It’s a simple truth – your ecommerce site will be successful if you have a good grasp on what works and what doesn’t. Some of the areas that new ecommerce site owners focus on are things like social media marketing, branded packaging, and even blogging. While all of those things are vital to building a long-lasting brand and ecommerce store, extended success also requires a good grasp on the fundamentals.
As they say, the devil is in the details.
Let’s take a look at a few that can make or break an e-store.
The basics
The particulars that make or break an ecommerce site are often common things everyone is using or implementing on their websites. In other words, most of the crucial details you need to keep your site successful are intrinsic to the ecommerce market itself. What is an ecommerce business after all, but a small part of a larger industry?
While we break down these core components to a successful digital store, keep in mind having these things is not enough. The goal of your website should be to make things as simple and smooth as possible for the customer to find what they want, discover new items of interest, and make a purchase.
A clean & clear checkout process
One function every store must have is a shopping cart system. A clear path to checkout is essential for moving folks out of the “interested customer” bucket and into the “satisfied buyer” bucket. As you might expect, this process needs to be a streamlined experience for every customer.
The easiest way to implement a user-friendly checkout is to allow them two options: make an account to save future information or check out as a guest. This allows customers to save their card info, addresses for shipping and billing, and personal info into their profile. That way, they can complete subsequent orders faster.
Keep products organized
Another aspect many people overlook is the idea your site needs to be as organized as possible. This means categories should be clear, though limited. If you sell kitchen accessories, having separate categories for spoons, tongs, spatulas, and ladles might be too specific and crowd your drop-down category menu.
Instead, separate in a way that signifies larger groups like cooking utensils, baking utensils, and eating utensils. This way, customers know where to go for the specific item they are looking for. As they browse those larger categories, they will come across more items than they would if they searched one specific type of accessory.
Double check load times, image quality and proper linking
Many customers get anxious when they have to wait in long lines at brick-and-mortar stores. Likewise, if they have to wait too long for site pages and photos to load, they may leave your site altogether.
Never underestimate the power of a fast, smooth website. The difference between you and your competitors could be that your site’s images are not broken, your screens load quickly, and you have taken the time to make sure your site is easy to shop.
The same goes for your website links. If a customer wants to visit a page, but finds a link is broken or redirects to the wrong page, he or she is more likely to abandon your website all together.
In the end, it’s all about dotting your i’s and crossing the t’s. In other words, it’s just professional.
Don’t skimp on the details.
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