If your company is offering products and services on your website, then it is very likely that you have entered into the lucrative, challenging world of e-commerce.
You might think that all your efforts and time are worth it because your business is getting enough sales. However, experts say that even with just a simple improvement, you can actually double or triple your monthly sales.
Your e-commerce website is the outlet that customers use to purchase your products and services. But when it is not properly set up, it becomes useless – potential customers won’t be attracted to visit your online store. If you don’t have the essential elements that an e-Commerce site needs, you will surely be losing sales opportunities.
Here are eight essential elements an e-Commerce website must have.
1. User-Friendly Navigation
Make sure that your e-commerce website is very easy to navigate. After all, a fulfilling and easy experience will attract visitors to your site and keep them coming back. Menus or links to product categories must be positioned in a prominent place. Most importantly, every page must provide users with an easy way of getting back to the home page, choosing another category, going directly to the shopping cart, or finding contact information.
2. Complete Yet Concise Product Information
Visitors must know the facts about what they are about to buy. They won’t buy when the product information is either incomplete or confusing. Examining your product pages is very important. Browse your product pages as if you are a customer seeing them for the first time. Is there enough information for you to make a well-informed buying decision? This does not necessarily mean that the description must be long; rather, it must be detailed enough to emphasize the specific and unique qualities of the product. Consider using effective keywords to make your products easier to find.
3. High Quality Product Videos
Since “seeing is believing,” a video marketing strategy can be very beneficial. Adding videos describing the products and services will draw in customers who want a visual touch when buying online. According to HubSpot, including videos can actually increase conversion rates by 80%.
4. Superb CTA Buttons
Your call to action (CTA) buttons are a vital part of your website. A creative, enticing CTA button can direct customers to take a desired action and boost conversion rates. Ultimately, this enhances your lead generation. Allow your customers to take action if they are happy with the pieces of information they read by providing them CTAs. When creating a successful CTA button, make it simple yet colorful and attractive to match your site’s theme. You must position it strategically on the website and make it mobile-friendly.
5. Easy Checkout Process
Customers do not want to go through a lot of pages to buy a product. The checkout process must be contained on a single page whenever possible, and then let them confirm their order on the following page. A lengthy checkout process will result in unsatisfied customers – they will either leave your site and look for another online store or make their purchase but never come back.
6. Effective Shopping Cart Design
The layout of your shopping cart must be simple. It should include prominent checkout buttons and all the necessary elements your customer needs, like the ability to select shipping options, change quantities, enter promo codes, continue shopping, and select a payment option.
7. Customer Reviews
These are very important to your e-commerce website because they can help potential customers decide if you are indeed a reputable business offering high-quality products and services from other consumers’ point of view. Studies have shown that many consumers read online reviews to check a business’s reliability and quality.
It is highly recommended that you send an email to consumers who bought your offerings for feedback about what they’ve purchased. Most customers are aware that this feedback request is a part of the buying process, so they are more likely to fill it out to make sure that your review section is full.
8. Social Media Integration
Finally, this is one of the most crucial elements of an effective e-commerce website because social media is taking over the online world these days. Position the social media icons at the top of the page. Social media buttons will give friends and followers social proof. In turn, this can result in an increase in purchases of similar items and traffic to your website. Invest in professional social media services if you must.
By incorporating all of these essential elements in your e-commerce website, you will definitely increase user sign-ups, purchases and retention whilst enhancing brand reliability and trust.
Meet the Author: Philip Mazloumian
Philip Mazloumian understands that creativity heavily depends on human insight, and as such, his knowledge forms an invaluable part of what React Digital does. With over 10 years of leadership in the field of strategic brand development and marketing communication, he has positioned himself as a leading executive for organizations that require effective and timely achievement of their brand and marketing objectives.