E-commerce Websites: What You Need To Know
The world has changed a lot over the last two years. Covid-19 changed the way consumers shop and how many businesses sell their products. Consumer demand for remote and digital solutions surged quickly in 2020. Many businesses had to find a way to adapt, and their solution was e-commerce. E-commerce was growing steadily before COVID-19, but the pandemic accelerated shifts in consumer shopping behaviour from brick-and-mortar to more online transactions. E-commerce websites have quickly become one of the most popular types of websites today, and not just because of the pandemic. It's easy to see why; if you have items that you want to sell but don't have a physical location to sell them from, an e-commerce website will allow you to do just that! E-commerce is an important part of many businesses today. If you're looking to start your own e-commerce website, here are some things we recommend including when deciding on an e-commerce website builder for your business!
E-commerce is simply the sale of goods and services on the internet. It's a booming industry that's growing each day. While there are many types of e-commerce websites, they all have a few things in common: they sell products or services, accept payments from customers, and have an online presence where customers can browse their inventory and purchase products. Many platforms provide everything you need to set up a functional store while still giving you the ability to customize it yourself if needed. We also offer e-commerce website development services if you need help!
In order to set up your own e-commerce website, you will need a hosting provider, a domain name and website design software so that you can build your store's pages yourself (or hire us to do it for you!). When choosing the right e-commerce site for you, consider several things.
- Is it easy to use?
- What is the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) like? How can I optimize my site?
- Are there any customer service issues or bugs that come with using this platform?
E-commerce sites will allow you to sell your products, but they need to include everything mentioned above to succeed.
Shopify- Shopify is a hosting service that allows you to build and sell your products online. Shopify is a good option if you have a small business that sells physical products, like books, clothing or toys. It's easy to use and has an excellent support team to help with any problems you may encounter while using the platform.
Wix- Wix is a website builder that offers both a free and paid option. The free plan allows you to create an unlimited number of sites. It includes hosting, domain registration, an eCommerce platform and more. The paid plan provides access to even more tools and features, such as advanced SEO tools, landing pages, and responsive design support. Wix also has an iOS and Android devices app that allows you to work on your sites anywhere.
Weblium- Weblium is also very easy to use. You simply follow their step-by-step wizard, allowing you to create your own e-commerce website within minutes – even if you have no experience in web design or coding! The platform includes various templates which can be easily customized according to your preferences with drag and drop tools (no coding required). Weblium also offers many custom integrations and embedments.
Ecwid- Ecwid is a great platform for e-commerce websites. It's easy to use and has excellent customer service, essential if you're a small business owner. The Ecwid interface is straightforward, and it allows you to quickly sell products by either creating your own or using their marketplace of over 70k merchants. Ecwid has an excellent app that makes managing your site even easier—you can manage inventory, check sales reports, add new products, etc., all from your hand!
When setting up your e-commerce website, you have to decide whether it's a B2C (business to consumer) or a B2B (business to business).
The first thing to consider is that setting up an e-commerce site for B2C requires less information and data about your customers. You don't need their names, addresses and phone numbers because they only buy products online; all the info can come from their credit cards. If you're selling to businesses, there are more steps to get them set up as customers—you'll need their contact information to send invoices and order confirmations. You'll also want them to provide detailed specifications about what they want from your company so that everyone knows what they're ordering at any given time. Having an e-commerce website will ensure your customers receive the correct product instead ordering it from Amazon and not being like they expected it to.
SEO is vital for any website, including e-commerce websites. The more sales you make, the more money you can make and the more profits you'll see at the end of each month. So how do we get people in front of our product pages and click on them? We need to rank high on search engines like Google, so they show up when someone searches for something related to our product or service! Search engine optimization isn't just about keywords. You should be thinking about your user experience first and foremost when optimizing your site for search engines. When it comes to optimizing your e-commerce site for search engines, there are several things that you can do.
Use relevant keywords in page titles and meta descriptions. The title tag is what shows up in the blue link next to an item on Google, while the meta description appears under each result listing on Google's results pages. Both need to describe what visitors can expect from that page to increase clickthrough rates (CTRs). These tags should also be relevant at all times; otherwise, they'll look spammy or like they've been copied directly from another website instead of being written specifically by yours. Create unique content with keyword research as a guidepost rather than a rulebook. Be sure that you're using keywords appropriately for both users' needs and businesses' goals. Search engine optimization is a long-term strategy that will help your e-commerce website generate the sales you want.
Retargeting ads are a way to reach potential customers who have visited your site but did not purchase. When you create retargeting ads, you're creating an audience of people who have already expressed interest in your product or service and are likely ready to make another purchase.
Retargeting ads use cookies to follow users around the internet. The cookie tells the ad network that this person has already been exposed to some content related to your business; therefore, they've got a higher chance of converting into long-term customers if they see additional advertising from you across multiple platforms—like Facebook or Google search results pages—that enable them to work with their own data sets instead of relying exclusively on data provided by third parties like Facebook or Google.
There are various e-commerce tools available for your site, such as payment gateways, shipping tools, marketing tools and customer service tools. You can set up integrations with shipping providers like FedEx or UPS (or even your own company) so that customers can choose their preferred carrier as they checkout. You may also want to add an integration with payment gateways such as Stripe or PayPal so that customers can pay more securely and easily using their preferred method. In addition to these features, you might also consider adding some specific integrations for tracking customer behaviour on your website. Integrations like Google Analytics into your site so that you can collect valuable data about how people use it or an automated reputation management tool into your site so that users can give direct feedback about what they like or don't like about what they're viewing. Integrations can help you provide customers with a positive experience with your e-commerce website.
When you are building an e-commerce website, one of the most important decisions to make is how your customers will be able to pay for their purchases and how they will receive them. You should ensure that the checkout process is efficient and user-friendly. Customers should be able to pay securely and receive the information they need about their order, such as tracking numbers and shipping information. Make sure your pricing and shipping costs are transparent. Ensuring your customers have an easy checkout process will make it more likely for them to return and purchase from you again!
E-commerce websites have become essential in the modern business world. At Encompass Online Marketing Ltd., we create fully functional e-commerce websites that will make it easy for customers to purchase your products online. Our easy to user-friendly and responsive designs will ensure your customers enjoy a smooth buying experience. We will also help you track the important metrics to ensure your website performs the way you need it to. The journey of creating your online store isn't always easy, but with our experience and expertise, the launch can be effortless. Contact us today.
Written by: Trenton Ross