In today’s world where everything and everyone has gone digital, businesses are also opting to go online to increase their sales. The development of e-commerce websites provides immense scope for online sales and transactions thus helping every small and large business in reaching a global market. An e-commerce website permits users in purchasing goods and services without going to a physical market.
Before diving in any further, you should know what it includes.
In simple terms, e-commerce includes not just websites but mobile apps, marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, eBay and social media platforms like Facebook Marketplace, Instagram Shoppable Ads and Pinterest Buyable Pins.
In the past decade, the U.S. has seen a remarkable growth in the e-commerce sector. As per the references from HubSpot, the data revealed by the U.S. Department of Commerce shows that the U.S. e-commerce sales grew faster than it had since 2011 and that it represented 49% of the growth in total retail sales.
Another reference from Statista showed that in 2019 alone, the online sales of physical goods amounted to 365.2 billion USD and that the same is projected to reach 600 million USD in 2024. Also apparel and accessories retail e-commerce is projected to collect revenue of 194.4 billion USD by 2024.
Yes! The figures you just read are true.
This is simple. E-commerce businesses make shopping way too easy for the users; they can shop anytime and anywhere with just a few clicks on their phones or laptops and door-step delivery.
Also, if you are new and are planning to start your e-commerce store, there are many businesses like BizzBucket that help startups grow by providing the finest of the resources and services.
With all the figures you just read, you might be wondering what is in it for businesses? Let’s see…
Benefits of E-commerce for Business-
The following benefits of having an e-commerce store will help you believe that e-commerce is a treasure of retail.
- Overcome geographical limitations
- 24 hour service
- Quick go-to market time
- Cost efficient
- Target niche markets
- Customer data insights
- Customer convenience
- Improved marketing alternatives
- Increased business revenue
- Time flexibility
- Automated product delivery solutions
Best Practices for E-commerce Website Development-
If you are having or want to have an e-commerce solution for your business, there are some guidelines you must follow to get the best of results. Here are some practices for an attractive e-commerce website development-
1. Responsive Website Design-
A responsive website is the one that automatically changes its layout according the device being used (especially mobile phones) in order to offer better user experience without actually changing website’s general appearance on the screen.
- A responsive web design is important because-
- Increases traffic from mobile users
- Provides picture perfect user experience
- Adapts to any screen-size
- Improves website’s SEO
- Smoother website maintenance process
2. Website Speed Optimization-
If you want to make your first impression positively strong then never miss optimizing your website’s speed. If an e-commerce website is fast, users consider it reliable and they are more likely to visit the website again thus helping in search engine rankings and sales.
But if a website doesn’t load in less than 5 seconds, it is going to affect user experience, search engine rankings and even sales and they are probably never visiting the website again.
3. Create a Good Customer Experience-
Providing customers with an outstanding experience while browsing the website will be the primary brand differentiator for sales by 2020 as per a research. Business can add user-generated content like customer reviews and testimonials and social media links to the website providing social proof of the business thus gaining the trust of the buying customers.
Adding an FAQ page can also help. Mentioning answers to some frequently asked questions helps buyers better understand things and helps in completing the purchase process smoothly.
4. Easy Navigation-
Navigation is one of the most crucial elements of website designing. An easy navigation means users can easily and smooth move around the website. If a website lacks navigation, that e-commerce business will see a gradual downfall. Having a good website navigation means-
- Improved SEO
- Well-organized website
- Higher engagement rate
- Decreased bounce rate
5. Website Optimization-
If you want your e-commerce store to flourish and have more conversions and improved SEO results then you must make website optimization your priority. Optimizing a website means making it easier for the visitors to smoothly accomplish their tasks.
When you are optimizing your website as per your visitor’s intent, try to focus on what they are trying to achieve. This helps you to study their behaviour and further help them with their tasks.
When optimizing with the intent to improve SEO, you can go for the optimization of images, meta title and meta description, and even your headlines and URLs (Optimization as per Google’s guidelines is suggested).
If you want to add some other point, feel free to mention it in the comment section below!
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