Although many designers choose to go straight into building their e-commerce store, there are many factors which you need to consider before you start to create your website and storefront from scratch. To make sure that your business can be successful on an online platform, here are some of the top factors that you need to consider.
SEO
SEO is extremely important for your marketing efforts, and, in a majority of cases, is built into your digital storefront from the moment that it goes live. This is because, to have an effective SEO campaign, you need to include the right keywords into your content, such as your blog, and your web copy, much of which you complete during the design of your website. At clickintelligence.co, their managed SEO services can help you to create an excellent search engine optimization strategy from the ground up, and to monitor this as your e-commerce store begins to grow.
Customer Experience
When you are building your e-commerce store, you need to remember that you are not building this for yourself, and that the people that are using it will be your customers. As well as making it easy-to-navigate, you might consider placing videos and infographics onto your page in order to make your website engaging. You also need to consider how you are going to support your customers on this platform, especially since online stores can create many more problems than physical shops. The solution to this may include the use of chatbots and live chat services, and you may also want to employ a remote customer support team to answer social media queries and emails. This will ensure that your website is fully supported when it goes live.
Security
You cannot just build an e-commerce store and expect it to be completely secure, and it is your responsibility as a business to protect your customers, even if you are using a third party shopfront or e-commerce store. Then, to make sure that your website is compliant and safe before you launch, you should make sure that your website uses the right encryption, that you have installed firewalls and security scanners that can detect threats from your side of the business, and that you are able to minimize vulnerable code. A lot of this security may come down to choosing the right software applications for your e-commerce store, however, and you can do this by looking at feedback and reviews online.
Branding
It is also important to consider the brand message that you want to give to your customers. Once you have decided this, you can promote this message by developing a logo, having a consistent brand voice, and using the same color scheme, layout, and images on every page.
Your Products
However much time you spend on your website, your business will not thrive unless you are able to offer the right products to your customers. To find the right products for your online store, you need to conduct market research about your target audience and any potential gaps in the market. Additionally, in terms of online stores, you may also be able to offer digital services, such as webinars and tutorials. Once you have developed these, you should make them attractive on your website by taking great photographs of them and writing excellent and enticing copy on their product pages.