10 Things to Consider when Designing an eCommerce Website

From homemade jewelry to power tools, there is a market for almost every product today. No matter what you’re selling, designing a website that will get shoppers to click the ‘check out’ button is crucial to the site’s success. What makes a decent website? With so much to consider, what practices should you be following to create your powerful e-commerce site? A great e-commerce website is easy to use, reliable, functional, and appealing to the eye. To best position your brand and compete with other online retailers, follow these ten easy steps during the design process.

1. Obtain a Secure Server Certificate by Comodo SSL

Your average mall store has security cameras and security guards protecting their perimeters and keeps shoppers safe. How do you ensure your online store is safe from hackers and thieves trying to steal personal client information? Here, you can mull over Comodo SSL to protect your customer’s sensitive information like email addresses, password, bank and credit card information. Comodo SSL is your online equivalent of a bodyguard protecting your shoppers.

2. Free Shipping

Some of the most successful e-commerce sites offer free or reduced shipping rates. Often, a buyer will reach the final steps of the checkout process, and if the shipping rate is high, they are more likely to abandon the order. Having an excessively high shipping rate makes shoppers feel as if they are overspending for an item they could have quickly gone out and bought in a store.

3. Eye-Catching Cohesive Theme

Choose a theme that matches the feel and look of your site to make your online store come to life. There’s no lack of ideas available. Depending on which platform you choose, there is a vast range of free themes. However, if none of them seem to fit your vision, your best bet is to purchase a premium theme. To ensure your theme is a fitting representation of your brand’s identity, make sure your images, fonts, color pallets, and texts perfectly intertwine.

4. High-Quality Images

Use high quality photos to demonstrate your products. Having better quality images makes it easier to highlight the product’s best features to help drive sales. It allows shoppers to get a better understanding of what their item will look like when it arrives. Online buyers don’t like mystery. They want to know precisely what they are spending their money on and expect they will receive an item identical to the image on your site. Try using larger photos and shoot products from different angles, so give the buyer more confidence; it’s a product they will be happy with.

5. Product Descriptions

Instill confidence in your customers with an excellent product description. The content on your website is just as relevant as making it look pretty. Let your customers know what they’re buying by giving them a detailed product description. However, keep it simple and to the point. Don’t write so much that a browser will look over it and don’t write too little that they will feel the need to migrate to another site. Remember your customers can’t touch the items, they don’t know how they feel, or what they’re made from. It’s your responsibility to give the shoppers a description that’s detailed enough; they can picture exactly what the item will look and feel like as if they were holding it. This can include color, size, weight, material, type, and more depending on the product.

6. Guest Checkout

Some online shoppers feel signing up to a website to make a purchase is a nuisance. Not everyone wants to be a member of the site and having the option to still purchase without signing up is critical. Reports show that if a customer is forced to sign up for a website to make a purchase, they are less likely to fulfill the order. Always keep in mind that when designing an e-commerce store, your customer’s needs and desires must come first.

7. Easy Checkout

The integral part of online shopping is the handiness of it. Don’t make the process difficult for customers by giving them a complicated checkout process. A good e-commerce website will make the checkout process as quick and easy as possible. Making the checkout processes fast and comfortable for buyers will result in more repeat visitors. To keep it simple, try making the checkout a single-page process. Consumers can quickly feel overwhelmed, so make the process as pleasant as possible.

8. Multiple Payment Options

An e-commerce site only allowing payment through Visa or Mastercard are missing a huge opportunity. Today, more than ever before, people prefer to use alternative forms of payments, such as PayPal or Apple Pay. When designing your site, make sure to provide as many payment options as possible to cater to a greater range of shoppers. When shoppers see an online retailer accepts their preferred payment method, it increases motivation to continue shopping on that site.

9. Human Customer Support

In the age of technology, it’s harder today than ever before to give a website a personal touch. Buyers are tired of chatbots not answering their questions correctly or having to wait days for a response to an email. Offer the ideal customer support for your customers. Let them know a representative from the company will be on hand to answer a call, email, text, or live chat. A positive experience with customer service will likely encourage the shopper to pay a visit to your site again and make another purchase.

10. Proof of Satisfied Customers

A website needs to showcase the evidence that whoever made a purchase was happy with the item and the website. Always ask your customers to review their items. Make sure reviewing the item is smooth and seamless. Keep it as convenient as possible for them. If you find that you are not receiving as many reviews as you had hoped, it may be due to the lack of easy accessibility.

Conclusion:

Web design being an important part to catch the attention of visitors, therefore, requires much attention from web designer. The showcase should be crucial to turn visitors into customers. You could loss customers if your website is not sales oriented. Your hard-earned money will be wasted if visitors leave the site in a few seconds after landing on it. The above mentioned things should be considered while designing your website.