While competitive pricing is critical for any eCommerce site, there is more to bringing in and keeping customers than just offering great bargains. In fact, most consumers buying online are more often concerned about website performance, security and payment options than they are about saving a few pennies.
By including the issues that consumers look for the most when shopping online, eCommerce website development can address customer needs. This is a big step in not only bringing customers to the site but also creating loyal customers who will continue to shop on your site over that of the competition.
Here are some critical eCommerce website development factors to consider during the design phase of the website. The development service should include these, but make sure they don’t get lost as a central focus in the processes.
Ease of Searching
No one wants to hit a landing page and then have to scroll through hundreds of items to hope to find what they are looking for. It will be critical to set up filters that allow shoppers to narrow down their selection by issues such as price, color, size, style, model number or the specific search features for the products or services you are marketing.
The search bar on the site should also be easy to find. Don’t hide it at the bottom of the page, make it easy to find or customers will simply move on to the next site.
Make the Shopping Cart Easy to See
Web sites that make the shopping cart easy to spot, typically at the top of the page near the search bar, are rated higher than those that feature it on the side or the bottom of the page.
Shopping carts that display the number of items or allow for the customer to click on the icon to get a drop-down panel of items in the cart are also a good idea. Make sure if the customer clicks on the shopping cart there is also a clear way to return to the page and continue shopping.
Other factors to consider in eCommerce website development include the use of quality images and the balance of images, text and white space on the page. Consumers want to be able to see items displayed without having them crowded or so small they are difficult to understand.
