Do you want to boost the sales of your online business? Are you looking forward to attract more visitors? If your answer is a yes, then please read along. The online market is increasing and there are thousands of websites vying for people’s attention. So it becomes crucial to avoid certain mistakes, if you want to become successful.
Recent studies have found that the success and the failure of the ecommerce website depend on the features used in them. Adding a competitive edge to the website does not mean just improving the features of the site. It requires sound knowledge of the business targets.
Normally ecommerce websites run on Shopify, Magento, Miva Merchant and other leading platforms. Though the design of the website is great, many users tend to abandon the website often. This is because; these websites fail to provide a great user experience. The following are the top 10 mistakes to avoid while designing an ecommerce website:
- Buffering and Heavy images
Your ecommerce website requires banners, promotional stickers, pop-up and of course pleasing images of the products to convince the customers. When these elements get heavy they cause a big problem because they make your website sluggish and make the users wait for the pages to upload. In today’s world, when the users can find easy alternatives to your website, you should focus on ensuring that your website gives your visitors the best experience. The developers can make use of CSS instead of graphics to save loading time.
- Difficult Fonts
Readability is the most important factor for your website. If users don’t understand what you are trying to convey then they would abandon your website. Stylish fonts, curvy ones and smaller fonts may look pleasing but they are not convincing enough to the buyers. When it comes to usage of fonts in your ecommerce website, keep it simple, clear and bold. Keep in mind that the readers should understand the text without giving a second read in your website to comfortably shop online.
- Ignoring Mobile Sites
Ignoring mobile sites is a biggest mistake one must avoid while designing an ecommerce website. It is a fact that more than 30% of online buyers visit the ecommerce website via their mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. When a leading ecommerce website lacks mobile version of the website, then it is evident that they are losing at least 30% of their customers.
- Shipping Quotes
Any online buyer hates to know that there are hidden charges involved when they shop with a particular ecommerce website. Shipping cost is one among the most notable hidden charge ecommerce websites levy. Try to make it clear to the buyers by highlighting the shipping quotes for each and every product they buy online. This gives a good buying experience to the users online when they shop with your website.
- Failing to Provide Good Support services
Have you ever noticed the functioning of bigger ecommerce giants? They provide 24*7 support services to their buyers. Quick chat services, toll free calling services and more form a part of the support services provided by the ecommerce websites. With support services, the users can get instant clarifications while buying products at your website.
- Bad Graphics
Nobody would like to shop in an ecommerce website that looks unpleasant and untidy. Jarring colors, unwanted images, poor layout and bad graphics are just enough to ruin your online business. Make use of the best graphics that does not take time to load. Also do not go overboard with images. The website below has so many images vying for your attention at the same time. This not only makes it look untidy but also confuses your visitors. Try to refresh the look of your website often with seasonal banners, colorful images and of course with themes that makes browsing all over the e-store a pleasant experience for your visitors.
- Junk and Broken stuff
A broken image, a link that does not work, and a pixelated image or a poor graphic are considered as junk in an ecommerce website. The junk in an ecommerce website tends to annoy the users and this leads to site abandonment. Try to clean up your website at least twice a month.
- Not Enhancing SEO
When the content of the ecommerce website is not SEO rich then there is no point in expecting maximum traffic. It is only with SEO rich content your website gets better Search Engine ranking which leads to increased web traffic. Try to make use of the right keywords with maximum search count. Try to get season specific keywords like Christmas, New Year, Halloween etc. to drive more traffic towards your ecommerce website.
- Absence of Blogs
Blogs are a great way to engage your buyers online. Absence of blogs is a biggest mistake to avoid while designing an ecommerce website. Blogs can be informative and at the same time they must promote sales. The blogs can be anything about the unique service you provide on your website, how to use a particular product, checklist of must have products of the season and more. Try to write blogs that are engaging and at the same time enhance the content of your blogs with SEO rich keywords. Backlink building is also a great technique to apply in the blogs of your website to increase web traffic to your ecommerce website.
- Not Utilizing Social Media
Social media can do wonders in promoting your goods and services online. Studies reveal that 78% of online buyers are influenced by social media promotion of ecommerce websites. Social Media forum is a great way to promote your business online. You can have a look at the Facebook page of Amazon.com, one of the most successful electronic ecommerce companies in the world.
Social Media promotion is a cost effective one too. Do not forget to flash Social Media buttons in all your web pages like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and more with easy share options. This instantly increases the promotion of your website and its offers. So if you don’t have an account on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ etc., you need to have one.
Therefore, to have a successful online business you need to avoid the above mistakes and you will be good to go!
Note: This article has been written in consultation with EyeForWeb, a web design company located in New Delhi, India.