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8 Essential Things to Consider When Developing an E-commerce Website

For most people, trusting an e-commerce store is not an issue anymore. The problem here is getting people to visit your online store.

Razvan Ciocanel

• 4 min read
8 Essential Things to Consider When Developing an E-commerce Website

Online shopping is pretty common these days.

For most people, trusting an e-commerce store is not an issue anymore. The problem here is getting people to visit your online store over your competitors.

That’s why, to entice your target audience and to make more sales, your e-commerce store should stay current. This includes implementing user-friendly elements to ensure that your online store makes it easy for customers to shop.

Discover the eight essential things that you need to consider when developing your e-commerce site in this post:

A domain name and web host

Excellent domain names say a lot about your online store, even by saying too little. Apart from being memorable, your site’s domain name should accurately reflect your brand voice, and it shouldn’t be easy to misspell.

Looking for the right domain for you is essential. That’s because a combination of SEO, branding, and proper spelling gives your domain name a more substantial chance to rank well on search engines.

Also, when you make an ecommerce website, your customers can easily access your e-commerce store. When choosing a host, you need to consider the nature of your site and business.

Will your site be placing a lot of media or presentations? Do you have an in-house support team, or will you need reliable support from the hosting provider?

How about the amount of traffic that your site is receiving? How security, back-up, or any additional site features?

Ensure that you also look up your company’s performance on social media and other third-party sites. That way, you can always come up with an informed business decision.

User-friendliness

If your site is challenging to navigate, you’ll find it challenging to make a sale.

Ideally, your homepage should be inviting enough to keep your visitor’s attention. It should also be user-friendly enough that people can see where they should click to proceed.

These categories should be self-explanatory and should be further broken down into subcategories. That way, it will be easier for visitors to find what they’re searching for.

Your search bar should also be quick to find and list all the available items for sale once users type in particular categories.

Website security

In the same way, your site should be secure with an SSL certificate as well. It would help if you gained your customers’ trust when securing the sensitive information they commonly use for check-out.

Keep in mind that you should store your customer’s credit card data on the server.

Sure, offering straightforward payment options is ideal. However, you should ease your customers’ qualms when it comes to web security. After all, they will be providing you with sensitive information like a home address and bank details.

Clean and appealing design

Do you know that 48% of users will determine whether a business is credible or not based on its design alone?

Busy designs make it difficult for users to navigate your site and find what they’re looking for. It might also distract users from the store’s primary purpose. Getting rid of these unnecessary elements will draw the attention of your visitors on what matters most.

Meanwhile, a rather minimalist design with a simple color scheme and excellent site topography can make it more appealing.

High-quality product images and descriptions

The primary purpose of setting up an e-commerce store is to sell your products online. That’s why you should be highlighting the products you’re selling.

Make sure that you’re using high-quality images to showcase your products. This gives your audience an idea of how well your products look like in real life.

You should thoroughly describe all items in detail as well. It should cover all aspects, from the uses, texture, size, color, benefits, etc.

The goal here is to give your customers a sense of security that they made the right decision. And that is buying your products from your online store.

Mobile-friendliness

Many users are shopping online using their mobile devices, and this trend will likely grow. That’s why it is crucial to optimize your site for mobile.

A responsive mobile design will provide a better user experience for your customers. It also allows mobile visitors to easily access your site’s offers, features, and products in no time.

Most users will want to quickly lookup a product on a search bar instead of categories and subcategories.

You shouldn’t also miss out on one of the most vital search functionality by providing an autocomplete search. That way, it will be easier for prospects to look up items that they’re looking for.

Customer testimonials

Using customer proof through user reviews and testimonials is also essential. If prospects read positive customer reviews from others, they’re more likely to buy the product.

To gather customer testimonials, you may reach out to your customers and follow up on their purchases. You can ask them relevant details about their experience.

Customer feedback provides you valuable information about your products and services. This includes sustainable packaging suggestions, new product ideas, and more.

It is just a matter of how you act upon it.

Over to You

Your e-commerce store should not be just aesthetically pleasing. It should also aim to provide your customers with a stress-free online shopping experience.

You can make it happen by creating a user-friendly e-commerce website. This means your online store should be easy to navigate, has clear product categories and robust web security. Doing so allows you to attract loyal customers, increase your sales, and boost your business.

Guest post by Jake Rheude

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