Building an eCommerce website
Building an eCommerce website is considerably different in comparison to other websites. You have to think about the ‘store’ aspect of the website among other things. However, there is a lot that you can learn from the latest trends for websites as well as the practices employed by websites that are successful online shops. Below are some crucial tips to build a great eCommerce website:
1. Choose a simple design
The design of the site is crucial to its success. Choose colors that reflect your brand and a design that is simple yet functional. Ecommerce website design is all about functionality. Choosing the right colors and placement of content, advertisements and links all have to be done with your users’ convenience in mind. The idea is to not overwhelm a potential customer with graphics and animations while letting them find what they need fast.
2. Make searching easier
As an example eBay offers you the opportunity to refine your search by adding filters to find what you need among thousands of options. While a small business may not need something so elaborate, you may need to take the necessary measures to allow people to find products they need with ease and convenience.
3. Easy navigation
Make navigation as easy as possible within your website. Consider offering a breadcrumb navigation process to allow customers to make changes on their previous steps as they proceed to check out. The last thing a shopper would want is a slow and messy checkout process. With a streamlined navigation process, it will be much easier for them to make their purchases and encourage them to revisit your website more.
4. Be transparent with your charges
Another thing a shopper would dislike is to find hidden charges from shopping at your website. It is best to show whatever charges involved with each purchase so that customers are well aware of the amount they are spending before they authorize it.Hidden charges will only cause you to lose the customer forever along with any referrals.
5. Choose the right payment options
People have different preferences over online payment options. Unless your website is equipped to handle at least a few of the most popular choices, your customers are more likely to get discouraged from making a purchase. In addition, make sure that the gateways are chosen for their reputation as well as popularity. The last thing you would want is a checkout process ending with an ill-reputed payment gateway which could lead to abandoned shopping carts and a bad reputation.
Farhan Fawzer is a Sri Lankan SEO Specialist and Online Marketing Consultant.