10 Important Points for an Online Ecommerce Store

We often receive calls from people who have a lead generation website or an online store (e-shop) that they built themselves, through a friend, or even through another company, asking how they can improve their site to make it work. The 10 points below are the first things I look at on their website, and often where issues lie.

In this article, we’ll look at these 10 critical points that can significantly increase sales and attract customers. If you have a website, you should take these seriously.

The order listed goes from the most important to the least important.

1. Website Load Time

First and most importantly, let’s discuss why our website shouldn’t be slow. Every fraction of a second that your site takes to load, you lose a percentage of visitors. We’re all impatient when browsing, and if we don’t get results immediately, we’ll leave for another site.

Studies by major e-commerce players have proven the importance of page load time. Amazon, for instance, measured that a 100ms (1/10 of a second) delay in loading decreased sales by 0.7%. This means that a 1-second delay could reduce sales by 7%. Therefore, e-shops that take 5-10-20 seconds or more to load are likely to have low or no sales.

The goal here is to keep each page load time under 4-5 seconds.

2. Responsive Design

The number of mobile visitors has been rising in recent years. Statistics show that up to 95% of users searching for a local service/product are on mobile devices. This means that if your site doesn’t display properly on mobile, it’s bound to fail.

There are techniques to make your website adapt well on both desktop and mobile screens, as well as any screen size. A separate version for mobile may be worth the investment in cases where it’s financially viable.

3. Usability (Ease of Use - Forms/Checkout)

The third most important factor is how easy we make it for the user to do what we want them to do. This includes how many details we require from the visitor and how many steps they have to take. Asking users to fill out a long form will likely drive them away. Avoid asking for unnecessary validations, like email verification, unless it’s crucial.

Our goal at this stage should be to gain the visitor’s trust by asking only the essential information. Once they become customers and we build a relationship, we can request more details.

4. Call to Action

The fourth important point is the “Call to Action” (CTA), prompting the visitor to perform a desired action. A clear CTA makes a difference.

For an online store, CTAs are the buttons visitors use to add products to their cart or complete a purchase. These buttons should stand out, be large, and use a color different from the rest of the site to grab attention.

For a lead generation site, an example would be a section at the end of each page saying, “For more information, call us today,” signaling the business’s eagerness to connect with potential customers.

5. Domain

The domain name, ideally, should be under 12 characters or at most 15. This helps people remember it easily and type it quickly.

It would also be helpful if the domain name conveys the product/service you offer directly.

6. Clear Product/Service Understanding

This point is often overlooked but is easy to implement and effective. Just add a small phrase or image at the top of the page, or small text under the logo, giving visitors a quick sense of the product/service they’ll find on the site.

7. Design

An attractive and clean design keeps users on your site. Soft colors and a clean layout help visitors focus on the essential elements, avoiding distractions from large graphics and excessive text.

8. Navigation

If your site is confusing or difficult to navigate, visitors will leave and never return. Therefore, a central menu with logical options and avoiding unnecessary choices is crucial.

9. Blog

Keep your visitors updated with news. This will not only increase traffic from search engines but will also encourage existing customers to return for updates.

For an online store, this can be useful for updating on new products, potential benefits, etc.

10. Social Media

Nowadays, almost everyone uses social media, so it’s essential to connect your website with these platforms. Many customers now check social media for reviews and comments about products and services they want. Building a strong social media presence is vital.