So, whether you currently have a brick-and-mortar business and want to grow online, or you’re interested in developing a business from scratch, an e-commerce website is an excellent venture to pursue.
What exactly is an e-commerce business?
E-commerce is a business model that allows businesses and consumers to buy and sell products and services over the internet. Today, there are around 24 million e-commerce sites on the internet. Consumers choose e-commerce websites for purchases because it has become incredibly easy, convenient and saves plenty of time.
What do you need to set up an e-commerce website?
Before you can build an e-commerce website, you have to decide which platform to use. Ideally, you want to create a highly functional website from scratch.
With the hundreds of e-commerce platforms available online, it can be difficult to choose one. The right platform will allow you to design a responsive website with easy-to-follow navigation, great user experience and plenty of opportunity for customization.
Today, two major platforms are commonly used by e-commerce businesses, namely WordPress and WooCommerce. WordPress powers over 35% of all websites on the internet, while WooCommerce hosts around 1.5 million active online stores. These platforms are chosen because they are:
- Simple and intuitive
- Constantly developing and evolving
- Allow for plenty of functionality
- Easy to use and customisable
Besides choosing the right e-commerce platform, you also require a unique domain for your online shop and robust web hosting in South Africa. With these elements, you can be sure of launching a trustworthy, memorable, and fast e-commerce site.
Which elements should be included on an e-commerce site?
Keep it simple and easy to navigate
In today’s fast-paced world, consumers don’t want to struggle to buy online. Therefore, the success of an online store is majorly influenced by its website design. Cluttered designs can easily lose their allure over time. But a more minimalistic e-commerce site with a simple colour scheme and smooth typography will look appealing for longer.
High-quality images
Product photos help consumers to form their first impression of a product. If the photos are too small or of poor quality, it won’t inspire people to purchase the product. High-quality product photography that properly showcases a product can lead to more leads and sales.
Good product descriptions
Product descriptions should offer consistent, relevant, and useful information about a product. These descriptions should include the benefits of a product and its most important features.
A simple check-out process
It should be quick and easy for consumers to add items to their shopping carts and continue to the checkout page. The checkout page must also be optimised for speed. Improving the checkout experience for users can help to promote more sales in the future and enhance customer retention rates.
Powerful call-to-actions (CTAs)
CTAs must be clear and easy to find, so visitors are smoothly guided through the buying process. Visitors should feel confident about any action they take along the process.
Ratings and reviews
Including reviews in your e-commerce website design reassure visitors and give them confidence by showing that other buyers are happy with their purchases.
Start selling online today!
The online world is vast and the competition for customers is continually growing. With consumers’ preference for instant gratification, starting an e-commerce business can be a challenge. However, if you grab visitors’ attention quickly, add plenty of value and offer an efficient user experience, success is certainly imminent.
Contact Web Guru today for all your e-commerce needs, including unique domains and reliable and fast web hosting in South Africa.
