Every year there are billions of dollars being spent on eCommerce sites. Today just having a functioning web page isn't enough to get buyers interested in your website and make that first purchase. Buyers have needs and demands, your website needs to fill those needs otherwise they will leave and go somewhere else. But don't worry we will walk you through every component you need to launch a truly awesome eCommerce site. Starting with the first thing most visitors will see, your Home page.
While you're going to want to make sure your website stands out from your competitors, there are a few things that are standard across most e-commerce sites today. So let's go on a tour of your new eCommerce websites home page.
Store Name
It may not seem like a tricky thing, but you would be surprised how many online stores forget to clearly identify themselves right away. Regardless of the other design elements the name of the store should show clearly and be legible at the top of the home page. There are some sites that make it hard to determine the name of the site.
Buyers can easily become confused with poor design. When this happens they will quickly lose trust in your store and you will end up losing the sale.
Value Proposition
Now that your visitor knows who you are and where they are at, they will want to know what you do or what you can offer them. The things that make your website different from every other online store out there. Why are your products better? How is your brand better? For example, take a look at OldNavy's website.
The style and fashion that you present the value proposition can vary, but it should have a good tagline or call to action, clever copy, or bold images. The important thing is simply that you share it in a place that visitors can see it. Tell those visitors why they want to buy your products from your site.
Clear Navigation
The next thing that needs addressing is the navigation for your site. Like the Old Navy website pictured above your eCommerce site needs to have clear navigation that allows your customers to get to the different categories on your website. In addition to that, you need to have some method for visitors who are coming to your website to find products they are looking for. Nothing will frustrate your visitors faster than a site that is hard to navigate and find what they are looking for. Providing a way to get directly to the product they are looking for quickly and pay for it is important.
Shopping Cart
Visitors should be able to access their shopping cart from any page on your site. If they're on the home page, flipping through products, or reading a blog post, it should be a single click for them to get to the shopping cart. Both of the sites above have that functionality. It is usually indicated by a little shopping cart icon and a number indicating either the total of the shopping cart or the number of items in it.
The opportunity to check out should always be available for your visitors. You have to already overcome the 99% statistic of online shoppers who have no intention of buying on the first visit, so you should do everything you can to make it easy for those who do decide to purchase on the first visit to do just that. Also, making it easy for your visitors to find and use the shopping cart will be another thing they consider when they are looking for your products the next time.
Portraying a Secure Shopping environment
Security is on all of the internet shoppers' minds right now, even more so after the issues with NSA. Everyone wants to know that when they shop with you their personal information, credit card data, and address will be protected and will not be at a risk to hackers. There have been several high profile sites that have caused a lot of pain and trouble for their customers because of poor security or not implementing a certificate properly. Make sure that you don't make the same mistake because it could mean the end of your young eCommerce site.