19 May 2021

What Is Essential for a Good Ecommerce Website?

When it comes to ecommerce web development, UX or user experience is key. It is important that your potential customers feel good about buying from you.

This article discusses a few ways by which you can increase conversions, as well as retain customer loyalty, so that they keep coming back to purchase even more from you.

High Quality Images

This is a no-brainer. Only if something looks good on your website will your visitors ever think of making a purchase. Make sure that every image is in HD or High Definition. You might be thinking that that will increase page load times and thus take away from the user experience, but there is a way.

The code can be tinkered to show a decent image as first, enough to grab the user’s attention, and it gets clearer in a few seconds. These are what we call progressive images. With bandwidth speeds increasing, someone on a high-speed internet connection won’t even notice the difference. But it might mean the difference to someone on a low-speed connection, as is typically seen in the case of mobile internet, deciding to leave the page or stay on. If he/she stays on, there is the increased likelihood of a sale happening.

Use images that show the product from different angles, while staying realistic as you can. Unrealistic angles may result in product returns or customer dissatisfaction and negative reviews if the product is non-returnable.

If you include a video of the product, there is an 85% increased chance of a sale.

Mention Clearly Your Shipping Details and Return Policy

If you offer multiple shipping options, make sure that they are all clearly outlined on the page. This means that the estimated delivery date must be mentioned. Some ecommerce web development use tracking cookies and calculate the arrival dates based on the current time zone of the user. Although this is more preferable than a generic statement like 3-5 business days, it is not absolutely essential.

Some users are in a hurry and need the item(s) urgently, so if you offer express shipping, mention that as well, including when it is expected to arrive at the user’s doorstep. If it involves an extra charge, it is better to inform the potential buyer on the product page itself and not at the time of checkout. When doing this, specify how much more it will cost him/her.

If a product is non-returnable, make sure that this is prominently displayed on the product page. Some returnable products may have to be returned in a pre-specified number of days, so this information too must be clearly mentioned on the page.

It is best to link out from the page to your standard returns policy, which will clearly state that all products must be returned in good condition. You can also specify in the Return Policy nor details that if the tags are removed from the clothing, it becomes unreturnable. Any return will not result in a refund or store credit, and the user may choose to have the same product shipped back to him/her upon additional payment of the shipping charges involved.

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Enable Product Reviews by Users

When you do this, the key word is moderation. You need to have a website admin who will monitor the reviews to ensure that they don’t contain any profanity. You can also enable users to upload their own images of your products, but ensure that they are all relevant to the product and do not contain anything unsavory. The best way to do this to review the submissions before they are published and not after.

Having real-life images on the product pages helps users make better, informed buying decisions and minimizes the chances of return.

One way to make it easier for potential buyers to have a star rating system. Those who have purchased the product already – these are called verified buyers – can rate the product anywhere between one and five stars, and the average of all the star ratings could be calculated and shown to anyone visiting the page.

95% of buyers read product reviews before making a purchase. 70% simply won’t make a purchase until they have read the reviews first.

Show Inventory Details

If a particular product is available only in limited quantities, it is a good idea to show how many items are left in stock.

Not everyone makes a purchase on visiting a particular page for the first time. Some make a note of the product, conduct their own research, and buy later if they are convinced. If something is fast-selling and it will soon be out of stock, displaying this information, like “Only 27 Left in Stock”, can accelerate the process. They could do their research sooner, or choose not to do it at all if they feel it will be out of stock at the time they will be ready to make a purchase.

In some cases, those who were planning to buy after a few days might decide to buy now, before it goes all out of stock. Either way, it avoids a lot if disappointment later – this can have an adverse effect on the overall user experience.

If a particular item cannot be shipped to a user’s location, make sure you specify this on the product page itself. To a potential buyer, not being able to receive something on account of his/her location is the same as non-availability of the item. You could collect his/her shipping address from the details he/she has already entered earlier. Alternatively, you could insert a box on the product page that asks the user to enter his/her zip code (called pin code in some countries) to check if it can be delivered to this location.

Ensure That Your Website is Mobile-Friendly

Half of the world’s internet access happens on mobile devices. So if your website is optimized for mobile devices, then you can be certain of increased sales, courtesy of mobile device users.

61% of ecommerce sales happen through mobile websites.

On that note, 4.15 billion of the world’s population access social media through mobile devices. If your website is additionally optimized for social media, you can be assured of more sales when your satisfied customers recommend you or a particular product on your site to their friends, family members, or connections in their network. What that means is that when a user posts a link to a product page, the preview image should be of the product and your company’s logo. With minor modifications to your website’s code, this is indeed possible.

If you have not yet started work on your ecommerce web development, shortlist ecommerce web development firms that make use of responsive web design.

Make User-Friendly Modifications to Your Website

It enhances the user experience greatly if users can see a shopping cart in the top right corner that contains the number of items they have added to the cart. Upon clicking it, users must be able to see all the items they have added to the cart and make changes, such as increasing/decreasing the quantity ordered or removing items they have added to the cart.

Checkout must be a smooth affair. Otherwise, if it takes too long, you are likely to see users abandoning their carts at checkout. So make sure that your payment processor is a fast one. One way to increase sales is by having as many payment options as possible. And if cart abandonment is due to technical issues, such as the internet connectivity getting disrupted at the time of checkout, there must be a way for the user to retrieve his/her cart when he/she logs back in again. You could also send him/her a friendly email reminder regarding this, which should ideally go out within 48 hours.

Your website must also be a secure one. In other words, it must be an HTTPS site and not an HTTP one. Customers are unlikely to entrust their credit card / debit card information or other payment details to a non-secure site.

There is also psychology that can be made use of to your advantage – see to it that the user’s first name is displayed alongside his/her photograph or avatar, if he/she has uploaded one. This will make your customers feel more valued, and it prevents them from using the wrong profile on a public computer if the previous user has forgotten to log out.

Do include Wishlists that users can come back to later, and provide the ability to zoom into photographs. While you are at it, it is also a good idea to incorporate filters (price / product category / size / color / others), and also mention which items are bestsellers. You should definitely have a search bar, in case you don’t have one already, and a FAQ section. This can help answer a lot of queries that customers might have.

It helps in no small way if you can provide support to your customers, and in case you cannot provide live support, make use of a chatbot.

Looking for a Good E-commerce Web Development Company That Can Help Increase Your Sales?

A good ecommerce web development firm does so much more than design and development. It will have good UX copywriters who can craft compelling content and deliver just the right Call To Action text for the buttons to maximize sales. Think about it – which would be better, ‘Buy Now’ or ‘Add to Cart’?

There is no one right answer, but there can be a right-fit based on your target market. Hello Pixels combines UX with market research to deliver that stellar, outstanding experience. For instance, if your target demographic consists of mostly millennials, HelloPixels knows that they are more likely to be on Instagram than any other social media platform, so text and images on the products must be crisp to grab their attention straightaway.

HelloPixels has been named as among the Top B2B Web Development Companies in the world, as well as the Best ecommerce Web Development Companies in the Middle East. HelloPixels has a team of 50+ staff which includes web designers, web developers, testing professionals, copywriters and UX experts who willingly go the extra mile.

With a client satisfaction rate of 98%, HelloPixels has been included among the top SEO Companies in the Asia-Pacific region. They have offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and throughout the United Arab Emirates.