E-Commerce Success? It’s All In Your Website

There’s no way to sugarcoat the brutal reality of running an e-commerce site: it’s tough. Whatever you’re selling, there are dozens of other websites selling the exact same thing. Don’t believe us? Take any random product from your online store and type it into Google. You’ll see that people have plenty of choice when it comes to where they want to shop. So it can be difficult to get ahead, but it’s not impossible. It all comes down, ultimately, to one thing: your website. While many other factors contribute to success, nothing will kill you faster – not even high prices – than a website that’s below par.

A Bold Statement

What are the first things people notice when they visit a website? You’ll need to know, because first impressions count for everything online. If your website address is not quite right, that’s a mark against you, if your design is outdated, that’s another mark against you. And they’re gone, onto another website. Your homepage needs to make an impression. Don’t try too hard, just make sure it’s absolutely watertight and looks good. That way, a visitor will stay longer than a few seconds and you’ll have the opportunity to turn them into a customer.

Trustworthy = Conversion

Would you buy your sporting clothes from a website that was called, say, nikesportinggear.usell.biz? Of course you wouldn’t. That’s an extreme example of why a website might lose your trust, but there’s many more reasons too. SSL certificates and http are hugely important in creating trust. You’ll also need to ensure your website faces no downtime and is consistent in its performance, so get a company to manage your IT services and ensure that visitors to your site can feel secure in using your services, because a visitor to an e-commerce store that receives an offline website error message will not be returning. Finally, a ‘contact us’ page with as much information as possible, including phone number, social media pages, and company headquarters location will also show itself to be trustworthy.  

There To Serve

This is an impatient society we’re living in, and nobody wants to spend longer than necessary trying to find the goods they need. When it comes to designing your website, you should do so with the idea that you’re there to serve your customers, not yourself. Make it as easy as possible for them to navigate your pages; people want to sort by what’s popular, sizes, prices, and any other variable you can think of, so why not add it your site? Also, you should endeavor to offer as much choice as you’re able, including payment options, delivery timescales, and so on.

Visual Merchandising

Running an eCommerce website requires extensive knowledge of online visual merchandising and how you can use it to sell your products. It refers to the methods by which you turn visitors to your website into customers who will buy your products. To do so, you must use online visual merchandising strategies to get those customers to stay on your website and navigate through its pages. You can use visual merchandising tactics to essentially lead them where you want them to go on your website. Those tactics may include the use of buttons or product images they can click, for example. Pairing images with captivating captions can also help encourage customers to click through to other pages of your website.

The Importance Of SEO

Many eCommerce sites thrive on Google, as a large chunk of your customers will find you through search engines. Picking the right eCommerce platform can set you up for success while implementing SEO strategies that fit your brand that will allow others to find your website. In Inflows blog post, they suggest a self-hosted platform because you can control the SEO. If you were to use a hosted platform, you’re at the whims of the website you’re hosting, and this could hurt your business. Adding a blog to your website is an excellent way to bring people into your product pages. Constant updates for your site sends Google signal that you’re active, and you should be rewarded for this.

Content Is King

You might pay a little bit more money than you’d like, but it really is worth putting the time and effort into taking top quality pictures of your products and also have original, fresh web copy to accompany the image and sell the product. With a clear, beautiful website and products that look and sound the part, you’ll be on your way to e-commerce success!