Before you actually build your online store, you need to make sure the fundamental elements of your future e-store are aligned with your business strategy and goals. This means that the design, structure, and content of your website should be coherent, integrated, and consistent with what you’re selling and how you position your products.

But what exactly does it take to attain this? What does it involve? What are the actual steps you need to take to create a shopping experience users will want to repeat? Below you can find some guidelines on how to create a successful user-oriented e-commerce website.

Web Design

When you set out to build an e-commerce website always keep in mind that this is going to be your storefront. It needs to be appealing enough to make people ‘come through the door’ but it’s even more important to ensure they have a pleasant shopping experience once they’re in. This means that the design and functionality of your e-commerce website should integrate seamlessly.

E-Commerce Software

When you embark on the e-commerce boat, you have two choices: building your online store by yourself on a domain you purchase for this purpose, or using an established e-commerce platform like Shopify, nopCommerce etc. In the former case, you need to start from scratch. Since it’s uncharted territory, you should be ready to overcome various obstacles and learn quickly. Many small businesses that enter the realm of e-commerce choose the latter alternative because it’s simple and effective. Reliable e-commerce platforms hosting online stores allow you to avoid the technical and infrastructure problems that you may encounter in case you go for self-hosting. They offer intuitive, customizable, and easy to use software, which will enable you to manage your e-commerce store smoothly.

Describe Your Products

Your virtual storefront is everything you have to convince people to buy, so it is vital to strive to put your products in the best possible light. For that, write informative and relevant product descriptions, organize products effectively, enable users to find what they want easily, and use high quality pictures for all the items you’re selling. Product descriptions need to be complete and accurate, and the photos should reflect and confirm them. If you’re selling your product offline as well, make sure you are consistent in product presentation and packaging.

Ensure Privacy

When shopping online, people want to be sure that their personal information is protected.  Use SSL certificates to encrypt your users’ personal details, especially credit card data. Also, specify your privacy policy. Reassure customers that their personal details are safe with you and let them know exactly how their personal information is going to be used.

Shopping Cart Experience and Payment Options

These two elements are critical when you run an e-commerce store. They are decisive when it comes to creating a positive user experience. All the steps of the purchase process should be clear and easy to follow, from log in to checkout. Also, see what payment options work best for you and make sure they work on your e-commerce website.

Customer Service

With online services it’s easy to become impersonal, but you want to stay as close to your customers as possible. One important aspect in this sense is customer service. Set up a chat service and/or phone number people can call anytime to get in touch with a person, not a machine, to have their questions answered. This will encourage shopping, as customers will know that they can get assistance whenever they need it.

With these in mind, here’s what to look for in e-commerce platforms to make sure your online store is user-oriented:

• Customizable templates that don’t require expert knowledge. Once you set up your online store, you should be able to change settings and design layouts, as well as edit and create new pages, as you please.
• Use a platform that allows you to control the HTML and CSS of your e-commerce website, and has a built-in Content Management System (CMS). This will enable you to manage content and products without hiring a web design company to handle this.
• Your e-commerce platform should support different languages and currencies if you sell your products internationally.
• Full mobile functionality is essential if you want your e-commerce store to work on mobile devices. As consumers are increasingly relying on smart phones and tablets when shopping online, this should be a top priority in your e-commerce strategy.

The post How to Build a User-Oriented E-Commerce Website appeared first on DesignCanyon.

Shopping Cart Technology

The shopping cart feature in the software needs to be advanced and intuitive. Your customers need to be able to easily purchase your products or services; further, the shopping cart should be easy to find, navigate and make adjustments in. If the shopping cart is too difficult to use; you could end up losing customers during the check-out process. Even if the customer still makes a purchase, they might consider not coming back because of the hassle. In conjunction with this, it’s best to use some sort of financial planning software too so that you can keep an eye on costs, as ecommerce software occasionally needs to be updated. If possible, test the features of the shopping cart in the ecommerce software that you are wanting to purchase. Some companies will let you have a demo copy of the software to help you in your decision making.

Easily Adaptable to Social Media

If there is one thing that all successful businesses with websites have these days; it is integration with social media sites. Your ecommerce software should make it easy to add shopping carts to different social media sites. The software should make it easy to put your products and services in front of your customers on a variety of platforms. Being able to use many income streams from different platforms is the key to success for any business in this day and age– It is especially true for those businesses that have websites.

Security

One of the most important things to look for in a good ecommerce software is security. Security should be a top priority for any website owner or business owner. Even if the business protection should be the main concern of the owners; the security of their customer’s private information is even more important. Oftentimes, a customer might not purchase an item from a website if there are no proper security measures in place while they are checking out.

Product Display

Another thing to look for in a good ecommerce software is the product display and description options. How your products are displayed is really important. When customers shop online, they don’t get the advantage of seeing a product up close and in person. This is why it is extremely important to have good images and descriptions of all of your products. Your customers should also have the option of zooming in and out of the product pictures as well.

Choosing the right ecommerce softwares and web design courses are very important for anyone who runs an online website and wants to sell products and services. The software that you choose should help you run your website easily and smoothly; further, it is also important that it helps provide a great shopping experience for your customers.

The post How To Choose A Good Ecommerce Software appeared first on DesignCanyon.

With access to an online store loaded with the products you sell, anyone can buy what they need from you. Online sales are projected to rise, reaching 210.2 million per year by 2017. Now is the best time to get in on starting an online store so that you can reap the benefits of additional sales, just like many other business are already doing. All you need to do now is pay attention to the following:

Get Help with an Original Website

Your website is a representation of your business. It should never replicate any other website, especially because the idea that you want to give to potential customers is one that shows how unique your business is. If you have no idea how to start a website, you can do what many other businesses do, and simply use an e-commerce website as a resource. When you use this option, you don’t have to stress about finding the right hosting for your website or setting up complicated codes. You can get straight to the point with uploading quality images and product descriptions to go along with each one.

Make Sure Your Products Stand Out

What makes your products stand out? There are two essential ways to make sure potential customers have the best idea of how your product will look or work for them. You have to have great pictures of every product and detailed professionally written product descriptions. A DSLR camera is the best option when shooting photographs of products. Not only is the camera important, it is also crucial that you choose the right lens and lighting for every image. If you don’t have access to this type of camera and would prefer not to have to buy one, it is possible to use a smart phone to take pictures. However, the problem you may encounter when using a smart phone is the lack of an optical zoom option. Even so, if it is your only option at the moment, it is worth trying with the right lighting and backdrops.

For the product descriptions that will go with each image, if you are not a writer, avoid making the mistake of jotting down your own descriptions. If you expect them to have spelling or grammatical errors because you don’t write well, it is better to have a professional do it for you so that the outcome is error-free. Hire a writer who is willing to work as an independent contractor and can take on the task of creating compelling short descriptions that intrigue potential customers. After all, it is all about capturing their attention, right? Every description should make each individual product sound desirable.

Start Marketing for Your Store

When the design of your website is developed and you have taken time to carefully upload pictures with their descriptions, it is time to start building a presence that shows people exactly what your store is all about. You can decide which approach is best for you based on the different methods of marketing. You can choose from the below mentioned:

• Social media marketing
• Online advertisements
• Guest blog posts

You can create social media accounts for your online store. You might consider creating a Facebook and Twitter account, along with Instagram for strictly uploading pictures of products. The goal is to build your brand and make people recognize what you have to offer. Social media sites are a great tool to use. You can also buy advertisement space. Ironically enough, Facebook offers the option to buy advertisement space on its website, which can help you gain more exposure. If you prefer not to advertise on social media sites, there are plenty of other places to advertise.

Some people choose to create guest blog posts on popular blog sites. The visitors of those sites see the guest blog post, read through it, and may even end up visiting the website at the end if they feel the content was worth it. While this option isn’t for everyone, it is one that you can often do without having to pay any money. Regardless of which options you choose, remember to devote at least an hour to marketing and advertising each day.

The post The Right Things to Know When Starting an Online Store appeared first on DesignCanyon.