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Online trade starts to bloom nowadays due to the growing demand for personalised and remote acquisition of various goods and services. Benefits received due to internet trade are so gross that the enumeration of them can form a separate article, but for now, we wish to describe the most important points of an e-commerce website for everyone to build their own success story online.
All features that help to make a successful website can be divided into several categories. They include design, technical, security and management issues.
Design features to pay attention to in an e-commerce website creation
Clear and simple design
When the interface is overburdened with nonessential elements, the user can miss important information, get lost and leave the website. Though, a balance is needed between the necessary amount of information and excessive one. In any case, the users wish to get complementary information about the goods they want to purchase. And less information will have the same effect as the bigger amount of it.
Categories of goods
The cards with goods should be divided into categories. When the general categories are shown in the header or side menu, there are more chances that the users will find them. If you use the breadcrumbs, it would be easier to navigate around the website and retrace the pages.
Filtration and search
The ability to filter the list of goods within a single category will help to find the correct thing with less effort. Moreover, some people know from the start what they want to get. They need to find the item asap, so the ability to enter the name and find it in a second is the best option to receive positive emotions from the client. Filtered parameters the user applied should be saved even if they click the “back” button. Units with previously viewed goods should be available on any page for users to review the products they were interested in. After choosing filter parameters the user should see the number of variants suiting them.
Client’s pain points relief
All buyers have several points that are crucial for each of them. They include the conditions of delivery, payment options and any return policies. The guidelines for these should be available at any point of the website, visible and clear. Some companies include the special FAQ section where they provide answers for these questions and even more regarding size parameters, sustainability and others.
Checkout process
Clearly designed checkout forms should help customers end the process successfully. The fill-in form should provide info tips, be tolerable to the mistakes of users and understand several formats of the data inserted (e.g. phone numbers). If some difficulties occur during the checkout process, there should be easy access to the support team or live chat. The process should have several stages that are visualised so the user can always see where in particular they are.
Shopping cart
The shopping cart should be located in a visible place indicating the number of goods that are already added to it. Nothing should interfere with the user the moment they check the cart. The calculation process should be easy, and in some cases, the users should have the possibility to change the number of goods without leaving the cart interface. After the final payment, it is possible to provide the additional goods with a discount.
Cross-selling
It is important not to forget about cross-selling, and apart from the initial products, provide supplementary or additional goods that can be combined with initial ones. This can be made with several methods:
- related items section;
- popular products;
- products collections.
Each of them is called to show the user that some options can supplement each other for better effects. Some offer additional discounts for bundles of goods purchased together at once.
Product cards
Product cards should be done in one style and include the most important info about the goods. On necessity adding the charts or tables is a great idea to underline some core points of the product. Adding to your favourites or waiting list can help the user get the product even if it is not available at the current moment. All photos should be in high resolution and be able to zoom in and check the details or fabric tissue.
Language of the website
In case the website sends the products to other countries, it should be translated into several languages, as that can help users end the purchase successfully. Properly constructed texts after native speakers proofreading will build trust. Call-to-action buttons with the right tone of voice can lead the user in the right flow faster and easier.
Contact information
Any contact information or contact forms should be visible as well. The addition of a quick call button or live chat can greatly improve the conversion rate. In addition, to empower the social impact, it is useful to add the Quick share buttons leading to the social accounts. That can act similarly to the “Add to the wishlist” function, or the ability to add review right from a personal account.
Technical features to pay attention to in an e-commerce website creation
Guests checkout
Approximately 13 of the prospective buyers leaving the shopping card do that due to the inability to purchase products without registration. Though registration of the personal account can add to the experience of the user, some value the speed of the purchase. In some cases, the ability to make an order by phone with a single call is more valuable than a subscription on regular discounts.
Chats and bots
Often such technologies ensure better communication with the user and assistance in the shopping flow. The crucial point is not to place a bot of support when people wish to get the answers or resolution of their issues right at the moment.
Optimization for mobile devices
Globalization brings internet availability to new places, though it doesn’t mean that the technology of devices moves after them. That is why people often use mobile technologies to make online purchases. Due to this fact, there emerged a special approach in development – mobile-first. The growing demand on mobile devices makes it less and less effective to ignore this platform and the absence of optimisation of the interfaces.
Hosting service
Unfortunately, numerous businesses forget about such an important thing as a hosting provider when launching a big project and get a lagging website as the result. In the case of e-commerce, that can be a disaster for business competitiveness. To avoid such a failure, check our comprehensive article on the points that should be considered while choosing the hosting provider.
Security features to pay attention to in an e-commerce website creation
The security area is one huge scope of work to be done. Users should feel not only comfortable but also secure without distinguishing what section of the website they are. Shopping card or creation of the personal account – all these places require the application of encryption practices. The minimal list of measures includes the use of secure network protocols and certificates. All personal information of the users should be protected taking into account various guidelines on the security of personal data. They can vary from country to country, so the particular requirements should be checked before starting a business there.
Management features to pay attention to in an e-commerce website creation
It is possible to add to this category further development of the website and its promotion.
SEO optimization
The e-commerce websites are great for promotion with the help of SEO instruments. The optimization can be introduced with the proper text arrangement, big pictures, strict navigation in categories, arrangement of titles, absence of doubled pages and other elements.
Constant perfection
To stay vivid, the website needs constant testing on quality and content efficiency. This data should be thoroughly analysed to cause the improvement. Among these can be extra services, business widening, marketing adjustments like remarketing. Without analytics application, they can be introduced in a non-timely manner or be erroneous.
What brings the effectiveness to the e-commerce website?
Though the perception of the effectiveness is strictly personal and subjective, all the mentioned above features can add value to the e-commerce website. With the genuine knowledge of what is more important, the developers can save resources and get a great product in the end.
Paying extra attention to design, development, security, and management items we have mentioned earlier creates the consistency of the shopping flow. Though there are dozens of other techniques, even the application of this list can greatly improve the overall profit a particular e-commerce product can bring.
Have an idea for building a high-quality e-commerce product but still hesitate about the list of features that should be implemented – contact our ecommerce software development company and we help you to arrange it in a proper way.
