According to www.shopify.com, e-commerce clocked up around $2.3 trillion in 2017 and is expected to maintain its scorching growth rate to touch $4.5 trillion in 2021. Already in America, close to 10% of all retail sales are accounted for by e-commerce and there are projections that it will keep on growing by 15% annually. This sort of growth has not only set the big companies scrambling to get their acts together but also encouraged a new breed of online entrepreneurs to set up businesses in a large variety of niches. With the e-commerce website being their principal weapon to achieve commercial success, designing the site is the main, and undoubtedly most difficult, the task at hand, especially for people who have never sold in the online environment earlier. As is evident, it is not enough for a site to merely look good; it must necessarily have all the features that are important to promoting online traffic generation and successful sales conversions. A quick look at some of the most important website features required for e-commerce success:
Intuitive Navigation
According to experts, it is site navigation that may perhaps be the most important factor that decides the fate of an e-commerce site. If you have navigation that is clear, simple, and intuitive, visitors who are new to the site can also very easily find what they are looking for and make purchases. Poor navigation, on the other hand, can be extremely frustrating and is among the prime causes of visitors leaving the e-commerce site without transacting. Even though opinions differ regarding what constitutes good navigation, the main intention of the website designer should be to lay down a path that is very clear and free from distraction and obstructions right from the home page or landing page to the final checkout stage.
Including Social Media Sharing Buttons
Since social media has become all-pervasive, it is also very important for e-commerce web designers to think about how to leverage the power of social media to generate more organic traffic to the e-commerce site and increase conversions. Including social media sharing buttons for the more popular social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, etc. will help customers who are thrilled with a particular product to share it on their accounts. Their followers will also be attracted to visit the e-commerce website to get more details and even to purchase the product. Implementing the sharing buttons can result in getting more IG followers and views without buying Instagram likes and views.
Responsive Website Design to Accommodate Varying Screen Sizes
The use of mobile devices with different screen sizes can be a big challenge for website developers as the site must display properly on all screens for enhanced customer satisfaction. By using responsive web design principles, the site can automatically scale itself up and down as per the requirements of the display of the mobile device that the customer is using.
Conclusion
Apart from the tips that will come in very handy, you should also find out what your customers expect from the design of the e-commerce site. You will be more successful if you choose a design that matches the industry because otherwise it will tend to jar and customers may not like the difference between what they see and what they expect.
