If you think about it, ecommerce sites aren’t the wave of the future. They are the wave of now!
And it seems like everyone is in love with the ease and convenience of shopping online. This rings true for city dwellers who have numerous stores in their area. And it’s also true for rural folks who live a considerable distance from the nearest retail outlet.
Even when there are lots of brick-and-mortar stores, some people prefer to shop from the comfort of their couch rather than compete for parking.
Research shows that the ecommerce market has finally overtaken physical retail. In short, there has never been a better time to get your ecommerce store up and running. And with a few helpful hints, you’ll be able to provide your customers with stellar experiences.
Following are the basics that any ecommerce site must have.
1. Clearly Stated Contact Information
Customers should not have to dig through your entire site to find a way to reach out to you. In fact, each page should have a button that leads users back to the contact or “about us” page. Most developers put this information in the banner.
These pages should anticipate customer questions: What are your hours and the best times to reach you? What is your return policy? Who can I contact if I have a complaint? If you are building your own site, be careful not to overlook something so essential as a contact information page.
RELATED ARTICLE: PROMOTING YOUR COMPANY IN THE INFORMATION AGE
2. Search Functions
Having the ability to search an entire site for the one thing you need is invaluable for web users. This is especially true if you’re in a business that specializes in more esoteric or hard-to-find items.
Customers looking for one specific product can just type it into a search bar and wait to see what pops up. A non-functioning search bar can be frustrating to a first-time customer.
As a matter of fact, this can be frustrating to any customer, so make sure it works as it’s supposed to before your ecommerce store goes live.
3. Easy Check-Out
Nothing scares a potential customer off faster than a buggy checkout page on an ecommerce site. It’s frustrating for shoppers as they try to complete their purchases. Importantly, it can also make a customer feel concerned about security.
After all, the checkout page is where people enter their credit card information, name and home address. Therefore, checkout pages must operate in a smooth and safe fashion.
For this reason, many ecommerce stores are adopting alternative payment options such as PayPal. This strategy helps to keep security-minded customers on board.
If you don’t know how to set up a checkout page, you might want to leverage a cheap ecommerce website builder to assist you. You’ll get all the features and functionalities you need. All you have to do is come up with the content and the products to fill your site.
4. Business-Specific Touches
If you’re selling clothing, have a sizing chart to help people see how things will fit. If you’re providing a service, a breakdown of your services and the charges will surely be appreciated.
Add something that makes the site your own and gives a little more support to your customers. Shoppers will appreciate the little extra touches. Further, it could help to keep your own costs down by reducing the number of returns or customer complaints.
Shipping items back and forth because they didn’t fit or the color doesn’t look right costs your business money that could be better spent elsewhere.
Stick with the Basics
There are plenty of opportunities to grow and evolve your small business once you get started. Just don’t forget the basics on your way to the top—and keep them in place as you grow.
