E-Commerce Website Features You'll Want To Have
E-commerce can be scary to dive into as a business.
Not only that, but just thinking about e-commerce website platforms could leave you confused, frustrated and ready to give up.
According to Nasdaq, “by 2040, it is thought 95% of purchases will be facilitated by e-commerce.” So let’s make it a bit less scary. Here’s a list of the top 3 features we believe you get to watch out for when creating your e-commerce website.
1. Have an easy to navigate website
When you’re shopping online, you want to find what you’re looking for FAST. Your goal as the business owner is to get site visitors to the products they want so they can start adding them to their cart without becoming frustrated (which leads to abandonment). Your navigation should make it easy to find all your product categories. That means that, if your main goal is e-commerce, you get to remove the default “Shop” tab and pull out the main categories. All other pages cluttering your navigation can go to the bottom of the site.
For example, if you sell body scrubs, candles, and face masks, your menu would follow a left to right (in order of importance): body scrubs | candles | face masks
2. Let them checkout as fast as possible.
So you got your visitor to click the almighty “add to cart” button. Congrats! Now they get to move through the checkout process in a quick and seamless way. The process gets to be short, with easy instructions and only a few fields. Cart abandonment is a real thing. Making the process so easy that a person who has had a couple shots of tequila could order is exactly what you’re looking for.
3. Have your email sequence set up.
Make sure to set up your automated emails! Consumers want an instant email sent when they purchase and another as soon as the item ships. Did they abandon their cart? Have an automated email set up that will tempt them into going back for that fabulous pair of earrings. Better yet, give them a little something in that email, such as free shipping or 10% off to entice them. Depending on the platform chosen, this could all be managed from your site.
Bonus: Have a Content Management System that actually helps you out.
Keeping in mind that, depending on your budget, a CMS might not be able to have all the bells and whistles you want, you still get to have a backend that supports your business. Whether that means an easy way to update inventory or to manage orders. Make your life easier by making a list of all the must-haves then another for nice-to-have. This way, making a decision can become easier.
To succeed in e-commerce, you don’t just need a website. You need one that’s been thought out and strategized even before it was set up. Have questions about your website? Comment below!
