You've heard the expression "you can lead a horse to water but you
cannot make him drink"? Well, that is sometimes how I feel when
discussing e-commerce trading!
You cannot establish a solid e-commerce business without a website
that achieves six critical elements, in my opinion! These are critical
elements that so many e-commerce websites don't achieve! Why? Lack of
understanding, knowledge or focus on the potential customer, and wih
probably only one thought-- making a quick buck!
- Navigation - You want your visitors and
potential customers to be able to easily get around your website and
find what they want. Your online store needs to show numerous items at
once, while giving your visitors the options to view more information.
Allow your customers to enjoy browsing your products. Prior to any new
website being designed, you need a plan. Learn by visiting your
competition and analyising their good points and how they are
selling/trading online. Sit down and layout your website and then
consult with an e-commerce specialist web designer and developer (yes,
two or more different individuals). It will be worth it and it will
save you hundreds of pounds in the long run!
- Display of the product
- Visitors and potential clients want to be able to see what they are
buying! Depending on what you are selling, offer different angles,
dimensions, videos etc. Set up your product displays so that other
related products are included, for example if the product is suits,
show shirts, ties, shoes etc.
- Website readability
- Similar to how you display the product, readability is a function of
design. Readability is concerned with how easy is it to see your
descriptions, instructions and crisp clear images. If a visitor cannot
read about your product because the typeface or photos are too small or
faint, what happens? If you visit a website that you cannot read, what
do you do? Yes, you leave without taking any action!
- Website copywriting
- Product descriptions should be well written and interesting. Yes, you
need to provide basic information with the features, however the main
aim of the content is to focus on the benefits. Why should your visitor
purchase your product? The aim is to connect your visitors with your
products. To give visitors confidence, clearly explain the ordering
process, how products are returned and give detailed customer service
information.
- Website build - It is
so important that the software you purchase to build your website is
search engine friendly, secure and adaptable. There are so many poor
software packages on the market that do not provide any search engine
or online marketing potential! Well, unless you are a specialist in the
programming that has been utilised. Please avoid these, you will only
get frustrated! I have a lot of examples of individuals and
companies discussing their pride and joy ecommerce website with my
specialisits to be told that there is nothing that can be done and it
will have to be re-built! The best option is to have your e-commerce
website built built by a team of specialists in design, programming and
online marketing. This will again save you money, stress and time!
- Ease of purchasing
- It is also critical that you make the ordering and the process of
buying from your online store as easy as possible. One of the major
reasons why individuals buy online is to save time and it makes life a
lot easier. If a visitor and potential customer has to go through five
or more steps to complete a transaction, they might give up! It should
take no more than three clicks from one page to another to make a
purchase. Carefully research the software that you want to use.
Prioritising on these six elements when building your online store
will produce excellent results as long as it can be found. Take the
time to research websites that are consumer friendly and successful in
their own markets. Is a great way to begin your planning. Make your
online store fun and easy to use!
