The most essential thing is that you commit to a good quality website and a usable and good quality service with a good design. It is so easy to put up an eCommerce website these days and there are so many terrible ones out there as a result.
Do not fall into the everlasting void that is mediocre and poor quality eCommerce websites.
Here are a few tips to help you on your way –
Navigation is what makes a sale easier to come by
People log onto your eCommerce website and they want what they want right now with no exceptions. It is your job to help them find what they want as quickly and as cleanly as possible. Look at Google shopping and see how you are presented with lots of different products on one search. They offer too much and it becomes tedious to navigate – do not make the same mistake as they do.
Think about the three click rule
If people are going to visit your website then they want to find what they are looking for as quickly as possible. That is why web designers coined the phrase the “Three click rule.” It is to remind people that they should make their navigation systems easy to handle. People want to find what they are looking for quickly and if you get them to where they want to be within three clicks then they are less likely to leave your website.
Loading times are vitally important
They are important on regular websites and even more important on eCommerce websites because people need to start trusting your website right away. The last thing they want to be doing is waiting around and they certainly do not want to think that the website may slow down or crash whilst they are on your checkout.
Bug check as if you have ants in your pants
Again, bugs are another sign that a website may not be trusted. It is why you should check for bugs as often as possible to be sure that people are not encountering them and are no longer trusting your website enough to make a purchase.
Prices need not presented with oversized fonts
Some people make the mistake of putting their prices in large fonts as if they are displaying them in their shop window. If you look at other eCommerce websites you will see how prices are often small and inconspicuous.
People don’t care that much about your offers
There are some websites that look like an offers explosion when you hit their homepage, and good luck to them, but there is no need. Again, you do not have to advertise as if you are running a shop window. You can be a little more subtle and gentle, especially when it comes to colors and being attractive. Do not forget that the person is already looking at the screen so there is no need to attract their attention as you would in a shop window.
Trust is going to make your sales so a cheap looking website is not an option
Cheaper websites are hard to trust, especially the ones that want you to pay money in some way or insert card details. Ensure that your user can trust you.
Do not put the major card symbols across the bottom of the page
This may be done by a major website or two, but they are merely getting away with it. You do not have the same luxury and should not do it because every cheap, spammy and bad website does to try and build trust (whilst having the counter effect).
Optimize your search bar so that it is intuitive
In other words, when people get their results they should be automatically refined to what people want. You really need to think about what people want when they use your search bar so that they do not have to look through more than a few search results.
Mobile eCommerce should be considered strongly
If you can create a responsive eCommerce website that allows people to buy via a mobile device then do it. It is a potential market and remember that some people do not have a computer but they do have a phone.
Funneling may not be for you
Getting a person from one area of your website to another can be done with funneling, but funneling takes a lot of time and effort and it may just not be for you. Only try it if you have the time to test and test it again.