Having an online store and maintaining it to gain revenue are two different things. Undeniably, the craze of online shopping is growing tremendously! Of the approximate population of 7.87 billion, almost 2.72 prefer shopping online. Of course, it leads to competitiveness in the eCommerce market as well. If you are an online store owner then, it is essential for you to keep an eye on the major yet fundamental aspects of it. There are chances that you will experience the profits are not worth your efforts. So, pay attention to the factors defined in this article that could be a spoilsport in web development for eCommerce. If you prioritize these elements, then meeting the demands of customers’ expectations and staying ahead of your competitors will be impossible for you! Read on to find out!
6 mistakes to avoid in your eCommerce website
Picking an unreliable hosting plan
If you are just starting up and choosing the shared web hosting plan considering its cost-effectiveness then, it can face the consequences. Believingly, the shared environment itself includes some unavoidable disadvantages that can damage the online store’s ROI.
Basically, the shared servers have hundreds or thousands of users exhausting the system resources. Consequently, despite the logic that a light site cannot be unhealthy, it can also face a lack of RAM or processing power.
The same is true for the security aspect even. So, it is advisable to use safety policies and use security plugins. Definitely, the dedicated servers could be costly for SMBs or startups, hence, choosing a VPS hosting is better for designing a site for your project. The capability of resources scaling (up and down) is however beneficial, particularly in marketing campaigns and promotions.
Selecting the terrible web building platform
The next mistake that might be killing your online store success is choosing a bad web-building platform. Several self-hosted and hosted eCommerce website development platforms are there. Both have a similar aim to make an attractive eCommerce website. But, the point to consider here is that you need to carry out the basic research at least. Consider an example of Magento. Definitely, it is a popular eCommerce platform. Of course, as an open-source platform, it is empowering wholesale and retail businesses. But, when it is about an online store including some products, Magento could be overkill as it is more complex and has higher server resources.
So, while picking the eCommerce building platform, always consider the features such as different themes or plugins, system requirements, ease of use, or growth possibilities.
Unreliable Omnichannel Marketing Process
When it is about omnichannel marketing, it is all about integration and cooperation among offline and online stores, customer service, social media pages, or additional destinations. Confused or disconnected user experience on various business channels usually results in sale loss and customer dissatisfaction.
Consider having an Instagram business page that is developing regularly because of promotions. When the user will notice the product images, they show their urge to check out online stores as well. Though, you have not added any account bio or direct link. However, there are fewer chances that visitors will search for your business on Google and hence, will leave.
Let’s look at another scenario. If the users have purchased the product from your online shop and got an issue. At that point in time, they would like to approach the support team from the site and fail to find any information related. So, you can offer customer service via email or Facebook web page not shown on the website. In case the customer is unable to find the information, they will not search, however, prefer to leave and not buy in the future.
That is to say, it is essential to establish a direct link with various channels to make it easy for visitors to navigate from one to another. Let them feel that their time is valuable to you, and make easy paths for simple communication and navigation.
Less website loading speed
We live in a modern world where digitization is growing rapidly. The users expect to get information quickly; hence, website speed comes as a prime factor. In case the website speed is slow then, they will not prefer to wait and move to another site.
The statistics have confirmed that 70% of customers believe that website loading speed influences the purchasing decision from an online store. However, if the users have to wait for more than 3 seconds then they prefer to leave the site. Of course, you do not want this to happen to your site as well.
Believingly, web hosting services have a major role to play in site loading speed. Indeed, you prefer to host the site near the users. Considerably, if your targeted users are majorly in Singapore then, it is advisable to choose the local server to host the site. Give users a hassle-free and smooth experience.
As now you are aware of the factors to consider, choose the skilled eCommerce website developers to create a site for you that cannot face any issues.
Complicated Checkout Process
For any website owner, it is evident to give users an easy checkout and navigation process. Do not let them linger here and there to complete the buying process. Otherwise, they will abandon. Believingly, the issues in the last steps of buying are the main reason that targeted users are leaving. Below are a few of the issues that probably are hampering the checkout process:
- Including many steps
- Including several fields
- Creating account forcefully
- Redundant questionnaires and pop-ups
- Lack of incline validation
Note: The checkout process should not be more than one to three steps. All this includes the important information to complete the purchasing process.
Integration of less payment methods
According to Statista, the chief payment gateway online is the digital wallet resulting in 41% of sales. Usually, Europe and Asia Pacific regions use such payment options. But, the US accepts credit cards first then digital wallets. Undeniably, mobile and digital wallets are convenient and safe, removing the need to fill in the card information for each purchase.
Similarly, 72.5% provide PayPal payment methods, 11.7% Apple Pay and 15.4% Amazon Pay. That implies that the offerings are not yet fulfilling the demand of different payment options. Pay later and Buy Now payment methods are accelerating in popularity. Also, ensure that the website provides payment in various countries if you have international customers.
Concluding Remarks
eCommerce is a profitable yet competitive platform. The main aim is to offer the customer the best experience and improve brand value. However, there are some mistakes that you are probably making and affecting the site performance. With an investment in an eCommerce development agency and working on the factors killing an eCommerce business website, you can stay ahead and improve revenue.
