5 Tips When Building An Ecommerce Store

As a small business owner, your main goal is to bring in as many customers as you can to your e-commerce store. It is just like the traditional method of expecting shoppers to pour in the shop after its launch.

You can either adopt the local traffic approach which is easy to design – run a giveaway contest, put up ads or just go or collect sample data from customers. Internet is a complex place. You have to be more proactive in your efforts to make your store look available to all. It can cause you confusion in deciphering what is causing an increase in lead traffic and what is hindering this traffic.

Use a flexible platform:

You should use an ecommerce platform which is flexible for your type of business and has the potential to expand as your business grows. You do need a base website to get going, so choose wisely from some of the popular platforms available online.

Also, it is completely okay to change the platform later on when the current one shows signs of hindrance. You can shift to a better platform down the road. What matters is the usability of the first version of your e-commerce store to be as smooth as possible.

So, here are some of the top rated platforms you can choose from;

Shopify: Shopify is a full-fledged ecosystem in its own right. You sign up for a plan and then start building your store as per the features and offerings of Shopify. There are no installations, no extra setup or diagnostics to run. -Source

WooCommerce: It is the most popular one in its league and powers more than 39% of the world’s eCommerce stores.

UCraft eCommerce builder: Ucraft is a builder that you should seriously consider using to build an online store. Their drag and drop interface is easy to understand and use, so the learning curve is far lower than other online stores. People without any technical skills can also use Ucraft and make beautiful e-commerce websites. You can also invite other team members to work on your online store. You can integrate Ucraft with Shopify and manage both of the platforms via one dashboard to keep your inventory in sync.

Wix eCommerce: Wix is a pure drag and drop website builder, where you can insert content such as text, images, slideshows, pretty much anywhere you want on your webpages.

Focus on great product photos/videos:

Photos and product videos are two of the most important aspects of an e-commerce shopping experience. They need to revolve around a theme. If you run a site where you put products from other manufacturers on your pages, then you need to find a way to manage manufacturer photos. These catalog photos are good for inventory, but you need to fit them in the personalized experience you need to offer your customers.

Product videos are said to be a big hit this year, considering the fact that Snapchat has already made people habitual of virtual reality. Your site needs to have moving videos of models displaying attires or carrying bags. If you can do something The Dollar Shave Club’s level then that’s even better. The purpose of this media is to reassure the buyer that the purchase is 100% right for them. Photos and videos along with product descriptions could increase sales.

Make checkout as easy as possible:

It is an online shopper’s worst nightmare to get stuck at the checkout of a site. A confused or angry customer won’t hesitate to leave the cart and your site. You need to have a very simple and smooth checkout plan which doesn’t make shopping seem like a difficult task. Lengthy and slow checkout are tiring and exhaustive for your customers.

Weebly suggests the following:

• Multiple “Add to Cart” buttons or options for each item.

• Cart hover states when an item is added with a subtotal and quick checkout button.

• Links to the cart in the navigation from every page.

• Bright colors and clear CTAs for adding items to the cart for checkout.

Make navigation organized:

The best ecommerce websites are those that have a logical and intuitive flow of navigation. It becomes very easy for the user to browse the site if it is in perfect order. You should lay out a navigation plan for your site. However, once you have attracted a customer to your website, your second goal should be to lead him around the store. A cohesive navigational plan will direct them to the pages that convert.

These pages can range from two to six in number, depending on their level of conversion. Nest Design is an ecommerce store that has a simple and clean navigation bar spread on every page. Customers can use these pages to jump from one category to the other. Navigation is simple and other options lie in the footer for further directions.

Keep it visually appealing:

A well-organized e-commerce site is like a fancy retail outlet. Each element is in perfect harmony. The colors, fonts, typography, and graphics are well set according to the general theme. This is very pleasing for a customer because it gives an instant impression of organized shopping experience.

Girls Best Friend is a store which uses the grid format to display pictures and text. Both of these elements are presented in a smooth and regular flow. You can either go minimalistic or use a lot of white on your website, or you can add a pop of color. Both of these cases are okay as long as you keep it in balance. Make sure your website design keeps product categories and special offers a priority.

Last word:

So, how do you pinpoint exactly which element on the site is making or breaking the deal? Is it site design, blog post or the checkout cart? There is one simple way out of this – test them all over a period of time through A/B testing.

There are some important things you should consider when setting up your e-commerce site. These basic things can be Call-To-Actions or even site design. You just have to begin in the best way possible and then keep checking. Your site will look best when you customize it according to your needs.