It’s not easy to make an eCommerce website, as there are several things that you need to consider relating to everything from user engagement to website performance. Setting up a normal business website is a complicated process, so when it comes to setting up an eCommerce store you’ll be faced with harder challenges. You should know that eCommerce websites aren’t solely built for showcasing and promoting your brand online, but also for making shopping easier for consumers.
Therefore, you must focus on ensuring that your eCommerce website is not only easy to use but also intuitive to gain more sales. Modern-day eCommerce stores must also offer the best payment API solutions so that it’s easier for consumers to make payments. So, let’s look at all the crucial elements you should consider when setting up your eCommerce website:
1. CMS – Content Management System
You can easily build your eCommerce store with a word processing program and a Notepad, but it’s not recommended that you do that. You’ll only be creating more work for yourself, as whenever you want to make a change, like publishing articles, adding new products, or editing existing products, you’ll need to edit the document and then upload it back on the server.
You can streamline your management and creation processes on your website with a content management system (CMS). There are several benefits you gain from CMS platforms, as you can edit pages on your website easily, and integrate the latest features in your store. The most popular CMS platforms that are being used on eCommerce websites are:
- WooCommerce
- VirtueMart
- ZenCart
- PrestaShop
- Big Cartel
- Magento
- BigCommerce
- Shopify
It’s important that you pick the right CMS platform when setting up your eCommerce website to ensure that you can take full advantage of its features.
2. Security
As you’ll also be handling all the personal and financial information of customers, you must also think about implementing the best cybersecurity measures on your eCommerce website. Hackers have been targeting more and more eCommerce websites, due to slack security measures implemented by most stores. It’s important that you not only protect the integrity of your eCommerce store but also the sensitive information of your consumers by implementing a solid payment API solution and paying attention to the cybersecurity on your website.
3. Promoting Your Store
If you’re not promoting your eCommerce store, you shouldn’t expect that customers are going to find you easily online. There are a lot of different eCommerce stores in the market, and if you want to attract the attention of consumers you’ll need to promote your eCommerce store to stand out. The good news is that there are plenty of ways you can go about promoting your store, which include:
- Asking Bloggers to review your products
- Optimizing for search engine traffic
- Creating social media accounts for your brand
- Blogging about your store
- Giving discounts to customers who refer sales
- Add a ‘Share’ button on your website
- Creating Search Network and Shopping Network advertisements on Google AdWords
You’ll need to focus on online channels to promote your eCommerce store so that you can target consumers in your niche. For instance, if you’re making ads on Google AdWords, you should select keywords that are associated with your products.
4. The Checkout Process
You’ll scare off your customers if you offer them a checkout process that is confusing and lengthy as well. Studies have found that one of the main reasons customers abandon shopping carts is because they got frustrated by the long checkout process. You should try to ensure that the checkout process has the least amount of steps possible so that customers can get through the sale quickly.
When customers are buying your products, you shouldn’t force them to register an account with your eCommerce, since it can irritate them. If you keep adding more steps and making things complicated for your consumers, they’re going to be driven away from your store.
5. CRM – Customer Relationship Management
You must also pay attention to how you’re going to manage the relationships with your customers. A lot of eCommerce platforms have integrated CRM solutions, which helps to streamline the process, but you can also find a third-party solution as well. It’s important that you know your customers, and a CRM allows you to get insights into the behavior of your customer and allows you to nurture your customers, access customer information, handle customer inquiries, and automate follow-up emails as well.
