Things to Consider When Building an E-commerce Website

With millions of different websites out there on the Internet, it is very important to keep your website on top and stand out from the crowd. With a rise in the need for web development, E-commerce websites, compared to other types of websites, are being seen more frequently by our Chicago web designers. E-commerce websites are one of the most complicated and interactive types of websites to build. E-commerce sites can be very complicated to construct and can be difficult to understand when building. If you are shopping around for a marketing company or web design firm to provide web design services, be sure to read up on the topic before making the big decision. Even if you come across a marketing company or a web design company that has been designing websites for years they may still not have the full capabilities of creating a total, interactive e-commerce website.

Platform your website is built on

It is very important to keep in mind what platform your web developers are looking to build your website on. When creating a website, web designers usually build the site on a Content Management System. If you are looking to create an e-commerce website chances are you are going to be doing a lot of maintenance to it. You will probably want to make sure that your website is built on a flexible, user-friendly CMS, which will help you enormously in the long run when it comes to making changes and updates to your website. Before beginning your e-commerce web design project, gather ideas on what kinds of chance you will want to be making to your website on a regular basis. Will you be adding new products to your website everyday?  Will you be swapping out pictures frequently? Will descriptions be added in or changed? Always take the time before starting a web design project to think about how you are looking to use the website. Your website is your strongest marketing tool for your business and probably the most important, so put a good deal of time into the planning phrase.

Make your website stand out

Make your e-commerce site stand out. The design of your e-commerce site should have all of your products organized nicely and it should be easy to navigate through the site. Your website speaks volumes about your company and a lot of times your website serves as a first impression.  It is very important to keep a professional appearance and show your potential customers that you are the expert in your industry. With many different retail online stores out there, you need to show your customers that you are not just a business with no face.  Your goal should be to give your company a face.  Personalize your brand and show consumers that you care. Become a business that they can trust and will want to shop online with. Not only are you wanting people to find your website, you want them to stay and buy your products. The main focus of your homepage is to make a good first impression for your viewers.

Enhance with details

When adding your products to your website, don’t skimp on the details of your products. The product details and product descriptions are what shoppers are primarily focused on.  The main goal of an e-commerce site is to sell your company and your products or services. If your products are not well-highlighted, featured or described you could be doing yourself and your company a major disservice. Let your descriptions enhance your products and help separate you from your competition. Of course be sure to add images to go along with your fabulous descriptions on your product pages, so your customers can see first hand what they are about to purchase.

Comment or questions on constructing an e-commerce website?  Feel free to leave us a comment below or contact us.