Meeting customers’ expectations has never been easy, especially in a business dynamic as cutthroat as eCommerce. If you are in the eCommerce industry, your website is your most vital asset. But why? According to the website statista.com, an eCommerce website allows you to reach an estimated 2.05 billion digital consumers globally. Given the fierce competition, it’s essential to provide your business with a competitive edge so it can appeal to the masses. A well-designed website can attract users, whereas a website with a poor design and unhelpful customer service will likely turn visitors away. This blog will discuss the top 10 features that an effective eCommerce website must have!
However, let’s first start with why an eCommerce website is a must-have in 2022. The existence of trading practically goes back to the beginning of human life on planet Earth. Before the introduction of the monetary system, barter was the primary mode of exchange. As technology and digitalization have advanced, the approach to selling and purchasing has also changed.
This has eventually led to the development of eCommerce, where eCommerce websites allow businesses to accept orders, manage payments, ship products, and offer real-time services online in the digital age. But what does it take to build a successful eCommerce website? You may be wondering this if you’re trying to build your first eCommerce website or if your existing website isn’t bringing in enough visitors or revenue.
The key to success is an eCommerce website with robust and attractive functionality. Features essential to an eCommerce website can help boost conversion rates, keep customers satisfied, and help your business consistently remain profitable. Being aware of these features is vital for your online success. Having said this, let us now discuss the top must-have characteristics of a successful eCommerce website:
One of the critical characteristics of an eCommerce website is clean and user-friendly navigation. Navigation allows users to navigate various menus and categories easily. Users, especially those interacting with an online business for the first time, can quickly become lost in a sea of products and services if a website’s design/user interface (UI) is disorganized.
It is highly recommended that you utilize a color palette sensibly. This creates a visual distinction between navigation and other elements. Using buttons for call-to-action, arranging links by priority, streamlining for mobile, and using descriptive labels are a few examples of smart website navigation features.
Visual presentation can give users a better feeling of a brand’s quality and reliability. Many customers measure a brand’s reputation based on a website’s appearance and aesthetic appeal and base their decisions on a product’s image before buying. Therefore, high-quality product images can help improve the conversion factor for the concerned product.
You cannot ignore the importance of a user-friendly checkout process for your eCommerce website. The failure or success of an online store also depends on how straightforward the checkout process is. If the checkout process is too convoluted or lengthy (too many steps), many buyers will opt out of the purchase.
Your eCommerce website should also have flexible payment methods. These days, eCommerce stores prefer giving customers a plethora of options that could improve their payment experience. Though you can still offer traditional payment methods like bank transfers and credit cards, such payment options appeal to customers these days. Digital wallets and mobile payment apps like Venmo and Zelle are some examples of preferred payment method alternatives.
The footer navigation is one of the most ignored features of many eCommerce websites. A website’s footer is just as important as its header. Oftentimes, users head to the footer section to check out sections such as “About us,” “Contact us,” “Blogs,” and other reliable information not represented elsewhere on the website. Consider also including a footer list for your best-selling items. Additionally, a footer section helps search engine crawlers discover your website, thus making this one of the most crucial SEO aspects.
These days, most eCommerce customers use mobile devices. As many as 72.9 % of worldwide retail eCommerce sales are generated by mobile devices, according to Statista. Since most customers surf the web by using their phones, it is now a must for mobile developers to optimize their websites for mobile-first use. This is because over half of all Internet traffic originates from mobile devices. Ensure your website maintains a mobile-friendly design to help customers browse your website comfortably.
Customers can use smart search to browse for products and services without spending a lot of time browsing. They can precisely search for what they want, thanks to this feature. They can also choose a listing criterion thanks to the help of sorting. Therefore, it is crucial to incorporate this feature for a good user experience.
It is now possible to combine virtual and physical customer experiences thanks to Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) technology, which can help customers make more informed purchasing decisions. This type of technology allows customers to “test” products before buying them.
Consumers can benefit from a FAQ section. This is because providing answers to frequently asked questions on your website improves visitor perception. Customers who have faith in your business are more likely to buy your products. You can address simple questions through the FAQ section and also provide your contact details on this page, as well as information about orders, shipping, and return policies.
Many customers finalize their buying decisions by reading product descriptions. But creating an SEO-optimized product description that converts a prospect to a paying customer can often be difficult. For your eCommerce store, engaging consumers convinced about purchasing your product makes sense, so always consider including a product video in your description.
A studio-quality product video helps users get a better understanding of the details of the product, thus allowing them to see it being used and confirming that it meets their expectations. Therefore, be sure to build a product page with space for product videos or include them in the images section.
Another must-have for your eCommerce website is a chatbot. Depending on a chatbot’s level of intelligence, these are ideal for reducing the strain on your customer service team. A chatbot can also assist consumers with website navigation, informing them on the status of their orders, and much more.
The features listed above can act as a guide to help you improve the overall experience on your eCommerce website. Finally, it’s also essential to check that the website loads quickly (within approximately 3 seconds), as users will typically not wait for a page to load for more than a few seconds. To conclude, an eCommerce website provides its users with transparent, easy navigation and an intuitive experience and helps make shopping a pleasurable activity for them.