Technology and the internet have become an integral part of our lives. This has enabled them to influence shopping trends, making consumers more open to online-shopping. The main reason why the internet has been so successful in doing this is because it has made shopping more convenient, social, and personalised. The shift has made retail and corporate players to scramble to set up online e-commerce websites, so as to improve their overall consumer buying experience and to adapt to the changing market and sales trends. If you are intent on starting an e-commerce website, the following are a few points to articulate before you delve into your project.
Create an Ecommerce website with a simple layout and use images that draw attention
Consumers want a clear website design that draws attention and a layout that makes sense. In consequence of this, the website layout should be simple and easy to navigate. Another important factor is that you should avoid a website layout that is congested with many products, as the pages will load slowly and that may put off some consumers. In addition, adding beautiful photographs of your products is important, as having the right image can be the difference between the consumer purchasing the product or simply turning a blind eye. High definition images that show the product from different angles, coupled with well written and realistic descriptions is ideal.
Use easy to navigate and detailed product descriptions
Consumers can sometimes be in a hurry to find specific products quickly and easily. As a result, it is important to include filter features and other related ways that may help make their search more convenient. You can do this by organising your website into different categories, for example by brands, and then into smaller sub-categories, such as colour, or size. You should also ensure that all important product information is strategically set, so that customers don’t have to waste time searching for vital information about the product. It is also important to include suitable available alternatives on the same page, just incase consumers find the product not as amusing and prefer looking into alternatives. For products that are a bit too complex to use or install, you can embed videos to assist customers that may not be familiar with these aspects.
Offer secure checkout and tracking
After items have been added to the cart, consumers wish to be able to finish the transactions in the shortest possible. As such, you should use a simple, easy to use checkout system. It is also vital to have a checkout system that supports several payment options such as major credit cards, and PayPal. It is best to include an SSL, which stands for Secure Sockets Layer, which basically encrypts sensitive information such as customer’s credit card information, as the website sends this data to concerned parties for processing. To make the delivery process easy and more assuring, you should also provide tracking details so that can trace where their goods are, throughout the shipping process. Examples of good ecommerce sites are Zalando and Amazon.