There are a lot of mistakes in eCommerce website designs, especially for those who are still starting. But there are also some people who just don’t pay attention to them or think that their websites are good and running, even if there is a lot to optimize. It might affect your business now but it’s more likely than not that it will in the future. That’s why if you’re still starting and you’ve come across this page, you sure are one lucky person! Why? Because by the time you finish reading this articles you already know the common mistakes in eCommerce website’s and you know what to do to fix them. So let’s begin?
Having no clear proposition
When a person visits your site, they definitely have questions or they’re wondering about something. And most of the time their questions go around “Why are people purchasing this product?, What can I benefit from this? And what makes this shop better than the other shop?” And if you think adding words like the best, high-quality, amazing customer service will not be enough to convert them into customers. Those words would lead to another question in order to reach what they want to know, like if you say it’s high-quality, then why is it high-quality? So make sure that your message is as clear as day. There is a way to make sure that’s achievable like:
- Having a clear beautiful image that’s relevant to your company or product.
- A tagline that’s simple but enough to let your audience know that your products are worth buying.
- Bullet points that act as your taglines minions to support why your products are the best.
- Testimonials, media mentions, blog mentions, anything that makes your business more credible.
Having the wrong eCommerce shopping cart
Choosing your shopping cart should be done with studies and research. Look for a shopping cart that has good reviews and meets your needs now and in the future, budget, and make sure you could personalize its design and themes.
Things that you should make sure of:
- There should be any learning curve for both you and your customers.
- It should have a support team that’s easy to access.
- There should be positive reviews about it and if there are negative reviews it should be bare-able and unlikely to happen in your type of transactions.
- Make sure that you take advantage of their free trial to make sure it’s a good fit. Because some have amazing reviews but you’ll see the flaws during the free trial.
Not making sure your site is secure
If you do your research you’d see that 25% of users don’t go through their purchase because the site isn’t secure. I guess even if you were in the place and the shop is new you wouldn’t really take the chance right? That’s why it’s important that whether you’re new or already big you have your trust indicators that are clear and known by people where you reach your services to. Also, even a digital certificate would make your website original and that doesn’t really cost a lot. Having those will make new customers feel secured when they transact with you. And that goes the same to when you outsource to other companies for web hosting and other services. Make sure that you have strong security from them even if they are outside providers. There are hacks that are being done by third-parties and you’d want to stay away from those. One way to secure your self is from researching about your third-parties and demand security. Look for the ones that are verified and make sure to secure your data with your own https.
Having a cumbersome site navigation
When people look for services online they expect something quick, something that wouldn’t take too much time and they want to make sure they find what they are looking for immediately or else they’ll end up closing your website and continue their search. So to make sure your viewer stays and makes a purchase, make navigation through your website as easy as 1,2,3. Try to make the clicks to get to where they need to be a minimum. And to correct your errors, go on and check your analytics to see where your customers actually drop off and fix that part.
No research capability
People search to get to where they need to be, so basically people who search for you are more likely to convert. So it’s important that you rank high enough and your information and content is relevant in order for customers find you fast. If you’re working with a developer ask them to give you advanced solutions that could help you. But the best way to rank high organically is by keywords. You should use the most relevant keywords in your content. Ahrefs, a tool could help you with keyword research so you know what your competitors are using and what would be the best keyword to use. You should make sure that your title tags are actually searched terms that are related to your products. The best key to ranking high is finding a keyword that has the highest volume but the lowest competition. Once you get the chance to find the right keywords go through all your pages that could give you money and optimize them with the right keywords, that includes optimizing the titles and meta tags.
Image quality is poor
Imagine being your customers, when they buy online they can’t touch feel or inspect your product, so they only depend on your photos and content right? Therefore as the owner, it’s your responsibility to show them different angles and clear pictures that will allow them to zoom in and out even on a smartphone. You should be able to show them your products as clearly as possible. If you were the customer if the images are bad I’m sure you wouldn’t purchase.
Using descriptions from the manufacturer
It’s not just about relating to your customers but ranking on search engines as well. You have to make sure that you don’t just copy and paste your manufacturer’s description, write something from your manufacturer’s description and tweak it into matching your audience. If you have no writing skills there are a lot of freelance writers that could help you with that. One thing that not many pay attention to is making your customers feel your product online. In a brick and mortar shop, customers can pick up a product and inspect it as much as possible. But online all they depend on is your description and pictures so make sure that they get to feel the product and trust you even if everything is just online.
Long and confusing checkout process
A lot of shopping cart abandonment happens in the checkout portion, and most of the time it’s because it’s too time-consuming or confusing. So make sure that when they reach the checkout point you only ask important questions and aim to get things done as soon as possible. This is one thing you should keep in mind, the moment it’s easier to find the product than to check out there’s something wrong with your checkout process and you have to change that as soon as possible.
Having little carrier or shopping options
The most common problem in eCommerce stores is that they rely on just one carrier, and that’s not ideal. Every carrier has their own unique perks and every customer is aiming for something different or trusts one carrier compared to the other. Having multiple shipping options would help your customer feel more comfortable and make them achieve their goal.
Not mobile-optimizing their website
A lot of shops that work on their laptops forget about this, while some even make their own application. Now, this is important because usual online buyers are busy people and are looking for a hassle free transaction. Now if you aren’t mobile optimized your customers cant access your page anytime. When you do your search it will again show that most people actually do their purchase through their phone. And remember that if your site isn’t mobile-friendly, there’ll be fewer people following your site
Content isn’t shareable easily
Take social media as an opportunity to gain more customers and audiences. Social media could act like a magazine but interactive so when people interact with your products online it’s also important to engage. Share your products online or if it’s possible to try to ask influential people to share your page.
Hard to contact the company
Nobody would want to shop in a place where they don’t know who to contact if a problem arises. So one sure way to make sure that your customers know they could reach you is by adding an email and or number the top of your page. Or put in a customer service button and make sure that people are monitoring and responding to your emails.
Being careless
Do you take time to check your analytics? How about optimization? Yes to all? But how about play the role of your customer and actually shop on your website? Before you think I’m kidding I’m not. Doing so will help you know how your website is actually running in the perspective of a different person.
You might think your site is error free but once you be in your customer’s position you might witness a lot like:
- Some grammatical errors could be present and you might have to proofread your content as much as possible and make sure to prioritize pages that actually sell.
- Broken image, can you imagine just wanting to see a photo but you can’t enlarge it because it’s broken? So make sure that when you check your website you also go through your site’s images and check and change those which are broken.
- Images that are slow to load could be very time confusing and can cause shopping cart abandonment. So make sure that your images aren’t too big.
- Too many pop-ups could end up unbeneficial and annoying to your customers. So if you’re one of those who has pop-ups on each page go ahead and remove them because you’re scaring customers away.
- Autoplay video- This one is the most annoying one for me. I feel like I’m being forced, I sometimes don’t look for it to pause it because I go straight to closing the window. So make sure that if it isn’t necessary don’t put auto play videos but if you really need to put a video then consider not ticking on the auto play or make it as easy as possible to turn off.
Conclusion
Depending on a well-known cart and having a beautiful store theme isn’t enough to drive customers in. Just like I mentioned earlier there are a lot of mistakes done by a lot of eCommerce that are new and experienced in this industry. Some are easily forgotten but some are just not given importance. Security and trust is one thing to make your customers to continue with their purchase, and since you can’t personally be there to assure them they will enjoy their purchase you give them assurance through security badges, a proper checkout, and even by good content. The best way to make sure that your website is really running smoothly is by experiencing it yourself. Try to put yourself in your customers shoe and see what they see. Check for errors, look for what makes checking out time consuming, and look for all the other things that could cause shipping cart abandonment or make potential customers just drop off from one place.
There’s a lot listed here but don’t get too overwhelmed. These are just the most common mistakes that are found in eCommerce websites, knowing them early or even before starting your own could be very helpful as you don’t have to go through too much tweaking while your website is already running. Just search keywords such as best shopify on google to find the best fit for your business.