What Makes A Successful E-Commerce Website?

Setting up an online shop using e-commerce doesn’t have to be a headache, but as any shop owner knows, it isn’t as simple as throwing all your products out there and hoping for the best. Here are some pointers from us to help you on your way to e-commerce success…

With e-commerce as with all websites, good design speaks volumes. This is your metaphorical shop-front, the first stop for most people when they seek out your business, so it has to look good and it has to reflect the quality of your business.

Think of your local highstreet – the shops most likely to catch your attention are the ones with attractive window displays and quality signage, because subconsciously you associate these things with a quality product. The moral of the story: don’t skimp on the design process, it will cost you in the long run!

Your next biggest concern is user experience. Consider all aspects of the shopping process, from the minute the customer arrives at your online shop to the minute they check out – how can you make the experience as simple as possible for them?

Search & Categorise

It’s important that, on arriving at your site, you have an intuitive search function so that customers can quickly and easily search for the exact product they want.

Equally, should they wish to browse the site, it’s important that your products are sorted and listed into sensible categories and sub-categories for ease of use.

Checkout

You’re closing the deal; you don’t want to loose the customer at this point! Don’t hide any charges; make sure VAT and shipping costs are made very clear. Give the customer piece of mind that their transaction is secure by applying an SSL certificate to your site (more info on that here).

Finally, make sure you offer an easy and secure payment gateway – and if you want customers to have to sign up to make a purchase, don’t force them to fill out countless fields of information! Keep it simple and you’ll keep them coming back.