These days, there are many eCommerce websites that are huge successes and many others that don’t see success at all. Why does this happen? What is the difference between success and failure of these sites?
If eCommerce is here to stay, it is important that customers always have a good shopping experience, in fact better than what they experience at a brick and mortar store. If you are into selling your products online, you too need to consider a few factors that relate to eCommerce websites that could be crucial in bringing in more website visitors and converting them into buyers. Here they are:
Easy and Clear Navigation:
When people click on your site, they aren’t just browsing, they are there with the intention of buying. So, make it easy for them by having clear-cut pages for different product categories. Separate them from the other pages like About us, Contact us or any others. It’s mandatory to have a product search box which will enable them to find just what they are looking for, so don’t forget that.
Engage your Visitors:
Get them to shop at your site without any waste of time. Show them featured products, new arrivals, combination products sold at discounted prices, etc on the home page. Lure them into buying your products and then see how casual visitors are soon converted into real time buyers.
Have Good Quality Product Photos:
Considering your visitors aren’t in a retail store where they can reach out to pick up products, your photos have to do the work of being absolutely representational. So, show each product in different angles and have an enlarger that brings the product up close and front.
Show Them Their Progression Trail:
If your eCommerce websites showcases a vast number of products, your navigation should be able to show your visitors how they entered your site. For instance, if they first clicked your website and then moved on to Category, Sub-Category and Product, their progression trail should read something like this: Home Page> Category > Sub-Category > Product. This will keep your visitors grounded to your website. Besides, they will be stimulated to find items they prefer that they are likely to buy.
Do Some Cross-Selling Too:
When a visitor shows interest in any one of your products, don’t end the engagement there. Show him products related to his choice of product and encourage him to buy from among them.
Have a Secure Payment Gateway:
People are willing to buy online but they might be hesitant because of the possibility of credit card fraud. So, have a secure payment gateway in place so that they are encouraged to buy confidently. Your payment gateway should be secure and should tail off a very smooth process of ordering. Once you have this securely in place, your checkout abandonment rate will reduce drastically, showing an upswing in sales.
Make them Shop Again:
Sign up with a reputed email marketing company for web-based email marketing. With their help, make a list of new and existing customers and email them visual emails with news of your latest products, grand sales, promos and events. If they’ve had a pleasant experience of buying from you once, they are sure to want to do so again.
Invest in Search Engine Optimization:
By adding the feature of search engine optimization to your eCommerce websites, you will increase the traffic to it. Your site needs to show up in Google’s searches for your chief keywords, else you’ll miss out on important sales.
Conclusion:
By following these eCommerce website design guidelines, you will find your sales increasing and more and more people trusting you for quality products.
About The Author
Great tips to get a beginner started with ecommerce and selling online.