It is estimated that there are between 10 and 25 million eCommerce websites in the world. These stores allow customers to do all the shopping from the comfort of their homes, and they are becoming more popular by the day. Since there are so many sites available for users, if you think about opening your own online shop, you need to pay attention to the smallest details and learn how to be better than your competition. To help you out with your goal, we created this article. Here, we will talk about some of the things you need to know about eCommerce web development, and how to make bigger profits by improving the way you work.
1. You need to choose the right type of website
When developing an eCommerce website, you need to choose the right type of it and to pay attention to the design. There is a difference between the standard websites that offer mostly blogs, articles, and galleries, and a site where you are going to sell your products. Check Sonary for more e-commerce tips
In this case, you need to make sure you choose the right theme, template, and that you are going to offer your customers the possibility to learn everything about your products with just a click or two. Make sure you pay attention to the description, and that you allow them easy access to the information about your business.
2. Your customers and clients should be able to find everything they need
When creating your site, you should not forget that simplicity sells. The easier your customers can find everything they need, the more likely they are to make a purchase. When creating the design, make sure that the products that are the most likely to catch their eye are shown on the main page. Depending on the algorithms you use, you may even have a custom category for every user depending on their interests and previous purchases.
Take your time creating this, and know that you will also learn as you go. See the mistakes you’ve made, see how you can improve, and always listen to what your clients need.
3. Don’t forget about the online catalog
Now let’s talk about something that many people forget about – the online catalogs. If you want to attract new people, and if you want to reach a bigger audience, you need to think and provide catalogs.
Depending on how new your site is, and how much time you have to invest in this, you can release a new catalog every week, month, or even just once per season. This will help people learn what’s new in your store, why they should visit it, what discounts you offer, and similar things that will make a lot of difference. If you are unsure how to do this, you can use a free template, or you can just hire a designer.
4. Focus on the marketing
If you want to develop a website that sells, and if you want to attract a lot of customers with both paid and organic reach, you need to focus on the marketing. When you optimize your content, you are more likely to get noticed by potential customers that are looking for the things you are offering. According to SEO Shark, with the search engine optimization process, you will not only appear on the first page on Google, but you are also going to cut costs on pay per click ads, and you will notice an increase in calls and sales.
In addition to SEO, you need to focus on SEM online advertisements, and you should never forget about the power of social media. Be proactive, create profiles on different platforms, invest in email marketing and you will notice that your profits are going to drastically increase.
5. The photos will make a lot of difference
Now let’s talk about another important part of the whole process – the images you post and attach. The best thing you can do for yourself and for your store is to take professional photographs of every item that you have in your catalog. However, if you are not able to do that, you can use stock photos or have an agreement with someone who sells the same items and use their images.
Note that people are visual creatures, so the more you invest in providing the best pictures of your products, the more likely are people to purchase your items. You should also pay attention to the images you attach in your overall content, ads, and every other part of your site.
6. Think about the payment options and security
When you open your eCommerce website, you need to think about the payment methods, security, as well as shipping and delivery services. No matter what you sell, and what type of services you are offering, you need to make sure that your clients are going to get the product they ordered, and that they can safely pay for it.
If you cannot invest in the best security system that will allow them to pay on the site without risking their data being stolen, then you should let them pay on delivery. This is not something that would be great for you, but for the time being, it is better than risking someone hacking your site. If possible, offer them several different payment options, and make sure your security is at the highest levels. Nowadays, that is usually provided by the hosting, but you can also add additional measures to secure the payment systems.
7. Shipping and delivery
The last thing we are going to talk about is shipping and delivery strategies. Some sites collaborate with bigger services and platforms to be able to ship throughout the country and even the whole world. See if that is something, you’d be interested in.
If you want to keep your business local, then this whole process is going to be easier for you. You can do the deliveries on your own, or you can collaborate with a good shipping service that will deliver everything on time. Choose the best option depending on your products, the location of your customer, and the shipping details.
Keep these things in mind when setting up your site. Know that there are people that can help you throughout the whole process, and you should always ask for help if you are unsure if you can do things on your own. Take your time, see what your competitors are doing, and use that knowledge to make your store better.
