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10 Essential Things to Consider in Building an E-commerce Site

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Published: Friday, 28 May 2021 06:32

Creating your e-commerce site can be complicated. You need to consider so many things, from website performance up to user engagement.

It is one thing to build a simple website. But designing a great e-commerce site has its own challenges.

First of all, e-commerce sites are designed to accept orders and facilitate sales. Hence, you need to incorporate elements that can compel site visitors to take action. You also have to make it obvious.

Otherwise, generating sales can be cumbersome. And without sales, your site loses its purpose.

If you are looking for web design tips on designing your e-commerce site, you are in the right place. We will share with you ten factors you should consider when building an e-commerce website.

Running a Great E-commerce Site

With regards to making an e-commerce website stand out from the rest of the competition, there are no hard and fast rules. However, there are common denominators that you should take into consideration.

Clean and Simple Design

The success of your online store primarily depends on the website design. Do you know that 48% of people will determine whether a business is credible or not based on its design?

A busy design will eventually lose its spark over time. But a minimalistic one with suitable color schemes and elegant typography will make it more appealing in the long run.

Placing plenty of elements on the web page also distracts the user from your store's primary focus. Getting rid of these unnecessary elements draws the visitors' attention to things that matter most.

A minimalistic site design also loads a lot quicker, decreasing your bounce rates and engaging more visitors. So, if you want to optimize your ecommerce store for conversions, the most important thing you need to do is keep it simple. Then, focus on closing sales.

A clean and simple website design will always stand out.

Furthermore, to save time and money on your end, you need to select a popular WordPress hosting service, like WPhost, to begin with.

User-Friendly Navigation

Many e-commerce brands spend vast sums of money to draw visitors to their websites. Therefore, as a brand, you must guide site visitors in making a purchase.

Your site navigation should also allow shoppers to look for products quickly. An excellent site navigation will enable you to enhance user experience, bringing in more sales and revenue in the long run.

Meanwhile, poor site navigation annoys users and causes you to have higher bounce rates.

Listed below are quick tips on how you can improve your website's navigation:

• Primary navigation menu: Go with the most common design and navigation conventions to make it easy for users. Ideally, you should place your site's navigation menu on the left side or top of the page.
• Product categories: You should organize your product listings into categories, subcategories, and labels.
• Search bar: Place a search bar on every top page of your e-commerce site. This helps users to find the products they want instantly.

Mobile-Friendly Design

Over 50% of the worldwide online traffic comes from mobile devices.

Moreover, 61% of consumers are more likely to purchase a product from a mobile-friendly site. Thus, a mobile-friendly e-commerce site can help boost website traffic retention and conversion.

One of the best practices is to use a responsive web design. That's because responsive websites can easily adjust their screen, depending on the person that's viewed them.

As a result, your site will work perfectly, working well with all types of devices.

High-Quality Product Images

As cliche as it sounds, a picture is worth a thousand words, especially if you're an e-commerce store.

The thing is, product images allow visitors to create an excellent first impression of your product. This can either attract them or turn them away.

Unlike brick and mortar stores, most customers couldn't touch, feel, see, or try on the items they bought online. That's why they would use product photos as their guide on whether they should buy your product or not.

That said, you will need high-quality product photos. Better yet, showcase a product from different angles and upload a video of how it is used. Doing so can boost a customer's confidence that they know what they are buying.

For one, more than 30% of customers would want to check out multiple product photos first before making a purchase. They may also want a 360-degree photo or video which shows off the product's most essential features.

Doing so makes it easier for your customers to visualize the product as their own and build an emotional connection with it. That's why you must invest in high-quality photos so that you can adequately showcase your products.

Most online shoppers will want to know how the product looks in real life.

Proper Product Showcase and Descriptions

Ideally, your product descriptions should offer relevant and valuable information about the product.

It should also cover the most important benefits of the product, along with its features.

When web visitors like your product, chances are, they want to learn more about how the product will help them. So, make sure that your product descriptions will effectively convey the value your products provide.

Guest Check Out

Approximately 35% of users abandon their shopping carts if required to make an account before purchasing.

While creating an account is easy, many users often find it cumbersome.

Many of them are also a bit reluctant to provide their personal information until they know that they can trust your site altogether.

Allowing your customers to place their online orders without making an account significantly reduces cart abandonment.

After they're happy with your store in their first couple of orders, you can prompt them later on to make a personal account which they probably will.

Easy Checkout Process

Making it easy for your customers to pick a product and add it to their cart is one thing. But making it easy for them to checkout and pay is another.

The easier the process is, the more motivation your customers will have to make a repeat purchase in the future. Therefore, don't add too many pages during checkout.

As much as possible, keep the process on a single page so it won't be overwhelming for your customers.

Multiple Payment Options

When it comes to e-commerce web design, you should also allow multiple payment options.

A variety of users rely on various payment methods which are available to them. Some have their favorite payment method that they rely on. So more often than not, they're more reluctant to try out other options.

There's also a chance that they will exit the sales funnel because they couldn't search for the right payment option. Provide the most common payment options on your e-commerce site.

Adequate Security and Support

If customers don't trust your site, it's less likely that they will buy from you.

Having insufficient security on your site will also expose your site to plenty of legal and financial risks.

Here are some handy security tips to keep in mind:

• Purchase a Secure Sockets Layer or SSL certificate so that your site can securely transmit data.
• Utilize an address verification system and credit card verification value during checkout.
• Come up with secure passwords for your site and regularly update them.

Detailed Shipping and Return Information

Providing detailed shipping and return policy also makes shoppers feel more comfortable in transacting with you. As a result, you get to boost your conversions and sales.

That said, make sure these policies are easy to find. The footer of your site can be a great place to place links to this information.

Conclusion

The secret to e-commerce business success is making it easy for customers to transact with you. Hence, you should take the user interface and customer experience into consideration from the beginning.

And you can do that by implementing the web design tips listed above. Good luck!

Get Sales With Dropshipping: Optimization Tips and Tricks for E-commerce

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Published: Thursday, 20 May 2021 11:02

Nowadays, online shopping has grown to be quite popular among consumers. The main reason is that online consumers find it more convenient to shop online rather than visit brick-and-mortar stores. 

This trend has been ongoing for some time now, and it made the online market highly competitive and quite oversaturated with e-commerce businesses.

Many entrepreneurs see the potential in the e-commerce market, but they lack the capital to launch a fully-fledged online store. Fortunately for them, there's always a dropshipping model they can rely on. 

So what exactly is dropshipping?

Simply put, dropshipping is an online retail business model. What's interesting about dropshipping is that these businesses don't hold any inventory on their own like standard e-commerce stores. 

Instead, dropshipping businesses procure products and items from third-party suppliers and various vendors then sell those goods through their website.

Furthermore, dropshipping stores don't have their own supply chain. They tend to outsource that as well. 

Therefore, your main concern is your website, where all the sales happen, so it's very important to optimize it properly. With that in mind, here are a few optimization tips and tricks for your dropshipping e-commerce endeavor.

Both ecommerce and dropshippers use the same types of E-commerce platforms because the businesses are synonymous in nature. But there are slight differences that dropshippers need to know before they start their business such as the ease of access, prices, and most importantly the support these stores offer.

Optimize for mobile

If you want to improve sales, you have to create more opportunities for your online store. That being said, optimizing for mobile can help you create a lot of opportunities. 

The fact of the matter is that the majority of online consumers browse the Internet using a mobile device, such as a smartphone or a tablet.

Mobile traffic has, therefore, skyrocketed in the past few years. If your website isn't mobile-friendly, you're basically closing the door to a lot of potential customers. 

Moreover, websites that aren't mobile-friendly get visibility penalties from search engines, such as Google. In other words, your pages won't rank well no matter how hard you try.

So, how do you ensure mobile-friendliness for your dropshipping website? Your best bet is to implement a responsive design. 

A responsive design allows your website content to adapt itself to any device and any screen size your consumers may be using. Such a design is fairly simple to implement and it won't cost you an arm and a leg.

Tweak your website's looks

Consumers prefer a seamless browsing experience and if you can't provide them with such, they will simply bounce right off. Your website design has a big impact on user experience, especially when it comes to product pages.

Product pages need good aesthetics and optimization so that they can encourage consumers to convert. Designing such pages is not an easy task. If you cannot handle this yourself, you'd be better off leaving it to the professionals.

For example, you can consult with a web design agency in NYC so that they can help you design both your website and your product pages the right way. That being said, here are a few tips for optimizing product pages.

• Use catchy and SEO-friendly product titles.

• Leverage high-quality imagery for your products.

• Add user-generated content.

• Utilize customer reviews and testimonials.

• Implement detailed product descriptions and information.

• Add product or demo videos.

Leverage flash sales

As mentioned before, dropshipping stores don't hold inventory, but that doesn't mean that your suppliers have unlimited stock. What that means is that you can use flash sales just like other e-commerce stores do.

What are flash sales? Flash sales are promotions where goods are sold at a greatly reduced price and for a limited time only. A good example of a flash sale is getting rid of what's left in your inventory at the end of a seasonal promotion. You want all the stuff sold, so you give out discounts.

This is a great way to boost your sales in a relatively short time. If your supplier is running out of stock, you can create a flash sale promotion to capitalize on the goods that are left. Some consumers wait for such moments specifically.

Furthermore, you can create a sense of urgency to encourage more customers to make a purchase. For instance, the fear of missing out (FOMO) strategy works really well in such cases. By leveraging this kind of urgency, you encourage customers to buy a specific product by convincing them that they might miss out on a great deal.

Improve customer service and support

More often than not, boosting sales has less to do with your product quality or quantity but more to do with customer experience. That said, happy and satisfied consumers are more likely to make a purchase and come back for more.

Customer experience is, therefore, invaluable to any business, not just e-commerce and dropshipping stores. 

For example, around 86% of online consumers are willing to pay up to 25% more for a better experience. 

The two most important components of customer experience are customer service and support. Without those two, you cannot provide your customers with an exceptional experience. 

As you may already know, the future of service is digital. What that means is that you must cater to your customers and be wherever your customers are. 

When it comes to customer service and support, you'll have to consider an omnichannel approach. Here are a few examples.

• Implement a live chat feature on your website.

• Enable multiple methods for customer service and support, such as phone, email etc.

• Provide service and support via social media networks.

• Try to be available 24/7 if possible.

• Leverage chatbots for messaging apps.

Improve your checkout process

The bane of every online store is cart abandonment. You're doing everything right, but at the final moment, your customers decide to abandon their carts and give up on their purchases.  Obviously, there's a problem somewhere, and you need to resolve it quickly so you don't lose any more sales.

Your best approach would be to create an email campaign where you will ask customers directly why they abandoned their carts. This can supply you with valuable information about what consumers think is wrong with your checkout process.

Once you have the information, you can begin working on a solution. Moreover, once the issues are fixed, you can leverage the same email campaign to remind customers about their abandoned carts and inform them that their issues have been successfully resolved.

Many consumers will be more than willing to complete their purchases after they've seen that you've made an effort to meet their needs. Here are a few most common causes of cart abandonment among consumers.

• Lack of proper security measures.

• Not enough payment methods.

• Customers find out about your policies at the checkout process (i.e., expensive shipping costs, additional expenses etc.)

• Your discount codes or coupons don't work.

Promote your business on social media

Social media platforms offer a great opportunity for your dropshipping business to gain more sales. However, it all depends on your social media presence and your relationship with your target audience there.

Suppose your business has a strong social media presence. In that case, you can reduce friction and allow your target audience to browse and purchase all of the products you have on your website through your social media pages. 

For example, Facebook is the ideal social media platform for this, as it allows you to open up a store on your business page.

This can also serve as a good promotion because you can also leverage Facebook ads to send the right messages to a specific audience based on demographics and other relevant factors. Last but not least, social media can also help you greatly boost sales when you need to.

As a matter of fact, you can organize events, such as promotions, giveaways, and contests, to drive engagement and encourage people to make purchases. This is especially true if you reward your audience with discounts and coupons for your products.

Leverage the power of email

When it comes to getting more sales, email can be your best friend and asset. 

Every online store needs a well-developed email marketing campaign. The main reason is that email tends to be very cost-effective for acquiring new leads and nurturing them until they are ready to convert.

Moreover, email is an ideal media channel for personalization. You can send out personalized emails that will encourage leads to take the necessary action. 

Furthermore, you can use email segmentation to categorize leads based on their interest and willingness to proceed down your sales funnel.

That way, you can send specific messages with specific offers to each group based on their preferences and needs. This will allow you to, slowly but surely, build engagement and interest among your leads and eventually encourage them to make a purchase.  

The online market is very competitive, which is why every online store needs to be optimized efficiently. 

Whether you own an e-commerce store or a dropshipping business, optimizing so that you can meet consumer expectations and provide them with an exceptional experience is of vital importance.

Author bio 

Travis Dillard is a business consultant and an organizational psychologist based in Arlington, Texas. Passionate about marketing, social networks, and business in general. In his spare time, he writes a lot about new business strategies and digital marketing for DigitalStrategyOne.

How to Choose the Best Blogging Platform in 2021

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Published: Tuesday, 04 May 2021 09:31

Essential On-site Optimization Tactics to Increase Conversion Rates

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Published: Tuesday, 20 April 2021 06:33

Source: Unsplash

The amount of traffic you generate doesn’t matter if you don’t manage to get part of that traffic to take a specific action, like generating sales, signing up for a newsletter or clicking on specific links. 

In other words, you should convert your traffic. 

A good conversion rate sits around 2% to 5%. Although this might not seem like much, note that most websites have a conversion rate of only about 0.2%. 

To calculate your conversion rate, simply divide the total number of conversions by the total number of your website’s visitors and multiply it by 100. 

If you happen to find yourself below the 2% mark, it might be time to consider conversion rate optimization.

With that said, let’s talk about some CRO tactics you need to know about.

1. Optimize loading speed 

Your website’s loading speed can play a major role in influencing its conversion rate. The slower your web pages are, the fewer people will convert. 

The first five seconds of your website’s loading time are the most important. Furthermore, each extra second will lower your conversion rate by around 4.4%. With that said, start by speed testing your website.

https://pixabay.com/illustrations/speed-internet-high-download-4028234/

If loading speed is a problem, one of the quickest ways to fix it is by compressing the images on your website. 

If compressing the images didn’t get the job done, you should consider getting in touch with a custom web development company as there are a lot more things that may be slowing down your website.

2. Display social proof 

Displaying social proof can improve your conversion rate noticeably. After all, nobody wants to be the first person to buy a product or a service from you. That’s because people often seek reassurance. 

In other words, visitors are more likely to trust you if they see that other people have already tried your products. 

Over 83% of consumers make their purchase decision based on recommendations from their peers. That’s one of the reasons why displaying social proof is so important. 

With that said, you can integrate a scoring system add a review section, or even display testimonials by getting in touch with previous customers. 

Displaying the logos of the companies you’re collaborating with is also a good idea, as that will let new visitors know that your business is legitimate straight away.

3. Remove unnecessary distractions 

Having a website filled with all sorts of buttons, flashy graphics, etc., will do nothing but disperse the users’ attention, ultimately driving them away from what’s really important, your call-to-action buttons. 

Your website needs to be clear and concise. Remember that you need to direct the users’ focus strictly towards the goal you are trying to achieve, like make them buy your products or getting them to sign up for your newsletter. 

With that said, when designing your website, prioritize headings and subheadings, highlight the benefits and features of your products/services, include testimonials or reviews, and add visual elements that show people what you’re offering.

After you’ve got all of that figured out, you can think about integrating some other features, like chat bots. These sophisticated computer programs can simulate human conversation, and you use that data to increase your conversion rates.

https://unsplash.com/photos/wD1LRb9OeEo

4. Remove unnecessary form fields 

If your goal is to grow your email list, you should avoid adding too many form fields. 

Although lengthier forms might help you figure out which leads are actually worth pursuing, you may still be missing out on plenty of conversions. 

That’s because, by having too many form fields, you’re likely to scare most of your website’s visitors away. Keep the number of fields at a minimum to determine whether the leads you are getting are viable or not. 

Giving visitors some sort of incentive, like a free e-book, is also a good idea, as that will get you more leads.

5. Work on your CTAs 

Your call-to-action messages are very important when it comes to conversions. 

After all, CTAs are what get users to accomplish the goals you want them to. With that being said, you shouldn’t treat them as just an afterthought. 

Firstly, you’ll have to place them strategically. Now, at first glance, the top of the web page might seem like the most viewable position. 

However, a study conducted by Google has shown otherwise. The best placement for your CTAs is right above the fold, the part of the page a user sees before scrolling down. 

Secondly, the copy of your calls-to-action matter as well. Generic CTA copies, like “Sign-up” or “Start Trial,” won’t work as well because most people have already gotten used to them. 

Your calls to action need to stand out. Even small changes like “Sign-up for Free” or “Start Free Trial” will positively impact your conversions. 

Another trick you could use is starting with the word “Yes,” as it sheds a positive light on your offer, like “Yes, I want to Sign-up,” for example. 

And lastly, you’ll also have to think about the color of your CTA buttons. As we’ve previously mentioned, the CTAs need to catch the users’ eye. 

So, using a color that increases the contrast between your website’s background and its CTA will make it more visible. 

To make the most out of your call-to-action, you will need to do quite a bit of experimentation, which brings us to our next point.

6. A/B test constantly 

A/B testing is key for improving your website’s conversion rate as it will allow you to see which changes are effective and which ones aren’t. 

In short, during A/B testing, you would take two different versions of the same web page and see which one performs better.

For example, you could have a version with green CTAs and another with red ones. 

Now, when A/B testing, keep in mind to change only one thing at a time. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to figure out what changes have altered your website’s performance. 

7. Analyze your competition 

And finally, don’t forget to analyze your competition. Here’s the thing: people do their research before buying a product, meaning that they will also look at your competitors to see how you stack up against them. 

That’s why analyzing your competitors is important. To outperform them, you’ll first need to know their strengths and weaknesses and then use that information to get ahead of the curve. 

Final Words 

All in all, these have been some of the best tips that you can use to make the most out of your website’s traffic. 

Remember that often, less means more. The fewer distractions on your website and the less time it takes for it to load, the more conversions you will get. 

Author bio

Travis Dillard is a business consultant and an organizational psychologist based in Arlington, Texas. Passionate about marketing, social networks, and business in general. In his spare time, he writes a lot about new business strategies and digital marketing for DigitalStrategyOne.