Let’s have a look at types of successful ecommerce websites. For an ecommerce website to succeed it needs to firstly be a viable online business, meaning you have to have a product that people want to buy and would feel comfortable buying online. If you are an established business looking to venture into the online world, you need to think how your business model will translate into this new area. If you are a startup company, then ecommerce is a viable platform to launch your business, but in both cases you need to have done your research. Your research should include market research, customer profiling, competition analysis and probably most importantly ROI (Return on investment) research. You need to know that your profits will be healthy enough to make it all worth while.
The next stage is designing and developing the ecommerce website. There are a lot of options out there to choose from; a potential minefield. Different types of ecommerce packages will suit different businesses. An off the shelf solution which may be very cheap or even come free with an ecommerce hosting service, is going to look attractive to a start up business. But it is debatable whether these wizard-based / template / do-it-yourself style solutions would be successful in the long run; are they really that effective with today's sophisticated on-line shoppers? Some may enable you to make sales but certainly do not allow you to operate at full potential.
All I can say is that it is worth investing money in the thing that is going to make you the money. (Strangely a lot of people haven’t grasped this concept yet!) Today, online competition is fierce and an original and intelligently thought out design is going to be more successful and give you that edge over your competitors. However, whatever you decide to do I would strongly recommend that you spend a lot of time planning it. Think about the following issues and discuss them with your web designer:
Usability and customer experience – Web shoppers are not the most patient people so be sure the web design not only grabs attention but is simple and easy to use. Increase your ‘browse to buy’ ratios by allowing the user to easily find what they are looking for and make their purchase quickly. Little glitches or errors will frustrate the user and more than likely turn them away; like a search function that doesn’t work properly or a slow loading page.
Positive Brand Image - Building a memorable, positive brand image that online consumers will be attracted to in the long term is a key issue. Branding in the online world is far more than just transferring your print brand identity to the Web.
Updateability – Make sure that you think carefully about the areas of your site that you need to update yourself. A content management system is essential for an ecommerce website, you will need to add new products, change prices, update news stories, upload pictures etc. It might also be useful to be able to add links. You don’t want to be running back to your designer for costly updates and changes that you could do yourself.
Web marketing - Appropriate marketing of the website is a key issue, and a huge subject (another whole article in fact). Increasing and maintaining your search engine profile is an ongoing strategy, and it is one of the most vital elements for success. Very basically, you need to get people to your website to maximize your sales. Search engine optimization and pay per click campaigns create as many doorways into your website as possible to ensure that your potential customers are finding you. You will also need to keep a watchful eye on your competitors, analyse their marketing strategies and stay ahead of the game.
Download Speed - The download speed has to be fast, so that regardless of someone’s connection speed they won't have to wait for the website to load. They will only give it a matter of seconds before exiting and moving on to your competitor’s website.
Scalability – Allow plenty of flexibility within the design so that the website has the capacity to grow with your business. You don’t want to be held up at a later date by a restrictive design that can’t handle large volumes of traffic or can’t expand to fit your product sections.
Compatibility – Make sure all aspects of your website can connect successfully with any existing internal databases, banking systems, stock control or email systems. (Unless you wanted to overhaul them anyway).
Analysis - You need to have a comprehensive reporting system to enable you to analyse every aspect of your website: marketing, sales, web traffic, visitor tracking and stock control. It is only with constant analysis that you can make the necessary adjustments to these areas to ensure the best use of your budgets and continue to improve your service and turnover.
Payment system – Let’s not overlook this very important aspect – the money!! You will need a merchant banking account, to enable you to process credit card transactions and actually retrieve the money from credit card orders. Make sure you choose a reliable, fast and secure system with a proven track record.
Data capture – Be sure to have a function on your website that enables you to capture the details of visitors to your website even if they haven’t purchased something. The usual methods are to sign up to email alerts about promotions/offers and newsletters. This data can be used for future marketing campaigns.
Newsletter and email functions – A vital way to market your products; a system set up to automatically send out newsletters and emails to your entire customer database. Auto responder’s work in a similar way, allowing a ‘feed’ of e-letters or documents to be sent out at allocated times to customers. Don’t forget as well that a confirmation email sent automatically to confirm a sale that details every thing about that purchase will save a lot of phone calls from confused customers, wondering if their order reached you. A further email confirming the shipment will also add to the customer’s confidence and again reduce the volume of calls through your customer services department.
Relative and informative content – Quality copywriting that appeals to your target market is an absolute must. Ensure that all products have a full description and useful, relevant information to encourage the customer to buy. This content is also helpful to your search engine ranking and placement.
Quality Imagery – Display your products using quality imagery, it is not enough these days to just stick the manufacturers image on there. Go the extra mile and allow the user to explore the product from different angles with alternative pictures and zoom functions.
Trust and Reassurance – To get your shopper to part with their money and willingly give their card details online you need to emulate a professional and approachable appearance. An attractive, professional website design reassures the visitor that they've come to the right place. Secure shopping, clear contact details, returns policies and delivery details give the feeling of professionalism that will convince the customer to click that ‘BUY NOW’ button. Think about posting a page outlining your technical support policies and a F.A.Q section, this is a step towards addressing legitimate shopper concerns.
Call to Action – An obvious one, I know, but it is surprising the number of websites that don’t have clear phone numbers and contact details available on every page. Also make sure that your ‘Buy now’ and ‘Add to basket’ buttons are large and obvious.
Aside from the consumer facing website, you also need to make sure that all the internal structures of the ecommerce business are in place and functioning as they should. Delivery systems, returns policy and customer service all need to be operating smoothly to ensure you are providing the best possible service. Quality service with speedy delivery and an easy returns system will keep your customers loyal. Customer service is a big one – be sure that mistakes are dealt with promptly in a friendly and efficient manner, people don’t mind mistakes but they certainly won’t put up with rudeness or being ignored.
Well I think that just about covers it! So to summarise; • Do your market research properly • Choose a professional web designer • Plan your website with your long term goals in mind • Plan your web marketing strategies • Focus on all angles of the business • Keep your competitors in your rear view mirror at all times • Keep your customers informed and happy • Make loads of money!
Professional ecommerce web design; Deckchair UK
