Top 12 Essential eCommerce Website Features

With the pandemic raging across the world last year,studies have shown COVID-19 has boosted online shopping by $183 billion. The same survey revealed that online shopping spending was up to $844 billion from March 2020 to February 2021. The figures indicate a greater adoption of eCommerce. So, while most companies and businesses are embracing this format for serving their customers, certain eCommerce website features must be adopted for the successful running of the website.

With the advent of smartphones and technological advancements, the eCommerce platform has become beneficial for consumers and business owners. But the question still remains: is it better than a physical store? A store can give you the experience of finding out about the product on a more physical level. At times you can even try it out. Can you do that while online shopping or get the assistance of a salesperson?

This blog will look into why eCommerce stores are the next big thing and the ten features of an e-commerce website that must be incorporated to give your customers the ultimate experience.

Some Figures About Ecommerce

Before we go into why eCommerce platforms are becoming so popular, let’s look into some of the figures and future holds for this sector.

Statistarevealed that 18% of the worldwide retail sale in 2020 was e-retail, and by 2024 it is expected to reach 21.8 percent. The fastest-growing market in e-retail is the Asia Pacific, where India leads the market, followed by China. Furthermore, the study also reveals that despite e-retail purchases still being dominated by desktop, mobile e-commerce sales are growing significantly.

Another study conducted for The Global Consumer Survey Report 2019 by PwC revealed that businesses should focus on consumer experience and ROX (return on experience rather than just looking for measuring ROI (Return on investment). This will enable a business to increase its customer satisfaction. Also, online shoppers now prefer to use mobile gadgets for purchases instead of PCs.

Furthermore, surveys have suggested that in 2019, 61% of online consumers rarely visit another website to compare a product once they find it on a site Statista has also revealed in another study that by 2022 the projected revenue for e-retail is going to be U$ be 5.4 trillion from U$ 4.8 trillion in 2020.

With these statistics, it is easy to prove that eCommerce is growing exponentially. Any business that does not invest in it will be losing out on quite many customers and eventually revenue. But creating an eCommerce website is not that simple. There are characteristics of a good e-commerce website that needs to be put into place to thrive.

12 Essential Features Of Good Ecommerce Website

If you want to be part of that eCommerce race and grow your business faster, even if you have a physical store, it is time you invest in developing an eCommerce website. But before you jump the bandwagon of having an eCommerce website, here are ecommerce website features that you need to integrate for the best result.

• 1. Enhanced UX and UI

  When you are keen on developing an eCommerce website for your business, keeping it simple is the key to ensure customer engagement. A good design with elegance with an enhanced user interface (UI) and offers a good user experience (UX) will increase customer traction. This is one of the vital features of eCommerce website development.

  The objective of creating a website for online shopping should be to offer your customers a faster and efficient purchasing and searching experience. The buying process should be seamless, where unnecessary difficulty shouldn’t be blocking the path to getting the details about the product, brand, or the business. You can check behance to find creative UI/UX ideas.

  Having a user-friendly website is a must because, as an online retailer, you have only a few minutes, at times seconds, to impress your consumer and make the sale. Keep your customers at the centre when designing the website and provide them with options to make their shopping easy. For example, have a look at the apple’s store.

  

  Img source: Apple

• 2. Mobile-Friendly

  As mentioned earlier, with more customers opting to use mobile devices for online purchases, any eCommerce website features list should include mobile-friendly web development. A developer must have the knowledge to create content that can intuitively adapt to the consumer’s device to navigate the purchase. Creating a mobile-friendly eCommerce website will increase not only your sales but also your SERP ranking.

• 3. Robust Security

  With online e-commerce transactions being the norm, it also lures cybercriminals. As the website owner, you have to warrant the protection of the seller and buyer’s details. You have to ensure all the privacy and sensitive data are secured on your website. Infact, security is one of the best characteristics of a good ecommerce website. With many eCommerce websites offering robust security systems, you must select the one that offers features like:

  • ● Two-factor authentication
  • ● SSL certification
  • ● Firewall
  • ● Detailed privacy policy
  • ● Choose a hosting service that is PCI-compliant
  • ● Warrant protection against DoS and DDoS Attacks
  • ● Regular updates and scans
  • ● Monitoring of all the transactions
  • ● Requirement of CVV when cards are used

• 4. Simple Checkout Process & Multiple Payment Gateways

  The checkout process is the grand finale of any eCommerce website. Try to make it as simple as possible for the users. The checkout process varies according to the strategy of eCommerce and its business goals. Whatever the strategy is, the aim is always to ensure that the checkout process takes place. Hence, it is extremely important to optimise the ecommerce checkout process.

  ?Do you know? Small changes to various elements of the checkout process can make a big CHANGE.
  
  It’s a key step in reducing the #abandoned cart rate.?
  
  eCommerce #Checkout optimization can help you increase #conversion rates & boost #Sales. ?#Statistics #ecommercetips pic.twitter.com/ciZERaXrZV

  — Rock Technolabs (@RockTechnolabs) May 19, 2021

  Offering advanced and multiple payment gateways is a must in the eCommerce functionality checklist. Providing your customers with ease with payment options where just a click is all they have to do to purchase a product will boost your sales. Give your registered clients different payment options. The key is to offer transparency when it comes to payment options.

  It will build your brand and trust among your customers and increase your sales.

• 5. Chatbots

  Using chatbots for your ecommerce websiteincreases customer engagement, improves business revenue generation, and allows your customer to interact with your business 24/7. Moreover, it also enhances team productivity while reducing human error, which benefits both the customer and business.

• 6. High-quality Images & Videos

  One photo for the product is not enough anymore. As an eCommerce site, you have to give high-definition images of the products and how to use the product in a video to create an impression on your customers. The images must have the zoom feature, and they shouldn’t pixelate as the customer zooms in.

  It is also essential that the images and the videos have very little patience for loading. So, if the loading time is more than 10 seconds to 20 seconds, then the viewer leaves the website. Therefore, as an eCommerce site owner, you have to ensure that the videos and images are not only of high quality but also load faster across all devices.

  

  Image source: gopro

• 7. Social Proof/Reviews

  With social media becoming a vital part of everyone’s lives connecting the business on the platform is critical. Linking the social profile while creating content that caters to the social media will elevate your brand and its authenticity and has now become one of the key factors in eCommerce website features.

  It is one of the best platforms to connect with your customer and become part of their lives. Social media has now become a place that showcases the authenticity of the brand while generating honest reviews.

  When it comes to purchasing any product, people now go to the review section before making the final decision. According to BigCommerce latest study, 30% of online shoppers say they would be likely to make a purchase through social media networks like Facebook, Pinterest,

• 8. Personalization

  Shopify reported that any eCommerce business that offers a personalized experience improves its conversion rate by 8 percent. Several eCommerce platforms have integrated features that make the shopping experience for your customers personalized. With the AI-backed chatbots feature available along with voice search options on e-commerce websites, you can personalize the experience. Brands are going extra through Augmented Reality for personalised experience.

  You might like: How AR is Transforming eCommerce

• 9. Return Policy

  One criterion of what makes a good eCommerce website is a clearly written return policy. Any eCommerce store that needs to succeed should offer a viable return policy on certain goods. For example, when you want to build trust among your customers by offering them the option to return the item when they are not satisfied with the purchase because there is a defect, the brand is different, or the size does not fit.

  It is also important to mention in the policy the time within which it can be returned and any products out of the return policy.

• 10. FAQ

  Frequently asked questions (FAQ) are extremely useful to customers when they need to have more information about the product or brand, and there is no option for face-to-face interaction. The details provided under the FAQ also build confidence with the customers as they make them comfortable with the purchases.

  It also will free up your customer service agents as FAQs can address common queries and issues. For example, customers often search for information about products, return policies, password retrieval, lost accounts, and support. These can be easily found on the FAQs.

• 11. Shipping Information

  Last but not least, providing your customers with detailed shipping information is a must for a successful eCommerce website. It is one of the essential features of eCommerce website development, where the website needs to provide details about the shipping information early during the checkout process.

  Customers often leave the purchase when they see extra costs added during the checkout; it is beneficial if the site lists the areas outside the normal shipping zones. Also, offering free shipping above a certain price is often lucrative for the customers.

  Furthermore, a detailed tracking option of the item, i.e., an estimated delivery date, expediting the package, and also a pickup option, will make your eCommerce site lucrative for your customers.

• 12. Voice Search

  Last but not least,voice commerce technology has innovated the eCommerce industry in every possible way. The consumers now get an opportunity to make a search by voice. This feature holds great potential for businesses. Opting voice improves shopping experience, customer loyalty and conversion rate.

  As per PwC latest research, 40% of online buyers use voice to order or buy something every month. So, voice assistant devices help consumers to make purchases.

  Using artificial intelligence (AI) the optimization of products online becomes possible. Instead, it is more convenient. Characteristics such as phonetic similarity, image recognition, behavioural search and automated colour search make voice search the most prominent one.

Final Words:

With eCommerce becoming a popular way to sell products and reach consumers due to its presence on the internet platform, it is essential that you consider getting a feature rich ecommerce website for your business, irrespective of its size and age.

Now, if you are convinced enough to have an eCommerce front for your business, you should seek advice from a professional eCommerce developer and we’re here to help. Get in touch with our team.