There are plenty of features that an E-commerce website must have that cannot be compiled in mere ten points. In this article we aim to provide you features that most merchants tend to miss out on or perhaps ignore.
Other than easy navigation, product details, products images, easy checkout process, social networking widgets, share buttons, clearly defined policies, press page, about us page, contact us page, symmetric theme, strong customer support, a company blog, affiliate, price comparison, order form, mission statement.....phew and many more basic elements, here are 10 'more' must-haves:
1. Mascot
Think of McDonald's and the first thing that comes to your mind (apart from burgers)...their mascot, instantly you'll think if that joker with red hair dressed in yellow, red and white costume...that is their identity. Get yourself a mascot that doesn't necessarily has to be your logo, but a character with which your customers can relate to within seconds. You can let your imagination go wild, it could be a smiley, an animal, a bird (i'm sure you are thinking of twitter) or your signature product.
2. FAQ Page
It may sound like a basic feature on your website, but you will amazed to know that still there are many online merchants who miss out on a very essential FAQ page and sometimes choose to take "contact us for any queries" route; not understanding that visitors really do get put off having to go through the whole process of clicking on a contact us page and contemplating some of many questions they wish to ask. All you need to do is break down your entire website and details (product, shipping, return and policies) in to question-answer form.
3. Social Proof
Has your business been booming off late? Has it achieved something special, like an applaudable number of trusted clients, a very special review from a very famous blog or heart warming feedbacks from your customers? Well, then why not let new and returning customers know about it? Modesty won't pay off in e-commerce, you need to speak out about your achievements and special mentions. Dedicate a page for such responses, not just a press page where you leave links for your mentions, but a page where your customers are thanked by displaying their reviews, feedbacks and your success because of them as a gratifying gesture.
4. Search Features
Visitors to your website are there to shop, therefore it is your job to make things as easy as possible for them. Think of it this way, maximum number of visitors are window shopping on your site and if they have a hard time finding that window...they'l move on to the next shop. Therefore make sure that you have comprehensive search capabilities backed up with equally customized search results. If you have many products to offer, then try to have maximum number of products displayed on one page, thereby overcoming your customer's slow internet obstacle.
5. Cross Selling
If you try shopping at Amazon.com you will notice a prominent "Customer Who Bought This Item Also Bought..." feature...this is known as cross selling. It encourages buyers to atleast browse for more products if not buy, thereby increasing the probability of them buying more than just one product, irrespective of the fact that they came to your website with the intention of buying a pre-determined product or perhaps none; this will also help in reducing the bounce rate of your site. Therefore, try to present your customers with similar choices so that they are lured into purchasing more than they originally intended.
6. No Sign Up Required
Many E-commerce websites make the mistake of having a mandatory registration policy, whereas users must never have to sign up with your website before adding items to their shopping cart. If you force them to create an account with your website, you will end up loosing a potential customer. Therefore, allow them to shop as a guest on your website and give them the option to create an account during the checkout process; you can mention some perks or advantages in order to convince them to register with you.
7. Thank You Page
By personally interacting with your customers during their buying process you are not only creating a brand image for yourself but also reminding them that they are dealing with something more than just a computer. Many business owners tend to overlook a thank you page or perhaps don't realize that just like any other shop one needs to acknowledge the customer and thank them for their visit post-sale. Thank you page is not merely a gesture, but a great way to re-engage your customers and have them coming back for more.
8. Privacy Assurance
Not that you are not doing everything it takes to maintain privacy of your customers, but one needs to assure them about their privacy and let them know that it is of utmost importance for you. Most of your visitors are well aware of security risks and since eventually they will be giving you their credit card details, the least you can do is make feel comfortable by assuring them that you have taken care of security issues. Other than writing about your privacy policies you should display relevant security badges prominently on your site, especially during the checkout process.
9. Live Chat
This is a great way to engage directly with your customers, and answer their queries or provide information instantly. It eliminates the whole process of communicating via emails and delaying the end result. There are many instances when a customer faces an issue on a matter least expected and chooses not to inquire about it; but with the help of live chat you give them an assurance that there will always be someone waiting to make things easier for them...day and night. Like a sales person in any other shop you are providing personalized service which perhaps holds much more importance and produces better results in the online business.
10. Demo Video
Apart from selling regular products there are many merchants out there who sell specialized services or complicated products. So when a customer stumbles on such a website and not understand as what you are selling they simply move on rather than reading your 'about us' page and then trying to work out as to how useful the product/service is for them. The best solution to this problem is incorporating a video either on your homepage or about us page, visually describing yourself and business; make it entertaining while you are at it, they will not forget you.
Adding these features can truly spruce up your website and your business. If you think that you can add some more points to the list, please feel free to share them with us in the comment section below.
You can also download a free pdf version of this article.
It's a quite interesting topic I dare say. The most way I use is demo video in my software tutorial page. And I'm wondering how it works if I put the demo video at my homepage. I find article discussing about it here.
Thanks for sharing this article with us Adward. As it rightly points out that first timers spend only 10 seconds on your website...so if you think that your demo video can help on keeping them longer, then go ahead and put it on your homepage, else you can prominently place a 'Demo Video' button there.
Thank you very much for your thoughtful comment, and for taking the trouble to post it.
ray ban glasses
thank you for your thoughtful article.glad to read it .
welcome to visit my website:http://www.headphonesfashion.com