Getting the Right Ecommerce Website Design
The purpose of an ecommerce site is to generate business for a product or to promote a service and getting good ecommerce website design can help. Ecommerce websites are storefronts that you can access from the convenience of your home. Goods and services can be viewed, read about, and purchased with great ease.
Without a doubt ecommerce is not just the way of the future, but also the way of purchasing now. Almost every business now realizes to stay competitive one must have a presence on the internet, even if they already have a brick and mortar store. Even restaurants have ecommerce websites where customers can make a reservation, order food online, have food delivered, and order gift certificates. However, all this ease for the purchaser means a lot of preparation, planning and precise execution on the part of the business owner.
The Steps to Getting Good Ecommerce Website Design
Starting an ecommerce website for your business can help make your company go global and reach countless new people. However, it is not just about creating a website; there must be very careful and deliberate planning behind your company’s site. The idea of building an ecommerce site may seem daunting at first, but with some helpful tips and instructions, the process can become much simpler. To take full advantage of all the opportunities that ecommerce can offer your business, it is important to build your site on a solid foundation.
Step 1: Build a Memorable Identity
The first thing you should do is come up with a name for your site. If your site is based off an actual brick-and-mortar store, it is important to keep the names consistent. Otherwise, pick a name that is concise, memorable, and accurately describes your business. Once you have selected the right name for your business, register, or purchase your desired domain name(s).
Step 2: Plan and Build Your Site
Before you start to build your site, it is important to clearly identify and establish the goals for your site. These may include generating leads, building a database of customers, etc. Quantified objectives (i.e. Increase sales by 12% over the next 7 months) make it easier to measure the success of your website.
Once you have established your objectives and goals, you can begin to plan the ecommerce website design. There is some information that every ecommerce site should contain, including: an overview of your company and its products/services, complete product/service catalog with detailed descriptions and pricing, testimonials from previous customers, and answers to frequently asked questions.
Ecommerce web design should be done in such a way that the best products are highlighted on the home page. If the designing is done in such a way that the images can guide the clients, then it works quite well. Maintaining a brief description of the product is also essential as the visitors get an idea of what to expect.
While you are planning your site map, focus on making it easy for customers to navigate, and then purchase items from your site quickly and easily.
To actually construct your site, you have the option of either hiring a professional web designer or doing it yourself using web site building tools. Whichever method you choose, remember these tips:
• Keep the design simple
• Make your site easy to navigate
• Your homepage needs to instantly make a good impression on customers
• Keep download times short
• Look to your favorite e-commerce sites for ideas
Step 3: Set Up Your Web Server
It is possible for you to choose whether you want complete control over your web server, or if you would prefer to use an ISP or web hosting company to manage your site via their web servers. If you are looking for a web hosting company, choose one that offers the right amount of hard-disk storage space, 100% availability, e-mail accounts, SSL encryption, and support.
Step 4: Minimize Customer Risks
Once your site is built, you still need to win over customers. In today’s environment, one of the most important ways to win over customers is to earn their trust by proving the security of your site. Authentic SSL certificates are a crucial way to prove the authenticity and security of your e-commerce website.
Step 5: Accept and Manage All Kinds of Payment Plans
Enabling customers to pay you online requires more than just having them send you their credit card information. A connection must be established between your company and financial networks through an Internet payment gateway.
First, you will need to open up an Internet Merchant Account with an Acquiring Bank. A payment gateway is a service that will connect the merchants, customers, and financial institutions.
Step 6: Test, Then Test Some More!
Before launching your ecommerce website, make sure you thoroughly review and test each aspect of your site. Use objective testers, and make sure to use different browsers, internet connection speeds, operating systems, etc. in the tests. Then when you are ready, launch the site!
Finalizing your Ecommerce Website Design
Once your ecommerce site is launched and open for business, be sure to promote your site online, in person, and register with search engines to ensure the most traffic possible to your site. Your site might include some navigation aspects, but it is of no use if the visitors cannot access easily. The visitors or the potential customers will feel lost and move away. All the pages must be labeled properly. It is also essential that a link to the Home page is provided in every other page of the site.
It is vital to the success of your site that the content be relevant. After all, it is why the visitor is there. They want to see your content, so make sure it is proper and pertinent for the site. Let trusted friends or family look at the site and give you constructive feedback. If others don’t see the relevance of items you have on the site then consider pairing down.
Visitors may feel turned off by clutter on a site. By keeping it, simple and appealing visitors will be more likely to linger on the site, which in turn will lead to more sales. These are the advantages of having a great site with good ecommerce website design.
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