Many e-commerce businesses see their website as the perfect medium to showcase their products and services to widespread audiences. Due to this, most of the upcoming startups are resorting to an online store as they find it a perfect alternative to a physical store. Having said this, just starting your own e-commerce website will not guarantee you success.
So, in order to be on the right path, you need to ensure that you do not commit any of the common e-commerce mistakes which I am going to showcase in this post. By avoiding these you will be able to achieve outstanding success for your business.
Poor Design of an e-commerce Website
The main objective of an e-commerce website is to sell the products and items but this does not mean that no importance is given to its design. There is no point in showcasing the different products if the website has a messy design. Nowadays, when people have a lot of options to choose from they are not going to spend time on a website which is not easy to navigate or has a slow load speed. Moreover, as an e-commerce website, it should be completely secure which would give an assurance to the users that all their personal information is safe. Having the right e-commerce platform like paGO Commerce to implement quality design is important when building your site or updating it.
Inadequate Customer Service
No business can survive without offering the needed service to their customers. People who visit an e-commerce website usually have a lot of questions regarding the estimated time of delivery or the return and refund policy. By having an efficient and prompt customer service in place, you will be able to win the loyalty of your customers. This will benefit your business as the customers which have been catered with great services will definitely return back and avail your services again.
No Option For Adding Product Reviews
Most of the customers seek for reviews of a product that has been purchased by the other customers. This is because these reviews are a great way to know about the actual product and services which are catered by the business. As an e-commerce business owner, you should encourage your customers to give their reviews after making a purchase. The more positive feedback you receive it will have a positive impact on your business which will further increase its sale. As social media platforms have a lot of active users, you can even ask your customers to post their reviews over there.
Limited Product Descriptions & Images
The image of a product and its description are two main things that will enable the users to have wholesome information about a product. The more information that you deliver to your customers the more will be the possibility of them ending up in buying it. Product images are a great way to allow the users to know how a product will really look like once it gets delivered to them. Similar to product images, product descriptions will provide the visitors all the technical specifications about it.
Less Shipping Options
It is always better to give your customers will a wide range of different options. This becomes quite necessary where shipping is concerned. You should offer your customers with various shipping methods which are related to price and delivery time. A customer will be tentative in making a purchase if you offer him with only a single shipping option.
Having multiple shipping options has its own benefits. In a situation where one of the methods doesn’t work or is ineffective, still, there are other options which can be utilized by the customers.
Troublesome Checkout Process
One of the biggest reasons why people prefer online shopping is due to the ease and convenience it offers them. So, if your e-commerce website doesn’t have a straightforward buying process then your visitors are definitely going to look for other better options. You must offer your visitors with a clear and clean checkout process so that they can quickly go about the buying process.
Restricted Search Capabilities
If your e-commerce website has a lot of different products to offer in various categories then it becomes vital to include great search capabilities with it. The users must be able to find the product they are looking for with a matter of few keywords. It’s a pity if a visitor is not able to find a product on your website that you offer. The customers which make use of the on-site search option for finding a particular product are more likely to purchase the product.
No Mobile Application
Smartphones users have literally overtaken the number of desktop users. Nowadays, people make use of mobile applications for performing the different transactions. In such a situation, if you do not have a mobile application for your e-commerce store then you are definitely going to miss on a lot of potential customers. Most of the giant e-commerce stores like Amazon, eBay have their own mobile app. The users can quickly go through the app and order their desired products just by a matter of a few clicks.
Minimal or No Social Media Presence
There are millions of users which remain active on the different social media platforms. Therefore it becomes really crucial that you promote your products on the different social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. These platforms will enable the users to share their favorite products with their followers. So, if you have still not promoted your products on these mediums then you are definitely missing something big.
In The End
Running an e-commerce business has become even more tough with the emergence of the new players in the market. It will take time and constant efforts from your end to win the confidence of your visitors. All the pitfalls which have been showcased in the article should be avoided if you want your e-commerce store to be successful in the long run. As there is already a cut-throat competition among the different business owners even the slightest of mistake can prove to be detrimental for your business.
I would love to have your views about the article in the comments section below. Also, do make me aware of any of the e-commerce mistakes which I may have missed and should have been mentioned above.
Author Bio:
Morris Edwards is a passionate blogger and professional Web Designer working for a e-commerce website design company Singapore. He started his career 10 years ago. He has developed a range of WordPress eCommerce Websites. He loves writing about latest technologies, and everything about new innovations and happenings in the Web world. When not blogging, he loves spending his time in social networking.