by Homerun Nievera, Negosentro.com |
E-commerce is booming as a growing number of people are reaching for their mobile devices to make purchases on the go rather than head to the mall and browse through numerous stores, often only to leave empty handed. This is why more businesses are choosing to open up their virtual doors and start doing business online.
Most business owners do enough research to understand the basics behind building a great website. It should be expertly designed, contain helpful content, have a nice layout, and showcase their goods and services. In order to build the most functional website, however, businesses should also plan for the following:
Build a Responsive Design Website
Responsive design is a relatively new way of building websites. This term is used to describe a website that is able to quickly adapt and “respond” to the different “environments” it may find itself being presented in. Whether a visitor accesses your website from their PC, tablet, mobile phone, or e-Reader, your site will look great each and every time.
When building a responsive e-commerce website, there are a few things which you should discuss with your designer. The key elements of a responsive e-commerce web design are:
- Allowing your customers to filter and refine their options as soon as possible. Nothing is more frustrating to a customer than finding the clothing item they want only to find out three pages later that you do not carry it in their size. If items are out of stock, make it clear.
- Allowing your customers to change their mind without having to hit the “back” button. For example, having a “remove from cart” option is far more efficient and less frustrating to your customers.
- Having a readily accessible “Search” bar. This saves the customer time while also giving you more statistical data on what customers who look at one item may then go on to look at later while on the site.
- Making the shopping cart visible. Customers do not want to be sent to a separate page every time they add an item to their shopping cart. Make the shopping cart visible on each page (such as in a sidebar) so that your customers can keep track of their potential purchases.
Clearly Display Your Company Logo
Whether you are a bootstrap entrepreneur who is just starting out or a multinational corporation, having your logo clearly displayed on your page is essential. Think of your logo as being your business card. A recognizable logo is one which will help you establish an element of trust with your customers, something of which is especially important in e-commerce.
Don’t Skimp On the Images
E-commerce relies heavily on attracting and enticing buyers visually so that they will purchase a product from your company. Because of this, businesses must invest or obtain a number of high-quality images of each of their products or of their services in action. Low-quality images will only deter customers from buying from you and can leave them feeling negatively about your company.
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Homerun Nievera is a serial techpreneur, digital marketer and professional speaker.
Apart from managing tech enterprises, Homerun is the publisher of a blogazine network that delivers niche content to its audience.
He also a Certified Distance Educator from the University of the Philippines and has launched Edusentro.com with the objective of bringing free education to under-served areas everywhere.
As a blogger, Homerun writes across various topics but looks into techpreneruship as his main course.
He seeks to help entrepreneurs build their digital presence and make a difference. Follow Homerun on Twitter @bnievera or like his page on Facebook.
