10 Worst Mistakes When Building ECommerce Websites

Some of the benefits of online stores are that they are open 24/7, and you can reach the global market with minimum costs. However, there are many things you should consider when designing an eCommerce website that could make or break your business. There are numerous mistakes developers make day by day, but with careful planning, you can avoid all those mistakes easily. Even if you do make some, they can easily be fixed and that will help you improve the customers’ experience. Below are 10 mistakes you should never make, so consider them when deciding to launch your eCommerce store.

Choosing the Wrong Platform

This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. You should pick the one which suits your business, not the one which is popular or used by most users. It is important to define yours and your users’ needs when deciding which platform to use for your online store. BigCommerce is ideal for startups with a limited budget because it is affordable. Shopify includes tools which can help you with SEO and social media. WooCommerce offers add-ons and themes which add flexibility to your store.

Targeting the Incorrect Audience

If you don’t have the right idea about who your targeted audience is, that can put your eCommerce business in great danger. You can’t expect to grow your business if you are selling your products to the wrong people. To be able to target the right audience, you will need to understand your product and what is its purpose so you can create buyer personas for your potential customers.

Not Using Social Media to Reach Customers

One of the most powerful ways to connect with your customers is through social media platforms. It can also help you build your brand and make it recognizable and use of chatbots is growing day by day. Some researches show that over 40% of consumers want to receive offers and deals from chatbots, and they are willing to spend more than $400 through a chatbot.

Ignoring Analytics

These are very important and useful tools for your business. They give you valuable data about your audience and their interests, behavior, and demographics. That information can be used for A/B testing, implementing dynamic content for your website and many other tactics digital marketers use. The easiest way to implement this data is to use Google Analytics.

Wrong Or No Marketing Plan

It is not enough to have a great product and target the right audience to ensure that your eCommerce business becomes successful. Without a proper marketing plan, you risk your business success. Marketers who create detailed strategies are more likely to succeed than those who don’t. Building a marketing plan will help you realize which things you should focus on and ensure you achieve business goals easier.

No Responsive Design

Your website needs to function well no matter which device your customers are using to view it. Over 50% of people use smartphones for online purchases and that number is constantly growing. So, you have to be sure that your store looks appealing and that people will be able to finish their purchase whether they are using mobile or desktop devices. That is only possible if you have someone to create a responsive web design for you.

Ignoring Speed Optimization

If your potential customers have to wait for your pages to load, it is most likely they will leave your website and never come back. Your eCommerce store needs to be very fast because buyers usually browse multiple pages at the same time and if you leave them hanging for too long, they will simply abandon your store. The ideal loading speed is between 2-5 seconds. Also, it is very important to ensure your checkout process is fast too if you want to prevent cart abandonment.

Insufficient Product Descriptions

You probably know how important product images are. Well, product descriptions are also essential for your business success. You have to provide detailed information which will include a description of materials used to make the product, what it does, how it functions, how it’s made, does it comes with a warranty or not and more. If your clients can’t find all the information they need about the things you are selling, they won’t be able to trust you and they will simply keep looking for another store.

Not Focusing On The User Experience

Low-quality images, short and incomplete product descriptions, poor shopping cart design and expensive shipping are some of the reasons why people will consider your business unprofessional. You have to provide the best user experience if you want to stay ahead of your competitors. Also, it is important to show the customers’ reviews on your website, offer different payment methods and provide an option to browse the products as well as filters to refine those search results.