Web development can be a daunting task due to the fact that there are so many things involved. It’s still a must to offer an outstanding and engaging shopping experience. Designing and developing a website is a continuous process because trends are ever-evolving. Perhaps you’re about to kick start your website development project or your site needs improvement, here are some noteworthy elements.
1. Site Search
Websites that integrate a functional site search box usually discover that searching becomes simplified. Autocomplete is a feature that helps users to discover related items or popular products. It involves offering suggestions as visitors enter the text into the box. Another option is the faceted search which allows users to narrow down their searches in various ways. A concise product description that is powerful enough to convince customers is essential. This is because most visitors have an idea of the exact product they want. Ensure that it’s functional across all browsers and devices.
2. CMS Platform
Take note of the goals that you intend to achieve before choosing a particular platform. This will help to decide whether it’s the right one or not. Magento is one of the most popular CMS platforms for eCommerce websites, which is why many companies, such as Digitl, are a magento partner. Other options include Hybris, Shopify, Drupal, and WooCommerce. It should be compatible with the other technologies that you’re using such as marketing tools.
3. Marketing Strategy
Designing a solid marketing strategy for your eCommerce site can really help it to go a long way. Some of the approaches often used include organizing marketing campaigns on social media platforms and employing effective SEO tactics. Handling SEO the right way ensures that your site ranks well in searches, thereby boosting engagement. The smartest thing is to stick to the plan, or else it is useless.
4. Site Performance Optimization
Providing unique products or services alone isn’t enough to attract and retain customers. Web visitors don’t have the patience to wait for more than 3 secs before a site loads. They have many other sites that they visit with their smartphones and can decide to buy from their competitors. Taking advantage of caching and compressing images is a sure way to reduce page load time.
5. Responsive Web Design
A significant percentage of online shoppers carry out the payment process across different devices, especially on smartphones and tablets. In view of this, optimizing websites for mobile should be every eCommerce store goal if they want to remain relevant in this highly competitive space. Most of the CMS platforms need to be configured before they can maximize responsive design. The need to design separate platforms for mobile and desktop visitors can be eliminated with responsive design.
6. Guest Checkouts
Almost all eCommerce stores usually discover real-time insights as customers register on their sites. Truth be told, online visitors rarely like setting up an account before making a purchase. This doesn’t mean that you should ditch the idea altogether. The best approach involves encouraging customers to place orders without registering. You can then offer suggestions that they should sign up once the process is completed.
7. Security
The importance of implementing SSL encryption on an eCommerce website can’t be underestimated. There is hardly anyone who wants to deal with a company that takes security issues lightly. One of the best practices for security is to avoid storing customers’ card information on your servers. Let customers rest assured that their contact information and other sensitive data will be protected.
