When looking to develop a new ecommerce website, it can be easy to forget some apparent features every ecommerce website should have. Here are a few you should include in your website scoping. If you work together with a marketing agency to develop your website, they will be able to advise on additional features and functionality you can include.
An easy-to-use check-out
A proven checkout process is essential for any ecommerce website. You should opt for a simple checkout process that has proven results. Many ecommerce website providers will have tested several different checkout methods to find the best version for your industry and business needs. That’s not to say you can’t do your own experiments to help to improve your checkout experience. Every set of website visitors is different, and what typically works for one won’t necessarily work on another set of visitors. Testing and making alterations to your website check-out process can help you improve conversion rates.
A content management system (CMS)
A good content management system that considers aspects such as SEO, product tags and reviews can help improve a website's performance. A CMS is vital for any ecommerce website; being able to quickly and easily update product descriptions and add new blog content to the site helps improve SEO and keep the website up to date. Content management systems should be easy and intuitive to use; this enables anyone at the company to take an active role in updating the website when needed. If the CMS is going to be used by various people, proper user management needs to be in place to prevent accidental changes that could impact the website's performance. Each user must be assigned user permissions based on their knowledge and job role.
Email marketing integration
The ability to send emails using your ecommerce website or integrate a third-party tool can help convert more prospects into customers and improve customer loyalty. Providing customers with automated emails about their purchases, deliveries, and new offers keeps them informed and improves their experience. Advanced integrations allow customers to be segmented into different groups so you can personalise emails based on consumer preferences. Receiving regular emails from a company can help keep the brand front of mind when a potential customer is making a purchase decision.
Multiple payment options
A good ecommerce website should have several payment options to help the customer quickly check out. The ability to check out as a guest and integrations with commonly used payment platforms such as PayPal can reduce checkout drop-off rates. When choosing a website platform, check out the available payment options. A Magento Ecommerce agency will be able to advise on the most popular payment options for your particular market segment. Getting a sense of what consumers are looking for in your segment can also be found by looking at the options your competitors offer.
Reporting
When it comes to reporting on e-commerce data, you want to be able to access as much information as possible. A custom website data dashboard can display any information you want, including detailed information about your website's traffic, social media engagement, and even sales conversions. Users can set up their own dashboard to display the most valuable information. The great thing about a dashboard is the data is live and, therefore, always up to date. You can log in and see the sales figures any time without waiting for a monthly or weekly report update. If you find a product is in high demand and another isn’t selling, you can adjust your prices accordingly. Having live data that includes information can help mould your marketing strategy and improve your ability to react quickly during sales periods or peak holiday times.
These are just a few of the many features your ecommerce website should have. If you choose to work with a marketing agency, they will be able to advise further. You will have in-depth discussions with your agency to talk about the features the website needs to include and the cost for these features. Make sure you have an idea or example of the type of website you would like to create so you can steer the agency in the right direction during your conversations.
Resources:
- Adobe Commerce Development - Odoo
- Adobe Commerce Agency - Populr
- Magento Agency - Mataroa
- Magento 2 Agency UK - Taiga