5 Must-Haves For A Great E-Commerce Site
Tips to help convert browsers into buyers.
There’s really no point in driving a large amount of traffic to your site if visitors click away quickly. That crucial point when customers are thinking of buying is the exact second that your e-commerce needs to be on point.
The science of turning browsers into buyers has long been sought after, and following the explosion of online business this science has become the e-commerce absolute success marker. Gone are the days of window shopping being the only method for driving sales, when stores dressed up windows to tempt customers in through their doors. Now the global spending force has hit the internet, where a great Call-To-Action could seal a sale.
Thanks to emerging markets like web hosting, music and video streaming and social media, all the creature comforts of life can be found with a wifi connection. Nowadays no business is complete without a killer e-commerce offering. The challenge is making sure that your site offers exactly what your customers are looking for. Tools like Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and affiliate links aren’t enough to sink the sale.
So the question remains: what does your site need to persuade your customers to choose you over the competition? Well, here are a few ideas that can help:
Call To Action (CTA)
A great call to action – or CTA – can make any website great. Whatever action you are trying to encourage visitors to make, whether it be signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase, a clean and clear call to action is a must. Be sure that your site leads to a point of action and is clean, crisp and clear. Bright colors and words like ‘Sign up here” or “Click to buy” are a great start.
Read more about great CTAs in this blog post.
Security
Internet security is a major concern for the modern consumer. Issues such as identity theft and hacking are a constant cause for worry. To help your customers feel safe on your site and to promote a secure buying atmosphere, you need to have an SSL certificate. SSL stands for secure socket layer and means that any information going to or from your site will first be encrypted. A little bit of help from a trusted malware protector like SiteLock will help out too. By displaying signs that your client’s safety is a top priority you can quickly become a trusted merchant.
If you aren’t sure if a website is protected, just look for the little green padlock in the address bar. If you see that padlock you will know that all information to and from that specific site is encrypted.
Check out Midphase’s Business Web Hosting for free dedicated SSL Certificates.
Checkout Process
It has been estimated that $4 billion will be left in abandoned shopping carts across the web in 2015. A major contributor to the abandoned cart issue is a complicated checkout process. Registering for an account, remembering a password and re-entering your information can be a huge hassle. This is why it is important to keep your checkout process as quick and easy as you can.
New developments in e-commerce such as one-click purchasing have led consumers to become impatient when looking for goods and services. While your site may not be ready for one-click shopping, it is worth taking the trouble to redesign your e-commerce site for simplicity and ease.
Check out our website builder for easy to build e-commerce sites, which are fully customizable and offer easy checkout platforms.
Optimization
Smartphones have become a major tool for online shopping. If your website isn’t fully optimized for mobile use you will be losing both in terms of search engine optimization (SEO) and sales. If you aren’t sure if your e-commerce website is mobile friendly, try the Mobile-Friendly Test from Google.
For hassle-free optimization check out our website builder. We optimize as you build. No stress or extra fees, just fully functional and optimized websites in no time at all.
Search Engine Ranking
Search engine optimization can be a big job, but it’s a crucial one if you are looking to take advantage of organic traffic. The easiest way to become a top website is to be shown at the top of a Google, Yahoo or Bing search results, but getting there isn’t easy. Learning about keywords, unique content and security is the best way to get a higher ranking.
SEO can be affected in dozens of ways, so we recommend reading this guide from Google and creating a Google Analytics account. Google makes it easy to monitor and test your websites to be sure that they are running in top condition.
Are there any important areas we missed? What do you feel is the most important aspect of an e-commerce website?
Let us know on Twitter @Midphase