Imagine you run a bakery. Some customers will walk by your Best Bakery shop and notice your sign outside. Others might walk into the shop, look around at the rows of cupcakes, cookies, and rolls, then leave. A few customers might go to another bakery and overhear that your bakery has great chocolate chip cookies.
After trying your great tasting treats, some customers will return to your bakery often. Like this bakery, your website needs a good name, methods of driving traffic to your store, and reasons for the customer to buy from you. And if you are starting an online business, you will need, like a brick and mortar store, products to sell, marketing and sales skills, and customers.
But you will need some elements unique to ecommerce sites. Having the right elements, with visual appeal and easy navigation, will keep those customer metrics in good shape. What do you need to include in your website?
Security
A secure shopping experience is important to customers. 95% of Americans want to feel companies use their data in a safe manner. And cyber thieves do target businesses of all sizes. In fact, 43% of cyber crimes are committed against small businesses. Give your customers the security they need to safely make purchases easily.
Good product images and descriptions
Many customers make online product decisions based on the images and descriptions rather than the actual quality of the product. Make sure your images are clear and high quality. The descriptions need to be clear, descriptive, and use active verbs.
Simple layout
Depending on your product type, you will probably have customers with a range of technical savvy. The science of website design is well established. In essence, you want to place important elements and information on the left hand side and high up on each web page. Choose nice graphics and readable font as well as allow for empty space to have a clean look. Your customers will like your site.
Search tool
Most online shoppers use a search engine daily. Finding products quickly at an ecommerce site makes the shopping experience superior to time consuming brick and mortar store transactions. Quick and easy checkout are extremely popular. Having a search-this-website box makes for happy shoppers.
Product Recommendations
Like putting socks near the shoe aisle, having compatible products show up together increases sales. When you build your website, selecting this extra feature will pay off if you are getting ample customer traffic. Make sure to make the recommendations sensible so that your customers can quickly click to add to cart.
Clear shipping information
The disadvantage with online shopping is customers have to wait for their products. Explain your policies clearly to avoid an inbox filled with emails from confused customers. Do you allow returns? Are there several levels of shipping options? Let your customers know this information.
Customer service
Whether you have several customer support staff or a family friend helping answer questions, you can reduce customer support times through having a customer friendly website and providing an FAQ section (frequently asked questions). Remember your customer service approach can make one time customers into long term customers.
If you have shopped online before starting your own site, you were probably attracted to great looking websites. Color choice, layout, and logo do impact customer experience. Refining that experience early on in the process can give your business a leg up. Do your research so that you have success from the start.