It is wiser to err on the side of caution. The same is true for creating an eCommerce website. Launching what will essentially be your online storefront is not something you should take lightly, or you’d be jeopardizing the very success of your brand.
So, to help you prioritize safety and foresight, here are essential questions you need to ask yourself:
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Question #1: Is Your Website Design User-Friendly and Optimized for Mobile Devices?
All eCommerce website designers will attest that user-friendly and mobile-optimized websites deliver a positive experience for your visitors. So when you create an eCommerce website, whether through a custom eCommerce platform or not, remember to regularly test and update it to keep up with the evolving mobile landscape and user expectations.
Tips from eCommerce website designers:
• Keep the site navigation intuitive with a clean menu structure that is easy to access and understand.
• Optimize fonts and font sizes should for mobile devices by avoiding extra large or small that force users to zoom in and out to read.
• Pop-ups should be used sparingly, or find alternative ways to deliver the same content with less intrusion.
• Call-to-action (CTA) buttons should be easy to tap and clearly convey the actions you want users to take.
• Forms should be easy to fill out on small screens, so generate and tweak forms through custom eCommerce platforms.
Question #2: Do Your Payment Gateways Ensure Secure and Smooth Transactions?
For eCommerce website builders, securing payment gateways is of utmost importance. Taking a proactive approach, such as investing in secured eCommerce website hosting, to protect your customer’s sensitive data helps build trust in your online business.
Tips from eCommerce website builders:
• Add hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) and secure sockets layer (SSL) to encrypt data transmission through your eCommerce website hosting.
• Besides choosing the best eCommerce platform for startups, opt for reputable payment processors such as PayPal, Stripe, 2Checkout and Square.
• Implementing two-factor authentication for your payment gateway. This adds an extra layer of security for your customers.
• Keep your website’s software and plugins, including payment gateways, up to date with the latest security patches and updates.
• Consider tokenization; tokenization replaces sensitive data, such as credit card numbers, with a unique identifier (token).
Question #3: Will You Offer Customer Support Options, Such As Live Chat, Email or Phone Support?
Providing excellent customer support heavily factors into customer loyalty and satisfaction, leading to increased customer retention and referrals. Top eCommerce platforms often have plugins for omnichannel support that allow customers to start a conversation on live chat and seamlessly switch to phone support, if needed, without losing context.
• Automate chat invitations based on user behavior, like spending a certain amount of time on a specific page or adding items to the cart.
• Ensure the live chat widget is easily accessible and visible on all website pages.
• Provide a clear and easily visible email address or contact form for customers to reach your support team.
• Display your phone number prominently on your website, preferably in the header or footer of every page.
• Specify your phone support hours and, if possible, offer extended hours to accommodate different time zones and customer needs.
Question #4: Is Your Website Optimized for Search Engines To Improve Organic Traffic?
When you create an eCommerce website, search engine optimization (SEO), particularly an eCommerce SEO strategy, should also be at the top of your mind. Your eCommerce website designers should consider the best eCommerce platform for SEO for this.
eCommerce SEO strategy:
• Conduct thorough keyword research to identify relevant and high-converting terms for your products with tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush and Ahrefs.
• Individual product pages should be optimized with unique and compelling product titles, descriptions and other meta tags.
• Use descriptive alternative (alt) tags for images to improve accessibility and provide context to search engines.
• Implement structured data markup (schema or schema.org) to provide search engines with more information about your products, such as price, availability and reviews.
• The best eCommerce platform for SEO helps you create a logical internal linking structure to help search engines understand the relationships between different pages.
Question #5: Do You Have a Standard for Managing and Responding to Customer Reviews?
Showcasing reviews on your eCommerce store fosters customer engagement and builds trust with potential buyers. Most platforms for eCommerce website design services have built-in customer review features to help you implement a moderation system to prevent spam and ensure that reviews meet your website’s guidelines.
eCommerce marketing strategy:
• Ask your eCommerce website builders to enable product reviews on your website so verified customers can leave you feedback.
• Show a summary of ratings and reviews for each product so shoppers have a quick overview of customer sentiments of your products.
• Allow customers to sort and filter reviews, such as by latest, highest-rated or most helpful, so they can find feedback most relevant to them.
• Ask customers to leave reviews after they make a purchase by sending follow-up emails or running occasional review campaigns.
• Place reviews prominently on each product page so they are more visible to potential buyers and influence their decision-making process.
Question #6: Are Your Social Media Channels Linked to Your Website?
After you create an eCommerce website, it’s crucial to establish a relationship between your website and your social media pages. This aspect of eCommerce website design services helps build a stronger online presence for your brand through traffic referrals.
Custom eCommerce platform tips:
• Place social media buttons or icons noticeably on your website, preferably in the header, footer or sidebar, ensuring the icons or buttons are on-brand.
• Set the social media links to open in new browser tabs so visitors won’t navigate away from your website when they click on a link.
• Add social sharing buttons to your product pages and blog posts so users can share your content with their social media networks, widening your reach.
• Accompany social media icons with a clear call-to-action, such as “Follow Us,” “Like Us” or “Share This,” to encourage users to engage with your brand.
• Consider using social media widgets that display your recent posts or follower counts to encourage visitors to explore your social media profiles.
Question #7: Is Your Website Linked to Google Analytics To Track and Analyze Website Performance and Customer Behavior?
Ensuring security through a trusted eCommerce website hosting platform is just as important as tracking and analyzing your website performance and how customers interact with your site. A reputable marketing and eCommerce web design company would require Google Analytics to help you make informed decisions, such as running better pay-per-click campaigns.
eCommerce web design services tips:
• If you don’t already have one, sign up for a Google Analytics account at analytics.google.com.
• Install Google Analytics tracking code by copying and pasting it into the header section of your website’s HTML code just before the closing </head> tag.
• Enable eCommerce tracking in your Google Analytics settings to track valuable data such as transaction information, product performance and revenue.
• Enhanced eCommerce provides more in-depth insights into customer behavior during the shopping journey, including product impressions, shopping behavior and checkout funnel tracking.
• To ensure accurate data, exclude internal traffic from being tracked in Google Analytics. Filter out your IP address to avoid inflating visitor counts and skewing metrics.
Question #8: Have You Tested the Website Thoroughly To Identify and Fix Any Potential Issues or Bugs?
Whether you use the top eCommerce platforms or the best eCommerce platform for startups when you create your website, testing is crucial. So, apart from pre-launch testing, remember that testing should be an ongoing process, especially when you make updates or changes to your website.
eCommerce website builders tips:
• Develop a meticulous test plan outlining the areas and functionalities you need to test, which include scenarios such as different devices, browsers and user interactions.
• Test and verify that all website features and functionalities (product pages, shopping cart, checkout process, user accounts, search functionality and any interactive elements) work as expected.
• See how your website handles error scenarios, such as invalid input, broken links or server errors. Ensure users receive clear error messages and are redirected appropriately.
• Verify that all automated email notifications, such as order confirmation, shipping updates and password reset emails, are sent accurately and reach the recipients.
• Provide a way for users to report bugs and provide feedback through your website; make sure to prioritize user-reported issues.
But let’s say you still haven’t got a website to launch and are wondering, “What is the best eCommerce platform?”
Top eCommerce Platforms: What Is the Best eCommerce Platform for Startups?
Choosing a platform will depend on several factors, such as your budget, technical skills and specific needs. But to help you decide on what is the best eCommerce platform for you, here are some of the reputable ones:
1. Shopify
2. WooCommerce
3. BigCommerce
4. Squarespace
An eCommerce web design company may prefer one over the other, but it will still ultimately depend on the factors mentioned.
Make Sure Your Website Is Set Up for Success With Thrive’s eCommerce Website Design Services
Whether you need help building an eCommerce website from scratch or just need another set of eyes to ensure your current one is set up for success, Thrive can help.
Talk to our eCommerce web design services — furnish a secure and seamless user experience for your customers.
