E-commerce is one of the hottest trends as more businesses opt to sell services and products online. You find countless new e-commerce websites pop up on a daily basis but not all survive. Many do so because there is an art to ensuring your e-commerce website is design and developed for consumers.
Consumers have tons of different options to choose from when they shop online. Even the slightest of mistakes on a website can make them jump to another vendor. This is why the HubSpot web design experts recommend you to avoid the following five mistakes which e-commerce businesses commonly make.
Not picking a suitable e-commerce platform
The e-commerce platform you choose is the foundation of the website. Which means you don’t want to rush into picking the first option you come across. Picking the right platform takes a lot of research and before you can do that, you need to ask yourself the following:
- The type of product and quantity you are looking to sell.
- How much do you expect the business to scale?
- Do you want control over your website as far as customization goes?
- What external tools and software are you looking to integrate within the site?
It is important for a business to look at these factors before shopping around for a platform. You can find complete reviews of different web development platforms and CMS at https://webpagescientist.com. A common mistake here is opting for a platform that either doesn’t allow a business to scale up or integrate tools that are vital for it to function at an optimal level. Which of course results in the business not reaching its full potential, revenue loss, and so on.
The checkout process is too complex
The reason why consumers prefer online shopping is because it gives them the comfort of shopping from their home or office. A few simple clicks and they can order whatever they need. As a business, you need to ensure that your checkout process is just that, a few simple clicks. Having a complex checkout process with numerous tedious steps will only drive them away from your site. Not everyone will want to sign up for an account or fill out a long-form just to make a simple purchase. Which is why you need to give them the option to “make a purchase as a guest” to avoid these unnecessary steps.
For existing clients who have an account with you, aim to offer a one-click checkout, similar to what Amazon and other e-commerce giants do. Once they login, they have the option to select the products they want to purchase and a one-click checkout option in the shopping cart that uses the information stored including card to make the purchase.
Limited or no search option
Search bars are a godsend when it comes to having to browse through numerous products on a website. It is integral for an e-commerce site to feature a comprehensive search bar. This means, once a search is performed, customers should be able to filter it how they like and have the option to pick brands, size, price, and so on. This allows them to narrow their search down to the exact product they are looking without having to browse through hundreds of products.
Not optimized for mobile devices
Not optimizing your website for mobile devices is practically a sin nowadays. About half of the internet traffic today is from a mobile device so if your website does not provide these users with a good experience, they will leave it immediately. Search engines also consider mobile optimization when they rank sites, ranking those that don’t feature it lower due to bad user experience.
No chat integration
Today, customers need answers immediately which means you need to equip your website to do just that. While FAQs are great, they don’t provide answers to every question customers have. Therefore, integrating an option for customers to chat with representatives is a must for e-commerce sites. This gives them the option to ask any question and get an immediate answer. All of which will increase the likelihood of them buying from you.
The key to successful e-commerce business is to learn from mistakes made by others and build from them. For a holistic, user-friendly e-commerce site, be sure to take heed of the five mistakes listed above to set your business up for success.
