Are you considering starting an eCommerce website? Giving conventional brick-and-mortar retailers a run for their money, eCommerce is undoubtedly a lucrative potential, but things can be more complicated than it seems. Many fall into the trap of believing eCommerce web design is a simple set-and-forget process that takes no care.
Our 15+ years of experience have taught us a lot. We examined a range of eCommerce websites, both large and small. By combining our views with industry research, we’ve compiled a list of the 6 most common errors to avoid when launching a new online eCommerce website. With this information, your eCommerce shop will have a far higher chance of survival online.
#1Choosing the wrong eCommerce platform
There are notable distinctions across ecommerce systems. Some just have the most basic functions and do not necessarily include an option to upgrade.
Others may seem tempting initially, but then surprise you with hidden expenses, making it more costly than using a platform that charges an upfront price. Basic ecommerce systems are less likely to offer native customisation capabilities, relying on third-party solutions or lacking such capabilities entirely.
The ideal ecommerce platform will scale and expand with your company, providing you with the functionality you want as you scale or expand. For instance, you may want to concentrate on B2C now but expand into B2B in a few years.
If you’re new to ecommerce, invest some time in finding the ideal platform first. Consult with other business owners and online groups for input before making a choice. If you’ve previously launched an online shop and it isn’t built on a platform that can scale with your company, you’ll need to consider shifting to a more suitable platform.
#2Never Underestimate the Importance of Security
With the advent of the internet and computers came the shadowy world of hackers, frauds, and infections. Within the vast demographic range of millennials to baby boomers, from computer savvy to digital beginners, the majority are nonetheless informed enough to check for visual indicators indicating a website’s trustworthiness.
As an eCommerce merchant, you are required to collect sensitive information such as client names, addresses, and credit card numbers. Securing your website is critical for safeguarding it from uninvited hackers attempting to steal this data (and also customer lawsuits). You may believe it is OK to gamble, but your clients most certainly will not. Indeed, 15% of consumers leave their carts if they are worried about payment security.
#3Lack of payment options
A lack of payment choices for your consumers creates an unneeded barrier. We live in an age of immediate gratification, and everything that slows us down is considered a nuisance.
Failure to support a prospective customer’s chosen payment method may drive them away – nobody is going to register a new account only to make an order with you.
Fortunately, this is a straightforward repair. If you’re using a standard content management system, support for different payment methods should be built-in.
#4Lack of shipping options
Put yourself in the shoes of the consumer for a moment. What are they seeking? 3 things:
- Their item(s) and / or service.
- To pay a reasonable price for their item(s).
- Shipping that is both dependable and quick
With 79 percent of customers ranking free delivery as a top priority, it is no longer considered a benefit. And, with just 15% of consumers believing their delivery expectations are satisfied, this represents a significant chance for your ecommerce company to get new customers.
#5Not enabling guest checkout
How often have you added items to your basket and then abandoned them because you were required to create an account? If the answer is anything other than “zero,” you already understand why leaving out a guest checkout option throughout the checkout process is a problem.
There is an apparent explanation for this: creating an account increases the quantity of consumer information gathered and the number of email subscribers, which enables company owners to contact clients with future offers.
However, the average abandonment rate is staggeringly high; Baymard determined the average cart abandonment rate to be around 70% (based on 44 given figures). It should be a focus to maintain the checkout process easy and straightforward in order to minimise cart abandonment.
If you’re going to demand an account to buy, at the very least make it simple for your clients – employ one-click account setup through social media or Gmail.
#6Not investing in security
While every new company owner must keep an eye on their expenses, particularly in the early stages, security should be seen as an investment rather than a cost. Fraudsters may strike in an infinite number of ways, including money fraud, phishing schemes, and corrupted links.
It’s a question of “when, not if,” your online shop will be attacked in some way, and failing to implement the proper security measures may be disastrous.
There are many methods for enhancing the security of your ecommerce site. SSL certificates should be used to secure payments, antivirus software should be used to safeguard payment information, and you should convert to HTTPS to protect your users and their data. HTTPS is shown by the presence of a padlock in your browser.
