Developing a eCommerce website? Consider Avoiding the Following Mistakes

The E-commerce industry is getting the spotlight as people have moved towards an online world where shopping has become easy and hassle-free. Nearly half of the world’s population is shopping online. About 90% of people are doing it through their mobile devices. Customers expect a standard like design and usability, especially when shopping on e-commerce websites. If you make too many design and functionality mistakes, you will lose customers and harm your long-term reputation in the long run. Fortunately, most mistakes are relatively easy to fix.

Mistakes to Avoid While Developing e-commerce Website:

If you are developing a new e-commerce website or improving an existing one, here are some of the most common design mistakes to avoid.

Information Overload

Although it might be tempting to cram each page, especially the homepage, with your red-hot products and promotions, don’t visually overload your visitors. A clean, self-explanatory structure is more likely to convert visitors into customers. Avoid pop-ups, animated graphics, and background music.

Poor Product Descriptions

Too many e-commerce stores feature generic, uninspiring, and meagre product descriptions. Ensure you answer all the questions a shopper may ask about a product. Use emotive language that stirs emotions in the reader. And highlight the product benefits. Don’t just give a list of technical features.

Not Displaying Related Products

Look at the displays in any brick-and-mortar store. You will see related products grouped to increase the chances of add-on purchases. You could lose many potential sales if you don’t design your website similarly. So, consider using an e-commerce platform that will allow you to add related products to the product pages manually.

Confusing Navigation

If customers can’t find the product they’re looking for in a few clicks, you may have lost a sale. Carefully plan your navigational links and product categories to maximize site usability. And have visible and highlighted “checkout” options that might please your customers.

An Ineffective Site Search Engine

Many e-commerce sites have inadequate site search facilities. Make sure customers can filter their search results. For example, can customers refine their searches by price, category, and popularity? Help visitors find what they’re looking for by including a visible search box in the top right-hand corner of every page.

Not Enough Trust Indicators

Trust seals and security badges such as VeriSign, BBB, and Truste will help strengthen your credibility and improve conversions. Testimonials, customer reviews, and displaying a client portfolio will also boost the confidence of visitors.

Vague Contact Information

Before customers make a purchase, they need to know they can trust you. By making your contact details visible on every page, they will get reassurance that they can contact you if they have a problem. Consider adding a separate help request form or include an FAQ section.

A Lengthy Checkout Process

The quicker a customer can complete their purchase, the better. Don’t give customers too much time to reconsider with lengthy forms and a confusing checkout process. If you can, combine checkout pages by using two-column layouts. And offer the option of registration after the order is complete.

Lack of Mobile Friendliness

Mobile-friendliness is a part of every design and development phase as most visitors will be from mobile. They will get frustrated if they have a website that is not responsive. Also, Google uses it as a ranking factor.

Lack of Error Reporting

It’s very frustrating for shoppers when a page error occurs during site navigation. Technically, it’s easy to set up notifications when unexpected errors occur. Ask your webmaster to install automatic email alerts if a 404 (page not found) error occurs, for example. Then fix it.