With the way the world is going these days, it’s safe to say if you have a business that involves selling anything online, then you’re keeping up with the curve.
We are creating a society that enjoys the convenience of shopping online and delivers straight to our door and with the introduction of Covid-19, it has become somewhat essential. If you’re thinking of getting into the business of selling online, then it’s one that if planned correctly, has proved lucrative. You need to ensure you have certain things in place so here are 7 vital elements of an eCommerce website.
1. Payment service provider
This is something most people completely overlook when they are setting up their company. A payment service provider offers services for accepting electronic payments by several methods including credit card, debit card, bank transfer, and real-time transfer based on online banking.
You’ll need one to accept any payment so it’s best to find the best possible payment gateway you can, this way you’ll be safe in the knowledge that you can accept all forms of payment, from apple pay to amazon pay. Not only that, but you’ll also find companies that will help you grow your business in the right direction and assist you where help is needed.
2. The design
When it comes down to the look and feel of your website, it’s essential that it’s clean, nice to look at, and easy to use. Consumers don’t want to make their way around a clunky maze of a website to find out what they were looking for is out of stock. Chose a theme and make sure it flows throughout everything you do on the website, along with this you have to have a colour board. A colour board is a few colours you have chosen to use for your website, having too many will be unattractive to the eye and will be off-putting.
The design of your website is like the front of your shop. If it’s dark and dreary and doesn’t look appealing then people aren’t going to want to come in and spend their money.
3. Navigation
On top of having a sleek design, it’s so important to make it easy to navigate. Simple drop-down menus are a brilliant option and everyone knows how to use them. Avoid using new and fancy ways of navigation as learning how to operate a website before getting on it isn’t fun.
4. Images
Who is going to buy anything from a website whose pictures are blurry and uninformative? The answer to that is, no one. Having the right size image for your website is not only essential for people looking and wanting to buy, but also for your loading speed and if you look into search engine optimisation.
When we say, having the right size image, we mean something that isn’t going to take 5 minutes to load but also something detailed enough that the customer can zoom in to further inspect the product.
5. Checkout Process
After someone has been shopping online and decided on everything they want they have to go through the checkout process. If this is difficult, there is no reason why they can’t delete their entire shopping basket and go to another website. You need to make sure this is the simplest part of your website, no thrills at this stage, just business. There are opportunities to upsell by having a list of discounted items at the checkout, it’s the same as when you’re in a physical shop and see something like chewing gum next to the till.
6. Customer Support
If anything goes wrong with the process of a customer buying one of your products then you need to have a system in place that is going to help them. There are too many companies that make it far too difficult to reach them and it can have bad ramifications. People talk and if you have a bad reputation with the people buying your product, you won’t have customers for very long.
7. Mobile Devices
Since the introduction of mobiles, our lives changed dramatically. When it comes to online shopping, people want to be able to do it wherever they are and that usually means making your site compatible with mobile devices. Not to worry, it’s a simple task for anyone building your website but just make sure it’s something that’s been thought about.
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Having a successful eCommerce shop has opened up so many opportunities for people that were once employed, but have now reinvented themselves as an entrepreneur. Being your boss is great but comes with a large number of responsibilities. If you want to be successful, then start with the basics and make sure everything is done to the best of your ability. Ensure the company is doing well before any expansion and enjoy it!
