5 Must Have Features of a Great Ecommerce Site
With ecommerce website design tools becoming more available and inexpensive, many people make the mistake of assuming that it is easy to create a great ecommerce site. However, a professional ecommerce web design has a number of features which tie the design together and improve the user experience. Here are just five features your site must have to compete.
1. SIGN UP BUTTONS
No one wants to fill in pages and pages of a signup form before they can register. As an online store, you don’t need to know the person’s occupation and other details. All you need is an email address and password, and delivery information if you are selling physical products. Your ecommerce website design should feature sign up buttons leading to a quick and simple form to register. You will need to consider the colour, size, positioning and wording of your button to ensure that it is clear and stands out from the background colours of the site.
2. SEARCH FUNCTION
Being able to search for specific products or services can dramatically improve user shopping experience. While some customers may want to slowly browse through pages and pages of descriptions, many will simply want to find the items they are looking for. While you may have your products and services categorised, the lack of a search function can frustrate customers and create an unsatisfactory shopping experience.
3. A SHOPPING CART BREAKDOWN
No ecommerce website design is complete without a secure shopping cart. However, if your cart is packed with hidden charges, you are likely to find those potential customers fail to convert. One of the biggest irritations for customers is finding that there is a charge added to their shopping cart for paying by credit card or some other mysterious reason. To avoid this, you should display the product prices, shipping charges, taxes, discounts and other charges in shopping cart previews, so customers can see what they can expect to pay. If your customer is presented with unexpected costs when they are ready to pay, many will abandon their purchase and the trust in your site will have been broken.
4. SUGGESTIONS FOR RELATED ITEMS
Many businesses consider suggesting related items such as accessories, peripherals or basics like batteries to be pushy. However, this feature can not only boost your sales but can be invaluable to your customers. There is nothing more frustrating than a new order arriving, but you can’t use it as you forgot to order batteries!
5. BREADCRUMB NAVIGATION
When ordering, customers like to know where they are in the purchase process. What steps have they accomplished and are there more to go. Breadcrumb navigation prevents customers with a low boredom threshold from becoming frustrated and abandoning their cart. They will be able to see that the shopping procedure will not take forever and they are almost done. Additionally, this feature allows customers to go back and correct any mistakes rather than having to begin all over again.
If you need the expert assistance of a professional ecommerce web designer, Perth-based Dilate is here to help. Our team of experienced specialise in ecommerce website design. We would be delighted to discuss your requirements and craft a professional ecommerce web design perfectly suited to your business.