There are countless intricacies to building a booming eCommerce website. But there are some tenets of eCommerce website development that every site should entail. Unfortunately, too many business are led astray by agencies and developers who simply don’t know any better.
To run your eCommerce website like an expert, avoid these common eCommerce pitfalls.
Top 5 eCommerce Blunders:
- Poor website design
It seems obvious, but if you truly want to appeal to your target audience, the website interface must look the part. Luxury brands need imagery to support the lifestyle they sell. Whatever the specific products, the design should reinforce the story of the brand and reflect the quality of the offering.
- Decreased conversion due to poor usability
It is so easy to get stuck in the wrong mindset. Appearance is not the only purpose of website design. A highly usable site makes it easy for visitors to find just what they’re looking for, and to order. The website navigation must be accessible, consistent, and instinctive. Even the checkout process should be optimized to get the shopper through to order completion. Usability means making it as easy as possible for shoppers to find, order, and purchase your products. Conversion experts can help guide you to a layout that is both attractive and functional.
- Failure to keep current
A website is a living, breathing thing. If it becomes stagnant, conversion suffers. Search engines want to see regular updates and new content will pull them back in to crawl the site again and hopefully improve rankings. Shoppers also want to see fresh content. By offering constantly updated information, regular special offers, and frequent additions of new content, you become a repeat destination for shoppers.
- Requiring login/account creation
High shopping cart abandonment rates (shoppers adding products to their cart but never checking out) is a battle for many online retailers. This rate is reduced when shoppers can see shipping costs without beginning checkout, when fewer fields are required during checkout, and when a purchase can be processed without requiring account creation or login. This “guest checkout” feature is vital for encouraging shoppers to place their order without creating, or logging into an account. It can decrease cart abandonment significantly, causing conversion to skyrocket.
- Dropping the ball on the back end
It’s not enough to get the order. What happens after that establishes your likelihood of getting future, repeat business from previous customers. A streamlined fulfillment process with attentive customer service builds your reputation and improves back office efficiency. When orders are filled in a timely fashion, customers are handled carefully, and eCommerce websites are integrated with the back office and CRM systems that support these functions, customers are more satisfied and your company’s time is better spent. Establish efficiency and increase the instance of repeat business – don’t drop the ball in the back end.