Designing an e-commerce website is not an easy feat. From design to delivery, you have to pay attention to a lot of aspects. Ignoring them could lead your e-commerce store to failure before it has even scaled, drowning all the investment, time and efforts that went into building it.
That is why, most e-commerce website owners take the utmost care while having their website setup, so they do not go down the route of failure with their valuable online store.
And even then, some things may still fall through the cracks very easily.
That is why it is extremely important that you not only be wary while navigating the path of development but also move forward with all the potential failures in mind. This helps you be free of such problems, and lets you design your website with a higher probability of success.
Here are a few tips about the most common e-commerce mistakes, and how to avoid them to steer clear of failure.
Selecting Wrong CMS
As one of the most basic yet the most glaring of e-commerce mistakes, selecting the wrong content management system (CMS) can drag you down.
For instance, WordPress’ WooCommerce platform is considered as one of the easiest to use CMS for e-commerce stores. It also packs immense customization features for its customers, but which are still very easy to use.
Yet, Adobe’s Magento offers customization and functionality to another level. But it is very complex to use, making it harder for users to make modifications without a developer.
Looking at these two examples, if you want a CMS that doesn’t need you to be dependent on a developer all the time, then you can go with an option like WooCommerce. But if you don’t have any qualms in having your IT department working on your website whenever needed, then you could go with Magento.
Making the incorrect decision in this aspect could leave you with an inability to make modifications, unaffordable operational costs, difficulties in developing your site, or not being able to make use of extended functionalities.
These are just two examples of the many CMS available for use and the repercussions that a bad choice between them could bring about.
As such, make sure that you keep this in mind as you move forward with developing your e-commerce site.
Layout Mistakes
Even when you select the perfect CMS, you can still run into design issues such as the website layout.
If your products are not arranged or showcased properly, or if your website seems like a very complicated rendition of a vast IKEA showroom, then your customers would feel like they are lost amidst the bad design choices.
Since online customers have the liberty to leave a problematic website on a second’s notice, this increases your site’s abandonment or “bounce rate”, losing the revenue you haven’t even earned yet.
To make sure that your website doesn’t end up with this fate, select a layout that is not only easy on the eyes but also user-friendly.
Not Prioritizing User Experience
Speaking of user-friendliness, one of the other biggest e-commerce mistakes is when a website doesn’t take user experience into account.
You need to remember that while it is your brand, it has to be used by online customers. Otherwise, it serves no purpose. Keeping this in mind, make sure that your website takes user experience and factors such as load time, payment methods, and online support into account.
This goes a long way into making or breaking your e-commerce brand for the long run.
Low Quality Content
Imagine walking into a store and seeing that the sales staff is either not answering your questions at all, or answering them in a rude manner.
You would most likely leave the store to never return.
That is the exact effect that low quality content may have on your website’s visitors. Your content, your images, and your site’s design are what work as the sales staff on your website. Make sure that they are doing their job well through high-quality and interesting content.
This bodes well towards your human visitors, and also tells the search engines what your site is all about. Simply put, it works towards retaining the visitors you already have, while also contributing to gaining more traffic.
Strategic SEO
Search engines play a great role in driving traffic to new e-commerce sites. If you play your cards right, then anyone searching on Google for the products you sell could end up on your website from the search engine.
It takes ample planning and strategic search engine optimization (SEO) to achieve this feat. Through multiple marketing strategies, one can drive relevant traffic to one’s site over time and create a steady stream of revenue.
Smart Retargeting
Another way to create traffic and potential revenue for your site is by using marketing methodologies such as smart retargeting.
These ads show up to any customer who visited your website but did not complete a purchase. When these customers go to another site that shows ads on its pages, they could see your ads there to remind them they had been looking at your site.
It is an intricate method, but one that is very effective in driving sales. You can implement this with the help of a professional quite easily.
Not Having Professional Help
Having professional help can make sure that you steer clear of any e-commerce mistakes that could harm you in the future. This actually lets you cut back on operational costs, and saves you ample funds over the long run.
As such, instead of thinking about saving a quick buck on a developer, make the choice to hire one. This may look like a big expense at first. But when you consider the consequences, it would actually make sense as a non-compromising operational cost.
At Creative Peppers, we provide e-commerce solutions that are designed to be the perfect fit for your brand. Through our expertise, experience, and creativity, we have helped numerous customers achieve their e-commerce dreams with ease.
But that’s not all.
If allocating financial capital is a big issue for you, then we can design and host your e-commerce site in exchange for a portion of the sales revenue. This allows your business to take advantage of online sales without any huge upfront costs.
We evaluate each business’ potential and in exchange for a one to a three-year contract for 10% to 50% of net profit, depending upon the nature of the business.
We will handle all of your e-commerce needs. We will take care of everything from online marketing to transaction handling for your business.
Whether you are looking to put together an e-commerce store or have already devised basic plans to do so, don’t hesitate from reaching out to us.
We will be glad to answer any questions that you may have in order to lead you to a stellar e-commerce store of your own.