subject: How To Run Your Ecommerce Website [print this page] There are many suggestions as to what makes a good ecommerce website and I have thrown together a few suggestions that I would say are key:
1- Plenty of product information: when adding content to your site it is important to have as much detail as you can. When a customer is in a shop looking at the products they are looking to buy BUT online your eye is their eye. Make sure you give as much detail as possible and be specific. Give information in a clear and concise way that the customer will understand, do not use business jargon and make sure it is fluent and nice to read.
2- Use images: a good range of images (where appropriate) will support you product description. If selling clothes or jewellery take images of different part of the product such as front and back. Make sure you show as much as is needed to secure the decision with the buyer. Many people will not buy something without a visual guide so make sure yours is up to scratch.
3- Have a variety of payment methods: Ultimately, your site is there to sell your products and the way to help this is to make it as easy as possible for them to carry out the transaction. For customer support have many lines of communication so if they have an issue with payment they can let you know and you do not lose a potential sale. Also, people like to have a live person available to talk to if they are unsure or something goes wrong. The customer will need to feel their payment is secure so using payment tools such as paypal will put them at ease.
4- Product guarantees: If you have any kinds of guarantees with your products you should display this on you ecommerce website. It is quite common to offer a full money back guarantee with online transactions which is recommended to increase you r sales as the customer feel less at risk. For tangible products it is certainly worthwhile having a generous aftersales guarantee as this will reduce customers risk therefore you will make more sales. Customers need to feel they are confident shopping on your site and that they will not be compromised with their purchases.
5- A Privacy Policy: customers are very concerned about the security of their information; they are relying on you to keep it safe. Make sure you clearly state what you plan to do with any customer information that you receive and have all information written in the privacy policy.
6- Encourage returning customers: allow your customers to stay up to date with new products or services available through your site. Have a weekly or monthly newsletter that people can subscribe to. This will draw people back to the store and also you can offer exclusive deals to these members.
These are just a few ways I feel maximising you r ecommerce website will work for you. Of course, you have to work with what suits you and your business, but generally these things are generic must haves!
