The design and development of an eCommerce store are two of the main factors that turn visitors into customers. People visiting a website want to see a polished product, a design that is welcoming and warm and gets to the point with its brand. They also want a website that functions well and doesn’t take more than a few seconds to load.
So many little aspects can be the difference between a conversion and a customer abandoning your website for another from a competitor. How can you build up your website so you can be competitive?
That is the question that Genius eCommerce is here to answer today. We stay up to date on everything in eCommerce from the latest trends and news to tips to help you. This is who we are and what we do. Today, we will look at a few development tips for starting off strong with your website.
Branding – If visitors want to see a professional website, there needs to be branding involved, most notably a company logo. People need to be able to identify you and know what your brand is and what it stands for almost instantly. For many businesses, a logo and a brand are very similar to a reputation. It represents the business and gives people a reason to believe you care. Having a professional logo shows that you care and can be trusted to customers.
Display a Favicon – Having a logo and showcasing your brand is important, but it’s not as big a part of the technical development side of things. However, having your logo also be in the form of a favicon is part of the development. A favicon is a small icon, usually of the company logo, that appears in the browser of the website next to the URL. Have a favicon version of your logo made when it is being designed and add it through BigCommerce.
Social Media Icons – There are two purposes for social media icons. First, you want people to see the icons on your website to show there is also a social media presence. This encourages people to check you out on social media. But make sure the icons are linked to the correct platforms and pages and that they open in new tabs or windows. The last thing you want to do is distract potential customers by taking them completely off of your page to go to your social media and negate a potential purchase.
A Simple Checkout – Just like with loading speeds, customers want to complete their purchases quickly and easily. One of the biggest reasons people abandon their shopping carts is because of a long and complicated checkout process. Have your website developed to make checkout quick and easy, limiting the steps needed for customers to complete a purchase.
Product Images – If you want to make an impact with shoppers in the eCommerce space, you need large, high-quality images to show off your products. One of the difficulties of online shopping is that customers cannot physically see or hold the product until they receive it. With that in mind, give them as much detail as possible in their photos. Don’t just make the photos large and clear, make them as detailed as possible so it feels like people can see the product as if it were right in front of them.
Reviews – One of the reasons new customers come to a new store, or any other business for that matter, is because it was recommended by a friend or by people leaving reviews online. One of the best ways to persuade a customer to purchase a product from you is to leave a review on the page from a customer who previously purchased the product. This cuts down on the research the customer has to do and makes the decision-making process of choosing to purchase go quicker, too.
Did you find these development tips helpful? At Genius eCommerce, we stay up to date on everything in eCommerce. This is who we are and what we do. Check out the Genius eCommerce blog for more tricks, tips, updates and more.
