15 Things To Consider Before Building An Ecommerce Website

Do you know, 60% of customers say that they have abandoned their purchase of a store due to a poor website appearance? Thus, if you are looking for things to consider before building an e-commerce website, then you are at the right place.

Selecting a memorable and appealing store name for your website’s main URL is a smart first step, and developing a marketing plan in advance can help you gain a competitive advantage. Regarding design and development, we’ve compiled a list of the essential components of a strong eCommerce website and other important considerations for web shop planning.

• Must-have Features for eCommerce Websites
• Top 15 Things to Take Into Account When Developing an eCommerce Website

Must-have Features for eCommerce Websites

Easily navigable interface

This could entail an autocomplete feature on a search bar or clickable pictures that allow a user to avoid having to aim for text. Making things as simple as possible for users to obtain what they want is the foundation of a user-friendly design.

high-quality graphic materials

A variety of product images and video reviews aid in the decision-making process for consumers. However, if you don’t consider the technical aspect, visitor numbers may decrease along with the speed at which the page loads.

User opinions

Having a tool that allows people to share their experiences—positive or negative—with a product aids in decision-making for other users and enhances the legitimacy of your website.

Modification for mobile

Hootsuite’s Digital Report states that 5.112 billion unique mobile device users—or two thirds of the world’s population—account for 48% of the time spent online. According to a different statistical study, 79% of smartphone owners had made a purchase during the last six months. These kinds of figures make it imperative that you adjust the appearance of your website for mobile devices.

Top 15 Things to Take Into Account When Developing an eCommerce Website

1. Security and safety of websites

Not only is the security of one’s computer at danger, but no Internet user wants to become infected with a virus when using the internet. One of the most important needs for an eCommerce website is safety, as you as an online retailer maintain a lot of information about your items and the people who register to make purchases on your site. Any compromise of this data puts your company at danger; you may lose critical data permanently or have the contact details of your leads taken and sold.

You get a terrible reputation from Google and other search engines when you have an insecure website. Google began marking websites that lacked an SSL certificate and HTTPS protocol not too long ago. These are more than just suggestions or cautions; without these two elements, users won’t be able to access websites, and if your certificate has expired, you may be losing out on possible sales.

2. Optimization both before and during the creation of eCommerce websites

Speaking of poor reputations, Google has introduced a new feature that allows users to report websites that load slowly. When a website loads slowly, consumers may now choose not to visit it at all. In the past, they could click on a link, wait for it to load, and then click again if it doesn’t.

Think with Google research indicates that a page that takes longer than five seconds to load will have a 90% chance of visitors bouncing. This makes it even more important to consider optimization and maintain optimal speed for your website.

By using various tactics and strategies to raise your website’s search engine ranking, SEO aims to increase sales. Adding keywords to the material you upload to the website, together with meta data like titles and descriptions for the pages and photos, is one aspect of it. Many experts overlook the fact that clients can locate you via an image search—but only if you provide “alt” descriptions with your image content.

Several businesses also neglect to include an SEO consultant in the first phases of the building of eCommerce websites. The website should, at the at least, begin with all necessary meta tags. However, an SEO expert may assist you with other crucial areas such as structuring the page structure and internal linking, developing a content strategy, designing a mobile-friendly layout, and speeding up loading times.

3. The ability to search and filter content on websites

Even non-sales websites have search bars, so if yours does, you should absolutely have advanced search capabilities. An advanced feature might be a visual search, for instance, where customers upload a photo of a product they like, and your search engine will attempt to locate a comparable, if not identical, item.

Users simply need to browse categories if they are unsure of what they want or are in need of some inspiration. In other situations, a quick search will only take a few clicks to locate the item they require.

You may wish to use keywords or synonyms to tag your product because some people may not be able to recall the exact name.

4. Enrollment and associated matters

While there are advantages to registering on an e-commerce website, such as the ability to save delivery addresses or buying histories, some customers would rather use a guest checkout form or a one-click purchase function.

Think about the number of accounts you have on the internet. You undoubtedly have a lot of them, just like the ordinary user, and some people don’t want to register on yet another website just to place an occasional order. Consider including a guest checkout option on your eCommerce site if making a transaction is more important to you than adding a few customers’ personal information to your database. Reminding customers of your website’s address can also be accomplished by including it on the packaging for their order or at the conclusion of the message together with the shipment number.

You don’t have to ask them to fill out a registration form; you may also request that they check in using their phone number, email address, and social network account. You can automatically create an account and email the login information to them in both situations.

5. Modes of payment

If you are just starting out with an eCommerce website, adding every payment option could be too much, but restricting yourself to just one choice will only draw in customers who utilize it. The 2019 Payment Methods Report states that while long checkout times (26%) and unforeseen shipping expenses (55%) are the main reasons customers abandon their shopping carts, 6% of them would give up on you as there weren’t sufficient ways to make payments.

The most often used payment options, according to Hostgator, are Visa, Masterpass, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, American Express, Stripe, Square, and 2Checkout. Since cryptocurrencies are becoming more and more popular, you may want to look into different choices depending on the kind of products you’re selling.

6. Delivery charges

As previously stated, 55% of consumers remove their items from their shopping carts due to unforeseen shipping charges. They might have expected a smaller amount or are unaware of the rates, or there might be additional fees.

Convenience is the main reason for online buying, and if you don’t offer free delivery, there should be a link on each product page that leads to comprehensive information about the prices and options for shipping.

7. Integration of CMS

Your textual and graphic content, as well as your marketing paperwork, may all be managed and stored in one location with the aid of a content management system (CMS). After you make modifications or add new content, the website will immediately update to reflect your changes. Also, a CMS can assist your staff in responding to consumer tickets as soon as possible.

One option is to utilize a pre-made system like Magento, OpenCart, or PrestaShop. You can incorporate these open-source solutions into the coding of your website.

8. Capabilities for mobile.

A mobile device is used for more than half of online transactions, according to Criteo’s 2018 Global Commerce study. Even while mobile apps are more likely to result in purchases, if your eCommerce interface is mobile-friendly, you’ll still have a higher conversion rate. For instance, after releasing a more responsive design, Walmart Canada was able to increase website conversions by 20%. Additionally, they revealed a startling 98% rise in mobile orders.

It makes sense to invest in responsive design, which includes features like hidden menus and adjustable font and image sizes, as more consumers use mobile devices every year. The product descriptions on the mobile website should also be optimized.

9. A website that is as stylish as the goods you sell

The color palette you choose for your website should go well with the goods you sell. For example, if you’re creating an eCommerce website for merchandise linked to video games or fandoms, the font or backdrop selection should indicate the range of products available.

A color palette of green, yellow, and purple will work well for eCommerce relating to food because these hues pique appetites. In order to avoid conflicts between the food products and the site design, there should also be a lot of white space.

10. Well-designed shopping carts

Statistics are not necessary to inform us that users of the web prefer straightforward yet useful shopping carts. Although there aren’t many stages in a basic shopping cart, there are ways to improve its functionality.

For instance, you can have three different kinds of users: guests who would like to stay, unregistered users, and registered users. Upon clicking the shopping cart in the first step, the user may be prompted to log in, register, or proceed with a guest purchase. Upon registering or logging in, users ought to be automatically redirected to their full baskets; having to search for the same goods repeatedly can be discouraging. Alternatively, you can complete a one-step checkout, in which every step is contained in a single dynamic window that updates itself when a user enters data.

By including products that a customer would find interesting in an area of your shopping cart, you can also create cross-selling and upselling opportunities. You should absolutely take it into account early on in the creation of your eCommerce website since you need to figure out how to identify which products are most pertinent to a given customer.

11. Appropriate product descriptions and displays

Quality content is valued by users in addition to simplicity. Comprehensive product descriptions, video reviews, and high-quality photos all affect conversion rates.

The drawback of internet purchasing is that buyers are limited to using product descriptions as their main source of information because they are unable to physically touch, feel, or try on the item. You can persuade people to purchase your goods by including details such as the energy consumption of appliances, the usage purposes of devices, and individual dimensions for clothing.

12. Contacts and customer service

As noted in the Payment Methods Report, personalization—like tailored advice from a support agent—is important to Millennials. While online retailers work to make this feasible, customer service assists customers in resolving problems with returns, shipping, and payments, among other things. Including a contacts section on your website and an information strip at the top of each page with a clickable phone number or email address are best practices.

It immediately enhances your credibility to provide your actual address and phone number for any contacts listed on the website (shop, main office, or warehouse). A WhatsApp number, Facebook Messenger chat feature, or other chat options might be included for the younger demographic, who don’t usually like making phone calls.

13. Social evidence

Customer testimonials are a great method to increase the legitimacy of your website, so consider how you may obtain and present them. Customers may have the ability to upload their own product photos and videos to the website, or it may consist of textual evaluations or product unboxings. In addition, a comment carousel featuring links to the evaluated products can be added to the main page.

14. A plan for marketing

An effective marketing plan created in tandem with your website will help you go ahead on the first orders, regardless of whether you are starting a new retail venture or creating a website based on an existing store. On the other hand, it also establishes the components that contribute to a well-designed website and defines its structure.

Establishing a marketing plan in advance will assist you in determining the features you’ll require. For instance, you may wish to include push notification and social network sharing options for desktop and mobile browsers. When creating a website, it is more efficient to do that than after it has been launched.

15. Advocacy articles

You should also take into account the documentation that pertains to how your website is used and the rules that govern it. Your e-shop should have sections with frequently asked questions (FAQ), shipping and return policies, use of cookies, privacy information, and other policies as soon as it’s operational.

Conclusion

To say that there are many factors to take into account while creating an e-commerce website would be the understatement of the year. If you are looking for an E-Commerce development company, Appic Softwares is the place where you should consult. We have firsthand knowledge of all the features, subtleties, and technological requirements required to create an online store that is user-friendly, efficient, and attractive to customers. Even with WordPress, eCommerce plugins, or apps like Shopify. We make sure the eCommerce website business you select can create the ideal online shop for you in terms of both style and functionality if you decide to engage them.

So, What are you waiting for?

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