E-Commerce Website Development – Build Your Very Own Online Store

E-Commerce website development has come forward as the future of retail businesses. 2020 saw most traditional retail brands shift online and adopt e-commerce. The benefits of the e-commerce business model for retail businesses are extensive.

If you own a business but don’t have an e-commerce website, you are limiting your ability to generate more revenue and reach your business’ full potential. For example, eBay, a USA-based online auction and trading company, has over 109 million visitors on its website monthly. Moreover, it reported $13.6 billion in earnings in just 2021, a 142% rise from the previous year. That only became possible because of eCommerce website development, for which eBay put in a lot of effort.

What is E-Commerce Website Development?

E-commerce website development encompasses the creation of an online store for a retail brand that offers products to customers. An e-commerce website usually comprises of product pages, a shopping cart, order forms, support pages, etc. E-commerce website building is essential for retail businesses to capitalize on the massive audience size that uses the Internet for shopping. Some popular e-commerce website development platforms include Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress, among others.

How to build an eCommerce Website?

People search for eCommerce website best practices to take a shortcut when developing an eCommerce website. We suggest you don’t go for shortcuts; instead, start step-by-step. If you don’t know how to build an eCommerce website for your small business, follow this guide.

• Begin with a Plan:

Before starting to work on the web design for e-commerce and layout of your e-commerce website, you must have a straightforward approach and goals for what you want on your website. Your plan may have the following ideas:

• Customer service objectives
• how you wish to display and sell your products.
• your business goals, i.e., sales enhancements and brand reputation.

The idea and plan can make a big difference because your vision will determine the e-commerce website’s features and layout.

• Choose an E-Commerce Website Development Platform and Domain:

After making up your mind and planning, you must select your platform and domain name for your e-commerce website development. Indeed, you’ll wish to choose your domain name or site URL wisely. Your brand name should be concise, striking, and illustrative of your brand.

Your company’s name should be the best one you can pick from several domain tools, such as Dot-o-motor, which can provide your domain name by feeding suggestions based on keywords you enter. E-commerce website development platforms can also help you develop an eCommerce website from scratch with customizable options that can make your brand extraordinarily striking and look representative of your brand. You can choose a few options from Wix, Shopify, and WordPress and use e-commerce website templates initially.

• Creation of Layout:

When you have selected your domain name and e-commerce website platform, create a website layout and develop one that fits your brand appropriately. You can start with a simple structure for your pages. Following are some of the more unique and natural ways that you’ll want to consider including on your pages:

• Customer reviews
• Checkout process
• Product listings
• Customer wish lists
• Videos

Once you have a blueprint, the next step will be improvement and e-commerce website development, which is more accessible than the initial one.

• Website Coding:

Web coding or backend development is the more important aspect of your e-commerce website’s development. Coding will ensure your website functions as it should. You can opt for your e-commerce website development to be coded manually or use a content management system (CMS). If you choose the code option manually, you may use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

• E-Commerce Website Design Improvement:

Once you have finished the backend design development, you should now consider the factors of frontend e-commerce website development. Frontend development is all about the appearance of your brand. Work on your website to make it user-friendly and engaging.

You must decide which colors, themes, and features your website should have. Also, add some images and videos so your customers can easily navigate your website. Your website’s design is the first thing that attracts your customers’ interest. A better user experience leads to increased session time and decreased bounce rates, which translate into more conversions.

• Get Ready to Launch:

Having completed the above steps, your website is ready to attract customers worldwide and boost your sales. You should test and check your e-commerce website’s functions before officially launching it. You can take the following steps to ensure your customers can find your website:

• Social Media Platform: You can incorporate social media platforms for promoting and developing your website. For example, create a social media page for your online store and ask your followers and well-wishers to promote and publicize your brand.
• Implement an SEO Strategy: Since SEO takes 3–6 months to drive results, you need to start it as fast as possible. It is one of the most popular methods to get your e-commerce website to rise in search results and dominate other competitors.
• PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Advertisements: PPC advertising is an excellent method for generating web traffic. With this method, your website will come first in search results whenever a consumer searches for a purchase, as PPC ads are about keywords.

• Consider User Input:

You must leverage your website’s user behavior data to elevate your business to the desired level of success. Keep tracking how the traffic on your website is interacting with different pages. Look for any patterns forming and use them to make adjustments or improvements. If you notice a high number of drop-offs in the user journey on a specific page, you know there is a problem and can fix it. If a page is performing well, you can add more CTAs to boost conversions. Take the following steps to improve the user experience on your website:

• Understand and address the needs of the customer.
• Communicate the value of your product or service.
• Your website navigation should be smooth and effortless, involving fewer clicks.
• Web design should be catchy and enticing, forcing the customer to spend more time on your website.

Conclusion

E-commerce website development is about creating a great user journey from landing to conversion. Taking steps to make the user journey smooth and seamless for your customers will increase your conversions. If you would like a professional to create your e-commerce website for you, get in touch with us today!