4 Things to Keep in Mind When Building an E-Commerce Website

by Alex Schnee

Having an e-commerce store can present some challenges when it comes to creating a website that functions the way you want it to. You might have to have some specific considerations in mind when building out your business so that users perform the actions that you want them to, as well as making sure that it encourages them to stay and return.

Here are four things to consider when you are looking to build out your e-commerce store.

1. Mobile-first

Now more than ever, creating a site that is easy-to-use and offers the chance for users to buy their favorite products from their phones is necessary. Not only is web traffic heavily reliant now on those using mobile devices, but search engines like Google are prioritizing those who have built their websites with smaller screens in mind. This is where a tool like headless commerce can be especially helpful since it can allow you to make changes to the frontend of your website without worrying about disturbing the code on the backend.

2. Directs users

Your e-commerce store should be able to direct people to the actions that you want them to take and to follow a very clear path when it comes to purchasing your product. Once you have a basic idea of how you want your site to function, you should test it out to make sure that your users have a clear idea of what they should do when they want to browse, add something to their cart, and go through the final checkout process. You’ll want to see where they choose to exit and see how many people actually complete the action.

3. SEO

While it might not be on the forefront of many designers’ minds when they go to build a website, it can actually be incredibly important to consider whether or not an e-commerce store is SEO-friendly. Search engine optimization allows you to bring in targeted users who are likely already looking to buy a product or a service, and SEO can save your business a ton of money from having to run ads in order to get new customers in. Before you launch the site, make sure it is in a good spot to use SEO best practices.

4. Design templates

Users coming into an e-commerce store likely already have an idea of what an online store should look like, and you’ll want to try to stick to this as closely as you can. This is where templates can come in handy when building out your site since they allow you to follow design rules that will increase the number of people who convert into customers.

In summary

The right design can make an e-commerce store highly successful, while one that doesn’t fit the needs of the user can cause high bounce rates. With these things in mind, you can build out a website that brings in revenue.