Regardless of size of company, many organizations make mistakes with their e-commerce website design and development. This negatively impacts search engine rankings, site traffic, and online sales. For better online retailing results, avoid these 7 most common e-commerce mistakes.
Many different elements of a website or marketing campaigns can cause the lack of results and return on investment. From start-up ventures to established companies, to produce online sales, these mistakes are best to avoid. To help companies out, here are the 7 most common to avoid.
1. Using the wrong shopping cart software.
Not all e-commerce shopping cart applications are developed the same. Many offer different features, customization, checkout steps, and so on. The applications differ vastly and companies should choose properly. Using the wrong shopping cart solution with an e-commerce website can drastically hinder online sales, scalability, customization, and online sales success.
2. Not having a Responsive Design website.
This is one of the main mistakes made by companies these days. If the website is a couple years old and not developed in HTML5 (mobile-friendly), it must be upgraded and redone. Over 60% of people access the Internet via mobile devices since last year. E-commerce websites that are not mobile-friendly loose out on a majority of online shoppers.
3. Poor or cheap website design.
Trust is a significant factor online. Websites that have poor or cheap looking design are deemed by consumers to be less trustworthy. For best results, e-commerce websites should have custom design that incorporates sales tools and customer service features. A properly designed website is necessary for sales and customer loyalty.
4. Having a lengthy and complex checkout process.
Lengthy and complex e-commerce checkouts quickly annoy online consumers. Too many steps required, registration, and so on drive online shoppers to drop out and discontinue the checkout process. It drives the bounce rate up. For better results, e-commerce website should use short, easy to use, and simple checkout systems. Not all online store solutions are the same.
5. Not using custom product descriptions.
Many online retailers make the mistake to copy the manufacturers product descriptions. This is a big mistake since Google penalizes websites with duplicate content. In other words, the website will rank poorly in search results due to duplicate content. Product descriptions should be custom, unique, quality driven, and relevant to the consumer and product.
6. Use of low quality product photos.
The online customer is not able to touch and feel the product. The customer is not able to inspect the product they are contemplating to buy. It is important to use only high quality product photographs and to show multiple photos from different angles.
7. Not offering the right incentives to shoppers.
Online shoppers shop online because they are looking for a deal. The online consumers searches website to website for the best price, shipping, and customer service offered. E-commerce websites that do not offer the right incentives to shoppers such as discounts, free shipping, specials, and other deals will have less favorable results.
For companies that want to improve their online sales and e-commerce operations, can always hire professionals to get this accomplished. Professional agencies and marketers assist online retail operations and e-commerce websites through the service called Conversion Optimization.
Conversion Optimization is the process of analyzing a website and making necessary improvements to increase conversion rates of shopping carts on e-commerce websites, home page, and other key landing pages of the website.
