In the modern world, having an e-commerce website is an essential aspect of business. The number of online shoppers has been increasing day by day, it drives a lot of businesses to have their own e-commerce platforms. However, as the website involves a bunch of complex elements, having an understanding oof the ecommerce website development process becomes crucial.
Why Ecommerce Website Development Matters
- Global Reach
Having an ecommerce website provides a business a worldwide reach. It helps the business in reaching global customers and tap into new markets. Moreover, it also helps the brand to touch new segments of customers which is not possible in the traditional way of business.
- 24/7 Accessibility
One of the most prominent benefits of having an ecommerce website is giving customer flexible accessibility. It allows customers to shop at their own convenience regardless of their location or time. Besides, it provides a user-friendly shopping experience leading to higher satisfaction of the customer.
- Cost-Effectiveness
Online stores are much more cost-friendly than having traditional business. The physical store requires overhead expenses and day-to-day maintenance. Whereas ecommerce website has negligible expenses upon its launch. Moreover, scalability is also easier in online business than any traditional business which requires significant investment.
- Data Insights
Ecommerce websites help in storing large sets of data effectively. This data possesses valuable information of the customer that can be beneficial for the business. Due to the fact of it being on the basis of individual customers, it data can be later used to make business decisions regarding product, and segmentations.Â
Planning Your Ecommerce Website
- Define Your Business Goals
The business objectives and goals should be kept in mind while building an ecommerce website. These goals vary on the basis of business to business. Some focus on increasing sales, while others focus is on garnering their target customer.
- Know Your Target Audience
Understanding your target audience is one of the most necessary aspects of building an ecommerce platform. Specific demography like age, and gender, should be analysed and the site should be optimized accordingly. Besides, the product preference of the target audience should also be considered before building the platform.
- Competitor Analysis
Having an understanding of the direct and indirect customers provides an edge to the business in ecommerce creation. One should analyse the competitor’s site and platform thoroughly and try to create something that they are lacking. Besides, a unique selling point should also be discovered that could create an impact of the business among the customers.
- Budgeting and Timeline
Ecommerce website development cost could be often higher. A business should consider its budget before investing in domain name, hosting, and marketing. Moreover, each stage of the development requires a high or less timeframe. Therefore, a timeframe of the launch should also be set realistically.Â
Choosing the Right E-commerce Platform
- Shopify
Shopify is a user-friendly platform that provides high customer support and reliable hosting to businesses. It is appropriate for small or medium-sized businesses as it provides a basic structure that is a chaos-free solution.
- WooCommerce
WooCommerce is platform that is best for businesses who have higher budget in development. It is a highly customizable platform that could seamlessly be integrated with another platform like WordPress. Therefore, it could be an appropriate choice for businesses that are looking for an open-source platform.
- BigCommerce
BigCommerce provides various built-in features to the business that could be a gamechanger. Built-in SEO tools, and abandoned cart recovery such tools are integrated within the platform. However, it could be expensive for small businesses due to it being high maintenance. Therefore, it is appropriate for businesses looking for a strong platform without any budgeting issues.
- Emporix
Emporix is a powerful platform for B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses. It offers various features and cloud-based solutions to the users. Besides, it also has high rate of scalability. Therefore, it is a perfect choice for businesses with such requirement.
- Commercetools
Now comes a platform that requires high technical expertise in its performance. Commercetools could be a great platform for the businesses that are looking for highly customizable preferences and an API-first approach. However, it could be a little too expensive for small business. Therefore, it is not ideal for every type of ecommerce.
Essential Features for Your Ecommerce Website
- User-Friendly Navigation
An ecommerce platform should always be user friendly. It must be easy to navigate through the website for the user and find what they are looking for.
- Mobile Responsiveness
The platform should be functional on multiple devices. It should be responsive on both the computers and mobile phones as well. Due to the fact that most users shop from phone it becomes a necessary step.
- Secure Payment Gateway
Sensitive information of the customers should be encrypted. Therefore, it becomes necessary to provide confidence of being trusted to the customer. It could be achieved by accepting popular payment methods such as PayPal, and credit cards.
- Product Pages with Detailed Descriptions
The product should be clearly visible on the website. A detailed description should also be provided along with customer reviews. It would help the user in making rapid decision in buying the product.
- Shopping Cart and Checkout Process
The overall experience should be seamless for the customer. Besides, shipping should be on the basis of different customer preferences. Moreover, it could also add a feature of customer making purchase without making any account.
- Customer Support
Following the purchase, customers should be informed regularly about new offers and deals. Besides, if they are having some issues, it should be resolved timely otherwise delays affect business reputations.
ConclusionÂ
E-commerce website development could be a lengthy process. However, with the basic understanding of the development it could be carried out efficiently. Moreover, customer preferences should also be catered to while managing the ecommerce website development cost. Combining all the practices could create an effective platform for the business in the market. read more news tips and tricks.
