5 Tips for Building Your E-Commerce Website

For small business owners, an intuitive and functional e-commerce website is an integral part of building your online presence. If customers feel they can’t navigate your site easily, from browsing to checkout, you’re going to have a difficult time convincing them to purchase your product.

1: Choose Your Domain Name Wisely

Picking your domain affects every step of the process that follows. Your domain will offer a certain degree of features and functionalities, depending on who your choose. This is also your chance to choose the name of your site. If your store is unique in its naming, you’ll have great luck getting the exact name you’d like. Be sure to choose something that won’t be easily confused with other websites.

2: Create a User Friendly Experience

You want your design to be both clean and expressive. It needs to communicate the voice of your brand to your customers, while maintaining an easy-to-use service menu. Be sure to include a page that shares the history of your brand, as well as logos and contact information. This will let your customers know that there is a person behind your business and that they can count on your to help them with the product, should the need arise.

3: Use an SSL-Compliant (Secure) Payment Tool

Your e-commerce site may need a 3rd party application that handles both payment from the customer and getting that payment into your account. Other domains have built-in payment processors. Either way, assure that the payment processor is SSL-compliant. This assures that your customers’ payment information will remain secure throughout the whole process.

4: Invest in Great Product Images

Once the coding piece is complete, you’ll get to the fun part- loading your products into your store! Choosing great images and providing full-descriptions of the individual items will let your customers know exactly what they’re purchasing. An ecommerce website with sloppy photography or little product information will send up a red-flag for any experienced online shopper, so make sure your store is tidy and well-designed.

5: Proofread and Test Before Publishing Your Site

Once you’re all set up, you’re ready to go live. You’ll need to stay on top of your analytics, in order to manage your pricing strategies and profit margins. You’ll also need to do marketing, both online and through direct mail, which will drive customers to your store.