Selling Online

Whether you're using your own website or selling your products and services through a specialist platform, the most important factor of a successful ecommerce website it its usability. 

The customer journey should be smooth and hassle-free, with all links, buttons and payment options working without friction. Any issues that annoy your customer could lead them to click away or abandon the purchase

Your ecommerce site should be mobile-friendly. More consumers are researching products and services online before making their purchase, so it’s vital that your website is fully functioning on whatever device the user chooses

When it comes to the layout, structure and design of your ecommerce website, it’s all about the customer! Your website should be shaped around the customers’ needs. Start by considering what you can improve to make their buying journey straight-forward, easy and enjoyable.

Make sure you are promoting your products and services well. Unappealing or low quality images and rushed, bland copy is not going to make someone buy from you. Your photographs should be clear, honest and visually interesting and the content should be engaging and informative.  

Hiding charges is likely to put off customers. Ensure all costs are included up-front and offer the customer as much information as possible about their order, expected delivery times, various delivery options and any added extras.

In the digital age, data protection is vital! Reassure your customers that you care about protecting their online information by prominently positioning relevant security badges or messages on your website. Ensure you are being clear about how you use and store data.  

Customer feedback provides you with the perfect opportunity to make targeted improvements to your ecommerce website. Understand your customers’ wants and needs to make improvements and meet their expectations.

The journey from researching and adding an item to basket through to entering payment details and completing the purchase should be straight forward and require as little redirection as possible. Consumers can become bored and distracted if they need to click through an unnecessary amount of pages and enter too many personal details.

The journey doesn’t end at the basket. Remind your potential customers of the items they have stored in the basket and encourage them to return and finish the journey. 

Help your customers in their decision to purchase by including customer recommendations and reviews on your website. Reviews and star ratings will add an important touch of authenticity that consumers are searching for in the digital world.