There are certain features that the customers expect eCommerce websites to have, and the features that make using an online store very convenient. These are must-haves for the online store to have so that the store becomes financially successful. This article will discuss the must-haves that make an online store a happy place for the customers.
Key requirements to eCommerce websites
Practically, the main requirements to eCommerce websites include but are not limited to being user-friendly, optimized for mobile, and secure. User-friendly websites are the ones that are quick to search for a necessary item. User-friendly websites have search options that allow finding things in a few clicks.
User-friendly design
When users cannot find what they need quickly, they need to go through the pages for a long time, which demotivates purchasing in general. The longer customers search for the items, the less likely they are to buy the item they want and need. Thus, easy-to-use navigation is a must to create and maintain a successful online store. When it comes to design, it is important to have clear menus and an easy-to-use navigation pane. Ideally, the customer finds a necessary item in three clicks.
Optimized for Mobile
Today, more than half of the customers buy things using their mobile devices. As a result, online stores should be ready and prepared for use from mobile devices. It requires optimization for mobile devices with a responsive design. Responsive designs adjust to the screen that the customer browses. It allows the website to work great when visited from desktops, smartphones, tablets, and other devices.
Security
When it comes to a secure website, it means that your customers need to be sure that their personal and financial data are protected. It signifies establishing adequate security policies and using security technologies to ensure that the data of customers are not stolen from the website. It’s all about building trust. When your customers trust you, they are more likely to make a purchase. Financial and legal risks also increase when you forget your security. To enhance security, you might:
- Purchase a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate
- Use an address verification system (AVS) at checkout
- Use credit card verification value (CVV) at checkout
14 Must-have eCommerce features list
Product showcase
Users value simple and understandable content. When it comes to product showcases, the more information you provide in a simple way, the better it is going to be for the customers. When shopping online, customers cannot see or touch the product, so they need clear visual and verbal cues about the product and the ways to deal with it. Measures of energy consumption, individual measurements, dimensions, and concise product descriptions are the things that make the product showcase a good one.
User-Generated Reviews
The vast majority of online shoppers read reviews, and having user-generated reviews is a must to increase purchases. Practically, the better reviews you get, the more likely you are to get new orders. The purchasers think a lot about the product reviews and the feedback provided by other customers before completing the purchase.
At this point, the most frequent mistake that businesses make is deleting negative reviews. Though, having negative reviews of the company and its products shows that the reviews are truthful and user-generated. Moreover, sometimes customers might consider the things described as negatives as a necessary feature. At this point, both positive and negative reviews are helpful. In combination, they show that the reviews are not fake, and the customers who left these reviews are real. It helps to establish trust between the store and the customers.
Special Offers
Special offers are the marketing attributes that help the company grow. Special offer is a thing that customers love, and it is one of the methods to engage customers to purchase the products from the store. When shoppers realize they are getting a special offer, they are more likely to make a purchase. Everyone loves to feel special, so make your customers feel special, and you’ll get a boost to your revenue.
Wish Lists
A feature of a wish list is a helpful thing. It is an online kind of window shopping that is a favorite thing to many. With wish lists, you enable your customers to have the point of interest they can return to in the future. For example, when customers save their lists in the online store, they can share lists with their friends and family members. A wish list usually attracts customers back, which boosts the revenue of the online store.
Related Items
The features called like Related items or You might like it or Customers choose these items is a point of interest. Such features make customers curious and eager to see something new that they were not shopping for initially. A lot of marketers consider this feature one of the most important ones to boost revenue. Practically, offering related items signals the customer that their wishes are seen and understood.
CMS integration
Pop-ups, related items, special offers, and other marketing tools are easier to handle with CMS. CMS is a content management system that helps store and manage the visual and verbal content of the online store. Oftentimes, Magento or Prestashop, or any other CMS is used to handle content effectively.
Lead Generating Pop-Ups
In addition to related items, generated popups might increase the attention of the customers a lot. Generated popups are capable of increasing conversions by more than a third. For example, these popups might be different, like welcome popups for first-time users. For customers, it feels like a customized message that fits the situation very much. Popups grab the interest of the customer and redirect it to the attractive page. It allows keeping the customer longer at the website of the store.
Product Catalog
Having a product catalog, full of details and easy to browse is another necessary feature to attract customers. A product catalog shows the website inventory and includes product descriptions and images to show the customers what they are buying.
Also, the product catalog contains information about the items, their quality and price, quantity available and delivery options, etc. Therefore, the catalog is often organized to have several groups with products placed in the same category. The better structure it has, the more customers the store is going to attract.
Product Filtering, Sorting, and Search
When searching for the items in the catalog, customers need help. Practically, the faster they find what they want, the more likely the customers are to complete the purchase. When paired with nicely done UX design and good navigation, filters, and sorting create a unique experience of fast finding all the necessary items and a trustworthy relationship with the customers.
Customized Call-to-Action
Call-to-action or CTA is an engaging move that is used to encourage customers to buy the items from the store. CTA moves the customer right to the purchase button and speeds up the purchasing process. Thus, revenues are fueled. Moreover, having a customized CAT consists of two parts: developing and adding a button and a message.
Good shopping cart
The design of the shopping cart is the thing that helps to complete the purchase and increase the conversion. Practically, customers might abandon the shopping cart at any moment, but an unclear shopping cart or a lack of features or information can easily add to the decision to leave. Thus, there is a need to think carefully about the design of the shopping cart and consequent checkout page. When the process works smoothly and seamlessly leads the customer to complete the purchase, it is a sign of a good shopping cart.
Optimized Checkout page
Optimized checkout page is the last page of the purchasing journey. Thus, when designing your checkout, think carefully about the convenience of your customers. Today, more than 40% of customers abandon checkout, which has several most common reasons, namely:
- High shipping cost
- Lack of advanced payment options
- Unclear design of the checkout page
- Lack of special deals
- Unclear terms and conditions of return
An easy and reliable way of paying for orders is a great thing to boost sales. When customers see the payment option at checkout they trust, this boosts the chances for the successful completion of the deal. Today, the world is all about payment with Apply Pay, PayPal, and Amazon one-click buying not to mention that there are a lot of other popular online payment tools.
Today, customers expect the online store to have all the payment options that they want. When you don’t have too many, be sure you explain to your customers why your range of offered payments is limited. For example, if you consider any payment option unreliable, you should tell this your customers. It is a way to establish trust. The importance of using the payment gateways is provided in more detail in the blog post about payment gateways.
Find-in-store
When it comes to online shopping, the stores usually do not have brick-and-mortar shops. However, if going digital is only one form of your business, think about having the find-in-store option. Sometimes, customers do not want to wait for the delivery to come over. Instead, they want to have their products immediately. It is possible with the find-in-store option. Moreover, some people tend to look at the product online, and then buy it at the offline store (which is often the story of Millenials and their shopping habits).
Conclusion
To tell the truth, when you start an online business, you need to face a lot. Some countless features of ecommerce website and nuances need to be learned and considered.
Therefore, when it comes to building an online store for your business, make sure you choose a professional company to trust with the task. Contact the experts that are knowledgeable in creating successful online stores, for example, SOFTLOFT company. Our developers have been helping hundreds of stores to go digital, and we are one click away from helping you to thrive. Just contact us to get timely and high-quality help.
