Five Essential Features Your eCommerce Site Needs to Have

When talking to a legit web design/development firm, they will be able to walk you through the proper elements and components to an ecommerce website. The problem lies when business owners and managers consult with companies who don’t know what they’re talking about.

One of the main reasons I blog is because I really want people to have a better understanding for the web and how to better their companies presence on the web. The purpose of this blog article is to give you a little head knowledge that you can take with you so that if you consult with a web company, and it isn’t us, you can make sure they know what they’re talking about.

Comprehensive Back-End

Whether you are selling a few hand-made pet collars, or run a large parts and accessories store – one of the most important components to your website is the back-end. It’s absolutely crucial that you have full management of the site. The last thing you want to do is rely on someone other than yourself for updates and management of your store. If your store (ecommerce website) is successful, you’re going to be spending a lot of time back here.

A well-equipped back-end for an ecommerce website should have features such as the following:

  • Customer Management (View Customer Orders, Quick Contact to Customer Solution, etc.)
  • Order History (Receipts, Invoices, Payment Records, etc.)
  • Product Inventory (Add/Edit/Delete Products, Product Categories, Manufacturers, etc,)
  • Product Promotions (Specials, Discount Codes, Shipping Offers, etc.)
  • Pricing Functionality (In-depth Payment, Shipping, Tax customizations)

Visuals: A Web 2.0 Design

Of course one of the most important components to the site is the back-end. It’s the core, it’s how the site runs, BUT equally important if not more important is how the site looks. The site needs to be designed to look like it’s the top online store out there, such as Zapps.

We did an entire blog article on what makes up a web 2.0 website design, so I urge you to check that out if you want to learn more about how to make your website look web 2.0:

Blog URL: https://www.baschsolutions.com/blog/what-makes-up-a-web-2-0-website-design

Social Media

We have to deliver content to potential and current customers the way they want it. There’s a good chance you found this blog article via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or another social media outlet. The truth of the matter is social media is where it’s at today. Your products need to be on social media. Not only does your brand need a strong social media presence, but it’s important that your ecommerce website is loaded with social media elements to allow for products to be liked and spread among the social networks. Elements such as the following should definitely be included:

  • Facebook Like/Send Button, Facebook Comments, Facebook Fan Box
  • Twitter Tweet and Follow Button
  • Google + Button, Pinterest Pin It Button, LinkedIn Share Button

I could write an entire blog article, or book, on how and why you should incorporate social media into your ecommerce site. In the meantime, check out our social media blog articles that talk more about bringing social media to your brand and having a proper social media strategy in place.

Store Verbiage and Security

While eCommerce and mobile commerce is on the rise, many visitors are still weary of whether or not to shop online, and if so, which sites they shop on.

Many customers, and a lot of times is not even their fault, leave out small but crucial elements that can make a visitor feel comfortable on your website, which in turn will result in them taking out their credit card and completing the checkout process. Images and Text elements such as the following examples have been proven to work (there are many more, and these are only a few examples):

  • 100% Money Back Guarantee: Of course you want a happy customer, they don’t know this though, so tell them and let them feel your desire for customer satisfaction.
  • SSL Certificate Seal: In order to get approved for a merchant account, you’ll need this anyway. Make sure that you take the time to display a seal on your website so your visitors know that the transactions are being processed smoothly and securely.
  • Social Likeness: If you’ve gained ground on your social media profiles, show off those Facebook Likes, those Twitter Followers, Pinterest followers, etc. Seeing high numbers of fans comprising of visitors who had positive experiences will show them you’re not a fly by night company.

A well-rounded web design/development firm will know these tactics that help your website convert into dollars. It’s logic like this that separates real companies from the wanna-be’s.

For more information on how to maximize sales and not lose potential customers, you should take a look at a recent blog article called How Not To Loose Sales on Your eCommerce Website.

Customer Service

This point doesn’t really require too much elaborating. You need to make sure that your customer can get a hold of you. There’s nothing like being on the fence with whether or not you want to go ahead and buy something, and you can’t reach someone.

Incorporating live chat functionality, using social media as a gateway to customer service, and putting your contact information front and center are just a few ways that you can make sure if a customer wants to reach out to you for more information, that they know how, and that the avenue they can take to reach you does not turn them away from shopping with you now or in the future.

A balanced web agency should have no problem walking you through the steps of creating and maintaining a successful ecommerce website. A company such as mine, Basch Solutions, LLC, would be more than happy to assist you in bringing your business on the web.

Basch Solutions, LLC is a Rochester NY website design and website development company that has been building ecommerce platforms with high conversion rates since 1999. Don’t just take our word for it, check out our web 2.0 portfolio, or call some of our raving fans!

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