Peace of Mind
She could finally focus on selling.
Her sales increased.
Her customers trusted her more.
Her brand grew stronger.
And the best part?
She never experienced a website crash again.
So, What’s the Real Fix for Website Crashes? You can troubleshoot all you want, but sometimes the best solution is the simplest: Upgrade your website to a platform that can handle your business’s size. If your business is growing, don’t stay stuck with a platform built for beginners. Shopify is built for:
● high traffic
● fast sales
● stability
● scalability
● secure payments
● professional eCommerce growth
Whether you sell hair, skincare, fashion, or wellness items, Shopify is the safest option if you want a website that won’t embarrass you when customers rush in.
Dear Business Owner,
Your website is not just a “nice to have” or an expense
It’s:
● Your storefront
● Your salesperson
● Your customer service rep
● Your cashier
● Your brand experience
And just like a physical shop, if it keeps having “technical issues,” customers won’t return.
Cheap websites are expensive.
Frustration is expensive.
Website crashes are VERY expensive.
But a reliable, scalable platform like Shopify?
That’s an investment that pays you back every single day.
If you want us to upgrade your website, migrate you to a Shopify store that can handle traffic without crashing, and we can help you.
Contact us via our website or Instagram DM, let’s upgrade your online store and give you reliable growth and peace of mind.