Today’s businesses are waging a battle on all fronts to stay competitive, and an omnichannel approach is vital in taking hold of your target market. Developing an e-commerce website is essential because it boosts your online presence in a digitally driven business landscape. It helps you attract customers, boost sales, and stay relevant in a saturated market. The customer remains king, and customer service should be part of every company’s e-commerce strategy.

After the pandemic, there has been a boom in online shopping trends. In the US alone, retail e-commerce sales rose to over $5 trillion in 2021, and it’s predicted to grow to over $8 trillion in 2026—a 56% increase in just five years. More consumers have also come to realize and enjoy the convenience of shopping online, making it not only a lucrative marketing channel but a vital one that all businesses should consider.

As more consumers do their shopping online, the importance of a user-friendly and optimized e-commerce website is further highlighted. Having one will significantly impact your company’s growth and drive it towards long-term success.

Responsive Web Design For Better User Experience

Creating an e-commerce website today entails optimizing it for mobile devices. Since consumers do their research on their smartphones, mobile optimization ensures that your website looks and feels the same way across all devices. Providing seamless functionality regardless of the device used gives customers a positive user experience. In today’s mobile-first world, neglecting mobile optimization can result in missed opportunities and lost revenue.

Implementing responsive web design involves:

• Prioritizing mobile-first design principles
• Optimizing images and media for faster mobile loading times
• Ensuring mobile-friendly navigation and an easy browsing experience

User-Friendly Navigation And An Intuitive Interface

An intuitive website interface and user-friendly navigation are vital for an effective e-commerce website. Customers should be able to find products easily and navigate through the website effortlessly. By simplifying the browsing experience, businesses can enhance customer satisfaction and encourage repeat purchases. Consider the following strategies for better navigation:

• Use clear and descriptive categories and subcategories
• Implement search functionality with relevant filters and suggestions
• Include a visible and easily accessible shopping cart
• Provide breadcrumbs to help users understand their location within the website

Secure Payment Gateways And Data Security

One of the primary concerns for online shoppers is secure payment transactions and data protection. Businesses must prioritize security in their e-commerce websites to build trust among their customer base. By ensuring secure online transactions, businesses can build credibility with their customers, leading to increased customer loyalty and repeated purchases. Consider the following security measures:

• Implement SSL certificates to encrypt sensitive data
• Choose trusted and secure payment gateways
• Utilize tokenization for secure payment processing
• Regularly update and patch your website’s security software

Effective Product Catalogs And Presentation

A well-structured and visually appealing product catalog engages customers and drives sales. By showcasing products effectively, businesses can capture the attention of customers and increase the likelihood of conversions. Consider the following strategies:

• Use high-quality product images from multiple angles
• Display product descriptions and specifications clearly
• Include customer reviews and ratings for social proof
• Group similar products together for easy comparison

A Streamlined Process Of Checkout

A complicated process of checkout can cause you to abandon of cart and cause a loss in sales. Simplifying the customer journey will help minimize friction and increase the chances of successful transactions. To streamline the process of checkout, consider the following:

• Minimize the steps that is needed to finish a purchase
• Offer options for guest checkout to avoid forcing account creation
• Clearly display shipping and tax information upfront
• Provide multiple secure payment options

Continuous Optimization And Testing

E-commerce websites are not static entities; they require regular optimization and testing to stay relevant and effective. Continuous optimization ensures that you stay ahead of the competition and continue to provide the best possible online shopping experience to customers. Consider the following practices:

• Conduct A/B tests to identify changes that drive better conversion rates
• Monitor website analytics and user feedback to identify areas of improvement
• Keep abreast of industry trends and new technologies

Focus On Mobile

With the rise in mobile users, businesses must prioritize mobile commerce in their e-commerce website development. Consider the following strategies:

• Develop a mobile app for easier access and an enhanced user experience
• Ensure mobile-friendly design and optimized page loading speeds
• Implement mobile-specific features such as push notifications and mobile wallets

E-commerce Website Development Options

The ecommerce market has many small and emerging retail brands. That includes many new department stores. An IBISWorld report says there are 6000 department stores in the US now. However, the advent of ecommerce will leverage the opening of many online department stores. That’s why it is crucial to explore multiple website development options.   

However, competition in the e-commerce market is rising as well. That’s why most department stores want to create unique user experiences. They can’t rely on the products only.

Options to Consider   

To revamp website quality, you need new prospects and new features, too. Foremostly, you must show customers you know what they want.   

Moreover, you must express how you can solve the problems customers face through your app.  Research suggests good customer service converts 93% of customers into repeated site visitors.  

The bottom line is that your store’s app should undoubtedly support the customers’ needs only. It will enable you to keep both new and existing customers satisfied. And the most obvious way to do that is to increase the customer retention rate by 5%.   

It may seem meager. However, experts say a 5% higher retention rate means much revenue. It may help you to increase profits by up to 95%.   

There are several options for website development. But here we speak of emerging or new department stores in the US retail industry.   

That’s why we will focus on cost-effective options. We will also consider the options that take the least time. No doubt you want your store’s site to go live as soon as possible.   

In-house Development Team  

You need multiple full-time employees to create a website development team. Anyway, it is better to build a proficient website that can endure the test of time.   

A full stack of full-time developers will share and live your vision. So, you can develop your dream website in due course.   

Experts also feel that an in-house developers’ team is in better sync with the business division. That’s because they work closely with the operations team(s).   

Location-Based Outsourcing  

There are aplenty outsourcing options as well. Let’s discuss these options. We will also consider if these options suit your business needs.   

• Onshore: It is a basic outsourcing model. Here, you get your hands on an external team of website developers. However, the team might not be from your vicinity. You may be freed of challenges like impaired language skills using onshore outsourcing. However, you are still limited to domestic resources. So, the potential skill gaps at the domestic level will impact the quality of your website development.    

• Offshore: This is another outsourcing model. If you are opening a big department store or a global brand franchise, you may better use this option. Here, developers are recruited from the international circuit. Meanwhile, you can select a team from a country with low labor costs and business values.   

• However, you will face weaknesses like poor cultural compatibility when working with that team. The service providers must also be more compliant with your domestic business laws. As a result, there might be contingent challenges in the future.   

• Nearshore: The name’s self-explanatory. Here, you will select many prospective developers from neighboring countries. There are twofold benefits of this approach. You can try to reduce the cultural gap as much as possible through this step. You will also endure minimal language gaps. But the bottom line remains the same. You are working with a foreign developers’ team. So, common issues like communication gaps and legal issues might be expected.  

• Multisource: This is a unique model. Here, we admit that one size doesn’t fit all. That is why we assimilate something from everything in this model. The end goal is to create the best outsourcing model. The final cry is settling your business needs. For small department stores, the funds are limited. So they can choose a near-source team of developers. At the same time, they can’t afford the skill gaps that domestic teams suffer from. That’s why it is better to source an overseas team. To solve this dilemma, you can divide your project into bits. Then, you can share a part of the project with the nearshore developer. And the rest can be shared with offshore developers.   

Relationship-Based Outsourcing  

• Dedicated team: The dedicated team model provides a team that will work solely on your project. All project team members will work closely with the internal team. It will be easier to maintain sync during the project. Experts prefer these types of project teams for yielding better results. They say that such synced teams are better for stores launching their business for the first time.  

• Managed services: Let’s assume your in-house team cannot pull off your project due to the lack of cross-browser compatibility. Here, you may use managed services. You can outsource part of your project to a team of managed services. They will not report to you. They won’t maintain sync with the rest of the team as well. As a result, you will only have a task-based association with them. They will be accountable for the part of the project that has been outsourced to them.  

• Project-based team: Here, an external team handles your project liberally. You don’t have any stock control over the team. Initially, you explain the project parameters. The deliverables are handed over as well. But there is no scope for your real-time interference here. However, you will get real-time progress updates from the project-based team. The outsourcing company will scope the team’s regular activities. You may discuss the merits of the project only after delivery.  

Contract-Based Outsourcing  

• Fixed-price: You agree to pay a static charge against the services the developer(s) offers. The price is negotiated before the project starts. The main parameter to decide the fees is the time taken for the project. The cost of resources needed for the project is another deciding factor. As the client can set the project budget upfront, small department stores should create their first e-commerce website. 

• Time-and-materials model: The fees paid to the outsourcing company are based on the time and resources used to complete the project. This is a more straightforward approach, which ensures that there’s no over- or underpayment and allows for modifications to the project scope even while the project is ongoing.     

Customer-Centric E-Commerce

Following the best practices mentioned above will help you build a customer-centric e-commerce website for your business. Focusing on the customer not only shows you what they want and need; it also reveals what experiences you should be creating for them and how you should structure your e-commerce website’s UX and UI elements. Ultimately, understanding your customers will open up opportunities for your business that you wouldn’t have discovered otherwise.

Read Also :

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• 4 Things You Need to Know About E-commerce
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