Many online business owner place a great deal of emphasis on the marketing and design of their website, assuming that these two efforts alone will bring them a large return on their investment. However the truth is, the functionality of the website is also a huge factor in converting visitors into sales. You have to remember that most people shop online for one reason; convenience. The convenience of shopping from home is what draws most people to the concept of online shopping. If this convenience is compromised in any way, then the customer will most definitely take their online business elsewhere. Therefore it is crucial to ensure that your website offers easy navigation and simple checkout procedures. A lot of the features that will make your website easy to use are found within your basic ecommerce web hosting solution.
Easy Access to On Demand Products
When a customer comes to your website looking for a specific product, the last thing they want to do is perform a lengthy search to find it. If it takes them longer than five minutes, then you can rest assured they will buy the product from someone else. The best way to solve this problem is to offer a search functionality in your online store. Many commerce web hosting solutions include a search function by default. Before deciding on a specific search function, you may want to investigate the features of the search tool. It would be best to us ea search function that lets customers conduct searches based on a specific set of criteria. If you’re having trouble finding out how to integrate the search function with your website, then you may want to contact customer service. Make sure the search bar is in plain site, because the last thing you want is a search bar that needs to be searched for!
Be Flexible
If you want to sell products to the largest audience possible, then you’ll want to be flexible with your payment and shipping options. Every payment method that you don’t accept is costing you money in the long term. It is extremely important to offer alternate payment methods such as PayPal or AlertPay, as many of your customers will feel a lot more secure paying you through these programs. You may also want to add a feature that gives your customers the ability to put items on layaway. In the ecommerce market this feature is known as a wishlist. Sometimes customers may not want to purchase something at the moment, but instead would like to be reminded of the item at a later date, like a friend or family member’s birthday. Find out how to install the wishlist feature offered by your web hosting company to give your customers this convenience.
Streamline the Checkout
Many shoppers are discouraged by sites that require them to perform many tasks just to buy a product. After all, they are the one’s paying for the product or service, so they shouldn’t have to do anything more than pay right? Unfortunately, man business owners sabotage a large portion of their sales by asking too much of their customers. For example, some ecommerce sites want you to fill out surveys or confirm information before you can buy something. While this will give you added information about your target audience, it can also cause you to lose a great portion of your targeted audience. Instead of requiring your guests to register before buying, why not use the information given at checkout as their registration info. Many sites combine the checkout with the registration process to make the shopping experience quicker and more convenient for the customer.
