A successful eCommerce website design is able to attract new customers, retain existing ones and smoothly guide them through the checkout process. If you want to be able to hit all of these objectives, you’re going to need to know the key elements you require.
With our experience as an eCommerce developer in Singapore, we understand what it takes for your eCommerce website design to succeed and thrive in this highly competitive arena. Improve your eCommerce website by checking this list of mandatory features to include in your site.
Detailed Product Information
Your visitors need to be absolutely clear on what they are buying from you – which means the product information must be clear and detailed with no confusion. It’s best to assume that they have never seen a product like it before, which means all of the important features must be listed.
Although it should be detailed, bear in mind that they won’t want to read paragraph upon paragraph of information. The information should be presented in an inverted pyramid sequence, with the most important information featured first. Using good, high-quality pictures are also essential.
On-Site Search
It’s very frustrating when using a search feature on a website that brings up things that are irrelevant to what you’re looking for. Your eCommerce site must be using competent, reliable search engine software. A filter for more refined search options is also advisable.
This is a key step in helping users get to what they want as quickly and efficiently as possible, which is also the surest way to boost your sales.
User-Friendly Navigation
User-friendly can mean a lot of things, but the ultimate criterion is its navigation. Your site must be easy to navigate to offer a rewarding user experience. A user-friendly eCommerce website design keeps them on your site and keeps them coming back for more.
Make sure all of your categories are properly named and that menus and links are placed in a prominent place. Each page should also have an easy way of making it back to the home page. Making it easy to navigate helps your customer to get to their desired point faster, which is also important for your business’s sales.
Comprehensive Shopping Cart Features
Your shopping cart is just as important as the rest of your site – just because they have made it this far does not mean they will go ahead with the purchase. You should make sure that your shopping cart layout is simple, effectively displays company branding, and include prominent checkout buttons.
The ability to change quantities, select shipping options, enter promo codes and the option to continue shopping should all be visibly displayed. It’s a given that you should also provide your customers with as many payment options as possible, beyond just PayPal and credit cards.
Make The Checkout Process Easy
Your checkout process needs to be as simple as possible to stop people from abandoning their carts. When done correctly, your checkout method should be quick and painless as your customers would not be willing to go through more than a few pages.
Ideally, everything will be on one page, which is an impossible task. Even if they do choose to go through with the purchase after a few pages of inputting and confirming details, they might decide not to follow through.
Hence, the task is to make any complicated process feel simple by providing incentives to complete the journey. A status check should also be provided to the user, to let them keep track of their current progress.
If you are a local Singapore SME looking to develop or revamp your eCommerce website design, you can work with us at up to 80% subsidised rate. Check out our PSG grant page or contact us today to find out more.