Eight essential features of a successful eCommerce website

Well, there are lots of elements to factor into the design of your e-commerce keeping in mind these businesses are always in competition and certainly looking for high conversion rates.

No wonder we have seen lots of e-commerce design trends over the past years as e-commerce conglomerates its position around the globe. That said, no e-commerce business is the same but still, there are certain elements that are core to running any successful e-commerce. This article takes you through some of those must have features.

1. Security

Security has got to be one feature at the top of your priority list. You do not want your consumers conducting any transactions on your website without an extra layer of security. This has grown quite contentious in a world where cyber crimes are escalating at an alarming rate. In fact, cyber crime has been attributed to a lot of data breaches across the globe.

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Many large enterprises face huge loss due to cyber attacks, so no one is safe. The best way to reduce chances of cyber-attacks is to use the latest security technologies. Here are some of the common methods to enhancing your security:

EV SSL:

You need to use an SSL certification to protect and encrypt client information hence preventing the information from being intercepted by third parties. An EV SSL aka Extended Validation Certificate is the best option for your E-commerce business because it protects your client information and displays your business entity name in the browser green padlock bar. So it makes easy for your customer to identify and distinguish between a Real and Fake website. EV SSL also helps to build a strong customer relationship, because customer know their payment data are safe during the transaction process.

Privacy Policy:

Besides the EV SSL certificates, it is also advisable to have to have a privacy policy in the footer of your ecommerce website to assure your customers that their data is safe and will not be shared. Again, just like the EV SSL certificates, this will go a long way towards establishing trust among customers.

Use Firewalls:

If any of you transactions flows through a network particularly Local networks, then firewalls should be set up to block any malicious traffic from intercepting information.

2. Advanced payment Options

Every customer craves for options that’s why advanced payment options are a great way to have more customers coming to your website. Depending on where your business is located and the target customers, you should add the most efficient payment methods. You can add payment options like Paypal and mobile payments gateways to your website.

3. Mobile Friendly Website

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With the mobile penetration escalating around the globe, most customers want to make transactions from their smartphones. This is why you should make your e-commerce website mobile friendly to suit demands of most customers. There is an another reason to consider mobile friendly design because it is one of the ranking factors taken into account by Google search engine algorithm. Therefore, mobile friendly website, you are bound to have your e-commerce site rank even higher on Google.

4. Proper Shipping Information

It is also important to have proper shipping information lest you want your shopping cart to be frequently abandoned. Customers usually want this information upfront before they conduct any checkouts from your e-commerce website. If possible you can offer free shipping to your consumers-studies show that up to 30% more preorders can be attained when free shipping is included.

5. Return Policies

Just like clear shipping info, return policies are a very contentious feature of any reputable e-commerce business. Customers would always want to know their insurance policy before they buy from you. Think of it this way, who would want to buy a shirt from a place where they can’t return it if it doesn’t fit. So, if you want to create trust with your potential clients then you need a clear return policy. A research done by Invesp in 2016 found that 92% of customers buy from e-commerce platforms with easy return policies. The research also found that 67% shoppers will hop into the return policy first before going on to make a purchase.

6. High-Quality Photos & Videos

It doesn’t matter what niche of e-commerce business you are in, you need to top quality product images and videos. This comes in the form of photos from different angles and environments that can give your customers a look and virtual feel of your product. You should, however, ensure that the images and videos are designed to load fast and avoid consumer related drop offs.

7. User-Generated Reviews

E-commerce users will always want to check what others are saying about a given product before making a decision on it. Most of them will check for reviews so you need to make sure that your site allows users to leave a review after purchase. You might think that having negative reviews might kill your sales but the opposite is actually true. Users love authenticity thus having some few negative reviews will assure them that the good reviews you have are not fabricated.

8. Ease of Use

The bottom line is that your e-commerce website should be well designed and very easy to use. You do not want your customers lost when trying to find products on your site. Therefore a good e-commerce website should inculcate simplicity into its design. After all most shoppers have few minutes or even seconds to find what they want. You can also add a ‘related items’ section to help them find other items they might like. You should also include easy to find FAQ information to help your customers make decisions quickly.

In conclusion, anyone looking to deliver memorable shopping experiences in e-commerce platforms must use these features together with other innovative elements.