Much like any business, e-commerce isn't always easy — but setting up, launching and maintaining sites where entrepreneurs, designers, and creators of all sorts can sell is more attainable now than ever.
If you already have an e-commerce site, or are considering branching out into the world of e-commerce, below we share 7 incredibly useful tips to help you get your online business up and running.
1. Think like a customer visiting your website
If you want your website to connect with your audience, you need to think like the audience when designing it. Ultimately there are not that many things that customers want in any e-commerce experience - a site that's easy to navigate, is well-designed, customer-centric and makes the process of shopping straightforward and hassle-free
During the process of creating your site, and the continued optimisations thereafter, put yourself in your customers shoes. When you think like your customer, you can anticipate what they want from your site and you can then create one to meet those needs
2. Choose the right platform & theme
A platform is the foundation for your online business. When considering which platform to choose for your e-commerce development, it is better to choose a proven platform that can handle the requirements of your business, and gives you the scope for the growth you are seeking. There are many choices out there, so be sure to clearly understand the functionality you require and what you are looking for from a platform that will best suit your business needs.
3. Mobile First
It might seem like an obvious area to focus on but it is surprising how many sites are not optimised correctly for mobile. There are a plethora of statistics that all point to over 50% of website traffic coming from people on mobiles. When developing your site and theme, if you don't design with the mobile customer journey in mind, you could be losing over half your potential customers straight away!
There are a plethora of statistics that all point to over 50% of website traffic coming from people on mobiles
4. Use high quality imagery
In the world of eCommerce, it is common knowledge that better images will increase conversion. If you want people to buy your products or services, then you need to show them what they are buying via high-quality imagery.
Getting professional images of all your products, and having multiple variations of these (such as shots from different angles and in situ lifestyle settings), will go a long way in building trust and confidence in your products when being viewed online. If customers are confident, your conversion rates will increase and your revenue will grow!
5. Enable your customers to easily find what they need
The harder it is for your customers to find what they need on your website, the less satisfied they will be with your brand. If the layout is confusing and disorganised, then customers will leave before taking the time to understand what you are saying and what you are selling.
Some considerations are..
Simple is always better. The more things you have going on, the harder it will be to guide your customers towards your call-to-action.
Have a clear and appropriately named Navigation
Include a search bar with relevant filters
Have clear call-to-actions
6. Use Colour To Your Advantage
Applying colour psychology principles in your website design can help with conversion. Using colour and imagery can inspire and motivate a person to take action, for example the colour of your call-to-action buttons can increase/decrease click-through rates.
Some considerations are...
Choose colours that are consistent with your branding
Have website colours that pass accessibility guidelines
Follow the 60-30-10 design rule even in using colour throughout your website. 60% dominant colour, 30% of secondary colour, 10% for accent colours.
Using colour and imagery can inspire and motivate a person to take action and can increase/decrease click-through rates
7. Create an Easy & Seamless Checkout Experience.
Unexpected shipping costs, a complicated checkout process and the need to create an account are all common reasons for shopping cart abandonment. They all revolve around the checkout process and you can mitigate these by ensuring your checkout page is simple and easy to navigate through.
Some considerations are...
Give your customers a guest checkout option instead of forcing them to register
Minimise the amount of information customers have to fill out to get through the checkout
Be up front with your shipping costs, whatever they are.
Be clear on the return & refund policies
Enable a one click checkout option if you have one
Provide multiple payment options
Guarantee site security by employing best practices and displaying security seals on your website pages.
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