e-Commerce continues to rise in popularity, which is making it easier for ambitious people to get into this world. The problem is that some people get a little too excited and fail to make time to develop their e-Commerce site. The following are a few tips that should help you design a winning site for your product.
Stay Consistent
One key thing to keep in mind when designing an e-Commerce site is to make sure it is consistent with the product being sold. Of course, the use of white space is vital, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t add images, and use color schemes that connect with the product you are selling.
If a product is a toy, then the site has to have lively or bouncy images that give off a playful and youthful feel. The same thing goes with whatever product you are selling; the key is to try to create an online environment where that product makes sense.
Highlighting the Product
e-Commerce sites need to pay extra attention to the images they show customers. People who visit sites will likely base their buying decision solely on the quality of the pictures displayed. Be careful about using a photograph that is not true to the actual item being sold.
Some people may think that hiring a professional photographer might be too much, but the quality of the picture is pretty much all that online users care about. Users want to be able to see the item from different angles and be able to zoom in to see the details before making a purchase.
Finding a Good Host
It is important that the site is able to respond quickly because online users don’t like e-Commerce sites that take too long to load. This is the reason you need to take steps to ensure that your site is operating at lightning speed. One thing that could be done while you are developing the site is to make sure the host you choose has a good response time.
Figuring this one out is not too hard. You can always check out the hosting company you are considering on HostScore to see how fast the company’s response time is. The site has a number of hosting sites, so if you are using GoDaddy and find that GoDaddy alternatives seem to be better, then make the switch now rather than later.
Attention to the Cart
Some designers overlook the importance of the shopping cart when they shouldn’t. This is where online users end up before checking out, and it could be designed in a way that not only helps users make their final decisions, but it also helps users see if they missed a thing or two before checking out.
In order to ensure that the shopping cart can do all of this, it has to be designed with that intent. A summary should be available. The cart should give users the ability to remove or add products. There should be a function that allows users to reduce or increase quantity without leaving the page. There should also be a section showing shoppers items that other users have purchased along with the items in their cart, which could help promote other items.
Inject True Security
e-Commerce sites have one big hurdle to cross before people can really use the site and that is building trust. You could figure out ways to built trust while developing the site. Site owners with connections can ask other companies with similar products to vouch for the company.
Others could simply work on gathering testimonials to ensure that other visitors see that many people before them worked with the company and encountered no problems. Online users who are going to be putting in information about their credit cards or debit cards also want to see signs of safety, and the best way to do this is to ensure that the site has an SSL certificate.
These are just some things that could be added to an e-Commerce site to make it as effective as possible, but there are other features worth considering.
For example, a good feature would be to add a live-chat option to be able to answer direct questions about the product, and hopefully, that is enough to convince the user to purchase the item. Try to be patient while designing this site because building an effective e-Commerce site takes time.
