With a total global market value floating somewhere around $14 trillion, e-commerce is one of the most profitable industries in the world. A well-performing eCommerce website can be a goldmine for both large and small businesses, and the flexible business model can be adapted to fit almost any industry.
However, if earning high revenues from ecommerce was easy, everyone would be doing it. In order to create a successful, high-performing ecommerce website, there are many factors you have to consider and get right. Here are four key tips to help you create a high-performing ecommerce website based in Portland.
#1. Choose the Right Platform
The first step to creating a successful ecommerce business is to pick the right platform for your website. With so many options to choose from, it’s important to choose a platform that gives you the features and flexibility you need to create a website that works for your specific business model. Some factors to consider include:
- Options for the design and layout of your website.
- Whether payment portals or payment processors are included.
- Up-time rates, speed, bandwidth, and other technical factors.
- How easy-to-use the platform is for both customers and your business.
- PCI compliance and security features.
- SEO capabilities.
Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce are all popular ecommerce platforms that offer a variety of features and customizable options.
#2. Find Customization Opportunities
If your website looks the exact same as every other website in your niche, potential customers aren’t going to find your business very memorable. They may not even realize they’re on your site rather than a competitor’s.
That’s why it’s so important to find customization opportunities that allow you to create a website with a unique look, feel, and user process. You can either accomplish this by modifying pre-made templates available through your e-commerce platform, modifying templates and designs available through other sources, or hiring an ecommerce web design service.
If you really want your website to pop, hiring an outside designer and developer team is recommended.
#3. Create User-friendly Site Navigation for Mobile Users
According to a study from Google, mobile users account for 68.1% of all website visits globally, compared to 28.9% from desktop and 3.1% from tablets. That means that if your site isn’t optimized to be user-friendly for mobile visitors, you may be missing out on a majority of your traffic.
Although some ecommerce platforms may offer mobile optimization as an automatic feature, it doesn’t offer the best results. Instead, it’s much better to hire a team of knowledgeable website designers and developers to ensure your website is compatible with multiple formats. Usually, this involves designing a different version of the site for mobile users with a simplified navigation.
#4. Provide a Compelling User Experience
The goal of any ecommerce website should be to provide potential customers with a seamless, enjoyable user experience from the moment they land on your page until the moment they make a purchase. If there are too many steps, pages, or forms required to make a purchase, chances are high that potential customers will get frustrated and give up before completing their transaction.
The best way to ensure your website’s user experience is as streamlined and enjoyable as possible is to work with a professional company. I recently partnered with a great Portland website development company, Cyphon Digital. They have UX experts on their team that can build you a website that minimizes drop-off rates and cart abandonment.
Conclusion
Creating a high-performing ecommerce website can seem like a daunting task, but if you keep these four key tips in mind and team up with expert designers and developers, you can have a high-performing website for your business in no time.
