How to Make a Good Ecommerce Website: 12 Useful Tips

Having a smart ecommerce platform is the reality for most businesses these days. Here’s how you can get ahead of the game.

10:20 10 June 2021

What makes a good ecommerce website? The answer is simple - high user-engagement, distinctiveness, and adaptability. Read on the find out 12 tips that will instantly up your ecommerce game.

 

1. Buy a memorable domain name

 

 

A catchy and unique domain is a must to get new users to click on your website. Go for something that captures the vibe of your business and piques the consumer’s interest. You can buy a domain name using most ecommerce website builders like Wix, GoDaddy, BigCommerce, etc.

 

2. Choosing the right website builder

 

 

The platform you host your website on has a massive impact on your visibility, sales, and site performance. Do your research well about the pros and cons of the most popular ecommerce platforms related to your line of business.

 

It is a good idea to opt for an economical website builder that offers additional marketing features and is easy to scale up. It should also give you dedicated customer support and relatively short down-times.

 

The biggest names in the ecommerce space right now are BigCommerce, Shopify, and WordPress.

 

3. Building the look of your website

 

The first thing that a user on your website responds to is visual cues. Is the color scheme too dull or too bright? Is the text readable or too overpowering? How many dynamic elements are on the screen? Are there any glitches in animation and loading?

 

We suggest that you sit down with your team and outline the company’s exact image that your website should portray. Once you are clear on your website’s “vibe,” it is easier to find templates and customize them accordingly.

 

4. Some design and color theory

 

It is a known fact in consumer psychology that clean lines and creative use of space are most appealing to website users. Do not confuse the customer with an excessively complex design. Use minimalistic designs and negative space to highlight your products.

 

Choose your colors carefully. Colors like bright reds and oranges exude energy and can push the user to take action. On the other hand, calming colors like green and powder blue can make the user spend more time on the page. Make a conscious decision to use specific colors in specific parts of the webpage to guarantee maximum user engagement.

 

5. Use a cart button

 

 

Every good ecommerce website has a little button indicating the consumer’s shopping cart. Research in consumer behavior has shown that the presence of a cart icon at all times on the screen can encourage users to select the checkout option faster.

 

Use a shopping bag or a cart as the button and place it in a familiar spot on the webpage (usually in the top right corner). It should be brightly colored and should stand out among other options. The cart button should also get updated in real-time every time a user selects a product on the website.

 

6. SEO is everything

 

 

Simply building a good-looking website is not enough. You have to make sure that consumers can find it easily in their browser searches easily. This is where search engine optimization (SEO) comes in. Essentially, the idea is to integrate specific keywords and phrases related to your business that have the largest search volumes.

 

How to build a smart SEO strategy? The golden rule of SEO is to make your content natural. Don’t crowd too many keywords overtly in your content because this is sure to put off the user. Design your text components in an organic way - use headings, small text boxes, interactive language, etc.

 

7. Optimize site response stats

 

Here’s one fact you should know about an online shopper - they hate to wait. If the site takes too long to load or navigation between pages is slow, the user is less likely to convert into a customer. Consider this - almost 40% of online shoppers leave the page if it takes more than 3 seconds to load.

 

Loading and response speeds also determine how the Google algorithm places your site in its search results. The faster your response statistics, the better visibility you get. So design your ecommerce platform from the perspective of the user - fast, efficient, and responsive.

 

8. Displaying prices on the website

 

 

A crucial part of ecommerce website design is integrating the products’ prices. Always make the price clear to customers from the get-go. No one wants to hunt through hidden paragraphs to find shipping costs, taxes, etc.

 

Make it easy for users to see the total price early on to make their checkout decisions quicker. This includes your replacement/return policies, shipping conditions, and tax rates. Displaying prices upfront will help you avoid many cases of cart abandonment.

 

9. Displaying your product lines

 

 

We cannot stress this enough - if the user gets positive visual stimuli from the page, they are more likely to reward you by buying your products. This applies particularly to how you display your product portfolio.

 

Here’s an example. If you run a clothing store, it is always a good idea to showcase your products on real models instead of using mannequins. Use bright neutral background, include a range of close-ups and long shots. Investing in a high-quality production value for your display catalog will surely pay off in giving users a real sense of what the product looks like.

 

10. Sell your platform

 

Before you get alarmed, we only mean “sell” in the advertising sense! You must create a positive and trustworthy impression in the consumer’s mind. One way to do this is through testimonials and reviews. You can either have a separate page for testimonials from past consumers about your products’ quality or have a “customer reviews” section for each product in your portfolio.

 

Positive customer reviews can quickly swing the odds in favor of conversion. Make sure that you capitalize on this.

 

11. Privacy and transactions security measures

 

What is the one common aspect you would find on the best ecommerce websites? They take their customers’ privacy and online security very seriously. After all, if you want the user to trust you with their money, you must convince them about your servers’ security.

 

Encrypt each page using an HTTPS protocol. The payment gateway used to accept orders must be Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant and end-to-end secure. Most website builders have SSL and encryption features to protect transactions and personal data from hackers and bots.

 

12. Remove checkout barriers

 

 

Say your user has spent a considerable amount of time on your website in choosing products for their cart. If there are hurdles like unexpected costs, vague shipping policies, or limited payment options, they would be inclined to abandon the purchase.

 

Make the checkout process as smooth as possible. Don’t make it mandatory for users to create an account for checkout - give them the option to buy as a guest. Ensure that you accept all the widely-used payment methods, including credit and debit cards, Apple/Google Pay, online wallets like Paypal, and cash-on-delivery if possible.