Ecommerce sites can be successful if they avoid the pitfalls that other Ecommerce businesses have gone through and focus only on increasing online sales. Since many Ecommerce businesses have made mistakes in the past, it is a good idea to list these mistakes so that they can be avoided in future.
1. Choosing right platform
Rather than building customized Ecommerce solutions, it is best to use time –tested and standard Ecommerce platforms such as Magento, Shopify etc. The reason is that customers are used to a familiar shopping experience with a familiar design and navigational elements that these platforms offer.
2. User friendly Design
Magento and Shopify offer several up-to-date and modern design themes and it is advisable to pick up a theme from one of them, rather than take the risk of making a custom design that may not appeal to customers.
3. Redundant product descriptions
Focus on your most promising and highest selling product and update the product descriptions. When doing this ensure that you understand the mindset of the customer, overcome his objections, map his journey and give compelling reasons why the customer should buy from your site and not from other sites.
4. Not being profitable (No,really)
Build a sustainable business model that is built on profit. Ecommerce businesses often aim to increase customer share while ignoring profitability and this becomes a cause for failure because when sales increase then the profitability dips even further.
5. No responsive design
As most online purchases are now made on mobile devices, ensure that your Ecommerce site is both web and mobile friendly across all devices. In case you are using a custom design test your theme with Google’s mobile friendly test.
6. No target audience
Find a compelling reason why customers should buy from your Ecommerce sit and not from others such as Amazon. You can build a niche by doing a deep dive to understand the interests of your customers, their values, their culture, what appeals to them and where they “hang out.”
7. Technical SEO errors
Do a technical audit of the Ecommerce site for SEO purposes. Common errors are:
– Duplicate versions of the same pages exist.
– Links to 404 pages, 301 pages and 302 pages.
– Links to some pages are not working.
8. Complex shopping carts
Make the shopping cart simple with small text and big buttons. Do not force customers to set up accounts and not surprise them with unexpected fees.
9. Logo
Use a nice logo to represent your brand. Make customizations in it based on your customer and product profile.
10. Empty pages content
Ensure that this page is filled out properly and talks about you and your organization and brand.
11. Not addressing a hole in the market
Establish your USP and give a solid reason why customers should come to your Ecommerce site and buy from there.
12. Poor customer service
Ensure that customer issues are resolved in a time bound way and adequately. Happy customers lead to customer loyalty and this leads to increased sales.
13. Complex navigation
Adopt navigation best practices and avoid complexity:
– Clickable things should be mobile friendly
– Top-level categories should be accessible from top menu
– Sort features should filter results on price, freshness, reviews
– Buy button should be promient
– Search should be Google custom search
14. Unenlightening product photos
Use relevant product photos and ensure that they are not distracting.
15. Insufficient social proof
Include social reviews and ratings in your Ecommerce site. Negative reviews might hurt, but they are helpful as customers like to see a realistic feedback.
Conclusion
Learn from other Ecommerce sites. Adopt the reasons for their success and avoid their mistakes.