E-commerce, Ecommerce Development - 8 Aug 2022

21 Must-Have Features for Ecommerce Sites

Creating an eCommerce store for your business is easy; however, creating an ENJOYABLE eCommerce business may pose a challenge for many. So, knowing this, how can you make a new, dull online store into a stunning, user-friendly site? To capitalize on the thriving online market, ensure your website contains all the features we will give you.

1. Optimize for Good User Experience/User Interface (UXUI)

Creating a website with the end user is fundamental to optimizing a good user experience. An interface with a great user experience is:

– Useable/Easy to use
– Equitable
– Enjoyable/Delights the user
– Useful/Solves the user’s problems

Products should be logically categorized, with the most popular categories listed first. Some customers seek out products by brand, while others shop by category. Having navigation bars that provide those of these options is an example of a good user experience (everybody’s preferences are thought of and included).

2. Site Search

Building on good user experience, site search is a feature on most eCommerce websites and should not be excluded from yours. This allows customers to bypass the navigation and search for exactly what they want. To help keep track of analytics and user activity, most site searches can be tracked using Google Analytics.

3. Footer Navigation

Footers can have a multitude of uses. With an eCommerce site, you may find it helpful to include links to your top products, services, and information that customers want to see. For example, a footer can direct customers to social media profiles and the most desirable products/services.

4. Product Videos

Adding video to your product can increase conversions. It was found that 50% of shoppers use online videos to help decide what brand or product to purchase. Most eCommerce platforms allow users to add a video to their product listings and thus is critical that you take advantage of this tip.

5. Product Reviews

Product reviews and ratings are the most popular form of user-generated content found on eCommerce sites. This section is significant as it gives end-users an insight into real evidence of past customers and their genuine thoughts on the product.

6. Generous Return Policy (Maybe change to good customer service)

Adding a generous return policy can increase customer confidence. It would be very beneficial for a business to include this, so customers feel safe when purchasing your product. Place it near your “add to cart” button to positively affect the number of purchases.

7. FAQ for Products

Another way to add genuine customer interaction is through your product’s “frequently asked questions” section. This can help increase sales by answering your customer’s top pre-sale questions about your products and reducing the time your customer service team needs to answer questions about products before and after the purchase.

8. FAQ for the Store

An FAQ for your main store is an excellent feature to add. This section covers people’s general questions about online privacy, security, payments, shipping, returns, and other online concerns. This saves your customer support team from answering general questions and gives them more time to solve more complex issues.

9. Order Tracking

Once an order is placed, users should have the option to view when their package arrives. Make it simple for your customers to check their current store status on your website. Note that the best user experience is one that thinks of the end-user first; thus, ensure that this page does not require users to log in. Instead, they should need their email address and the order number they received in the order confirmation email.

10. Email Opt-In

According to a Mailchimp study, emails sent by eCommerce businesses average an open rate of 15.68% and a click rate of 2.01%. This is important considering the potential revenue that promotional emails can have. One of the best ways to increase conversions for your store would be to attain the visitor as a subscriber on your email list, and this will allow you to reach them with future sales and employ marketing strategies.

11. Push Notifications

Push notifications allow visitors to subscribe to your latest updates in their browser. This is a great way to bypass spam filters and capture your next set of clients. Once subscribed, customers can see your latest messages in their desktop notifications.

12. Chatbots

Having a chatbot on your site ensures that customers can access assistance 24/7. Many eCommerce stores use chatbots to assist shoppers with basic questions and navigation to a specific page.

13. Coupon Codes

Who doesn’t love a good deal? Presenting customers with your latest promotions on the checkout or header of your website can increase the incentive for customers to look for a product. If you want to keep customers on your website throughout the checkout process, give them great deals via your coupon codes.

14. Product Availability Filters

Give customers the ability to find available products with their specific needs and requirements quickly. This gives you the best chance to convert customers based on fast availability.

15. Reactive Optimization

Recently, devices of all shapes and sizes are becoming increasingly popular from desktops, smartphones, and even televisions. Therefore, optimizing your website for all these screen sizes is essential. Once again, user experience is at the forefront of increasing sales conversions.

16. Gift Registries

Adding a gift registry to your website will ensure your clients receive items they want and need, rather than randomly selecting items they are unsatisfied with.

17. Multilingual Support

If your store is directed to a specific region or known to have customers from various parts of the world, it would be beneficial for you to include options for them. You can add this to your page by either depending on Google Translate to automatically translate your page or create multiple language versions for your website.

18. Loyalty Program

Adding a loyalty program can increase customer retention. These are typically free or paid programs where customers have early access to your best deals, and customers can join for free and earn points redeemable for products and services online and in-store.

19. Carousels

Most major retailers use carousels to promote their latest deals and sales. You can add images or videos to this section, which typically goes on your page’s hero section.

20. Local Store Information

You can boost offline sales by adding details to the nearest store if your store also has a physical location. This can allow customers to shop online, reserve for in-store pick-up, or browse local store inventory before making an in-store purchase.

21. Personal Data Policy

Depending on where your eCommerce store is based and the customers it serves, you may want to include a policy that notifies visitors of the data collected about them on your website. Visitors then have the option to accept the policy or adjust their cookie preferences.