12 Essential Features Of Every Successful Ecommerce Website Design

In my previous article on ecommerce website design and development, I had discussed on the importance of having an ecommerce website in this century of technology advancement. In this post let’s see what are some must have features of a successful website design.

The success of an ecommerce website doesn’t depend merely on the quality of its products. But, there are certain factors and elements that every ecommerce website should have to stay alive and competitive and make the site user-friendly for the customers and easily manageable for the owners. How the website is designed and developed is the most important among all these crucial factors and elements.

An ecommerce website design with following features is hardly to fail to make an impact in the online market. If some of these fundamental features don’t exist in your website, the chances for the success might reduce considerably.

12 must have features of an e-commerce website design

Easy navigation

Navigation plays an important role in ecommerce website design. Navigation options are to ensure easy access to the different sections of your online website. Hence, they should be simple, self-explanatory in nature, to the point, and in the right position. Ecommerce website designs which are easy to navigate are more likely to be visited by visitors than those without it.

Call-to-action (CTA)

Call-to-action (CTA) is a must have for a best ecommerce website design. A strong and clear CTA (call to action) is essentially needed if your ecommerce website wants to generate more business. Visitors have known your products from the catalogue, information, videos, photos, and blogs in your site. Now, they will be looking for an option to take an action you want them to do. Make the CTA very clear so that your visitors will feel ease to do their job.

Shopping cart and login box

A shopping basket is a necessity in your ecommerce website  because without it visitors cannot save and check out items they want to buy. It’s almost impossible to imagine a store without a shopping cart function. Shopping cart must be easy-to-use so that visitors will not get confused.

Create an account option will allow your visitors to sign up with their own login and password whenever they visit the online store without entering their information again and again. Furthermore, you can collect their contact information, especially their e-mail address, and use them for marketing.

Reviews

Before buying a product, I look for its reviews. I am pretty sure that you also do the same. So, reviews are all-important in an ecommerce website. Costumers are doubtful to a product without a user-generated review of it. According to surveys, about 92% of the online shoppers read reviews.

Product search and filtering

Product search and filtering is a must have for an ecommerce website design because it enable customers to find the products of their wish with ease and fast. Studies show that 76% of consumers say the most important characteristic of any website is ease of use. Filters help shoppers narrow down exactly what it is they are looking for.

High quality images

Shoppers want to see the product in its exact look from different angles. So, your ecommerce website design must have quality images with zooming options.  According to a survey by Adobe, images that don’t load or take too long to load will see a consumer drop-off rate of 39%.

Secure payment options

As you know it well, an ecommerce website without safe and secure payment option is never going to succeed. Secure payment option is the fundamental in an ecommerce website design. So, ensure your customers have a safe payment platform and they can leave the website immediately if they find any threats.

Shipping details

Free shipping is a popular favourite. Studies show that shoppers spend 30% more per order when free shipping is included. This proves enough how important is including shipping information in your ecommerce website. It’s also helpful to include delivery time and options for faster delivery. Since you are now selling to the global audience, not just to the local market, you should also take the shipping costs into account.

Mobile friendly

Make sure that your ecommerce site is mobile friendly. I tell you why; since the desktops have been replaced by mobiles and 80% of internet users own a smartphone and 48% of consumers do mobile research with a search engine, it seems impossible, nowadays, to even exist in online market without a responsive design. Moreover, studies find that by 2018, over a third of the world population is projected to own a smartphone.

Special offers

Almost all of the online sellers use this as good strategy to grab the attention of customers to their online shop. When online buyers see a special offer ad in an ecommerce website they tend to spend more time searching the site.

Live chat

Shoppers will need to communicate with sellers in case there are ever any issues, questions, or concerns. If they don’t get proper and clear answer they are more likely to leave your site and will not come back again. This is why live chat option becomes an integral part of an ecommerce website. Make the interaction with customers easier by adding visible hotlines and live chat features on your website that are available 24/7.

Social media integration

Let the online world know you’re available on social networks like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube. Surveys find that almost 20% of online purchases are accomplished after surfing social media sites. Integration with social media is critical for the success of an ecommerce website.

Successful ecommerce website design = user friendly

The goal of adding all the above-mentioned plus other essential features is to make the ecommerce website design easy to use for any customer. The objective is to help shoppers get to what they want faster and without running into unnecessary confusions that can irritate them while they wish to purchase.

Contact affordable ecommerce website development company in Kochi, Kerala for your e-commerce project