With modern shopping largely shifting to the online world, there are a couple of non-negotiable features that all eCommerce websites should have. Not only can it serves customers better, but it also effectively grows your business faster in the process. Doing so can also give your business a chance to expand to other markets, be it locally or globally. That is the magic of running a customer-oriented eCommerce website.
In comparison, eCommerce websites that don’t have these must-have features either have a weak online presence or can even make no online sales at all! This makes it a huge waste of effort and time, wasting its budget on website development, web design, and other related digital marketing efforts that won’t be utilized.
You might be asking yourself: what are the essential features that make a marketable and highly competitive eCommerce website? This guide is here to lay out the groundwork for any interested business looking to build or improve their eCommerce website. This list of must-haves is not only related to SEO practices or analytics, it corresponds to the demands of any online customer base.
Multiple payment options and a seamless checkout process
Shoppers love it when they can easily pick out what they want and checkout with worry. Since eCommerce websites are slowly replacing physical stores, it must always cater to similar demands in an overall convenient shopping experience.
All eCommerce websites must provide multiple options for their customers to pay, as well as provide an easy time checking out their items. Because there are different kinds of online customers with their own online payment accounts, it’s becoming a standard to provide this convenience. But when it comes to checking out, however, no online customer wants to be inconvenienced—after all, they’re already patronizing your business, so why should they have a hard time?
This is why most eCommerce website developers have encouraged their clients to look into different online payment options like mobile banking or credit card services. They also try their best to simplify the checkout process, so that customers can easily enjoy the products they bought as soon as possible.
An integrated Order Management and Content Management System
Aside from the seamless payment and checkout options, shoppers also love seeing a fully organized shop with easy-to-understand signs and categorized products. Shoppers also love it when the store staffs are ready to assist and provide support in a timely manner.
The same order must be seen in an eCommerce website—a fully organized online catalog for products and streamlined fulfillment from the backend to fulfill online customers’ orders are a must. This means that any eCommerce website must have both a Content Management System and Order Management System to succeed.
An Order Management System fulfills the orders of customers and effectively translates it to a business fulfillment facility, while a Content Management System seamlessly organizes all online content such as product descriptions and the like. These systems aren’t just convenient to the online customer, but they also allow a business owner to supervise from the sidelines and watch their business grow.
Easy to view feedback and reviews
Customer convenience and organization aside, shoppers also value the insight of other shoppers when they consider patronizing a store. The same goes for any eCommerce customer—they want to see the valued opinion of other customers. In doing so, they can gauge whether or not they should continue with their purchase from a particular eCommerce website.
It is important to note that there is a fine line between a maintained feedback page on an eCommerce website and a manufactured one. To be specific, online customers love authentic and helpful customer reviews, not filtered or suspiciously fabricated customer reviews. Thus, eCommerce sites must learn to value both positive and negative reviews and feedback. The polarity makes the business authentic and truly in service to its customers.
Conclusion
The demands of eCommerce customers should shape the standard for all businesses everywhere looking to grow. These must-haves are increasingly becoming the worldwide standard of online consumers across all markets. As such, businesses and their eCommerce website must adapt in order to be a successful business for years to come.
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