The way shopping used to be done has changed a lot with time and technological advancements. Today, customers prefer their shopping done on the internet on the innumerable eCommerce websites. There is a constant war among these sites to engage as many customers as possible. Today, online shopping is no longer a niche market as it reaches out to a large number of customers all around the world, people visit websites like https://www.raise.com/coupons/nike every day in order to find the best offers online. We all are aware about the success and efficiency of this system and how it has changed the way shopping is done. Since, this platform is expanding and evolving at a fast pace, it is important to have certain components that are essential for the success of an eCommerce site. Some of them are-

Clear Logo

Not only for the start up shops, but also for well established and known branded stores, a well designed and eye catching logo is very important. A logo that can be easily identified and kept in mind is necessary when it comes to online shopping. A logo is a symbol of trust of an organization or a company. Many popular branded stores have an interesting site with minimum features, but a fashionable page altogether. This helps in gaining the attention of the target audience. A well known mascot attracts the attention of the customers without fail. The fun colours that are used in eBay’s logo- red, blue, yellow and green describe the theme of the website – friendly, open and accessible. The logo simply reflects that eBay is a fun place to buy and sell stuff.

Promos and Deals

People work very hard to make their site interesting and attractive and they work on every page, but it is a well known fact that visitors decide whether or not they like a website in just a few seconds. It is an instant like or dislike, thus it is very important that the home page of a site is made quite interesting. It must have all the necessary elements that help to grab immediate attention of the visitors. The site must be easy to navigate and page loading time must not be more than necessary. Another factor that grabs eyeballs is shopping deals. People love to do something about their shopping itch and if attractive deals and discounts are available, they are ready to buy anything under the sun as it is available at slashed prices. For example, Pets World, the Pet Food Shop in India offers amazing discounts at Wag Shop where pet owners can buy pet products and accessories at crazy low prices. Discount offers and eye catching ads and banners on the Home Page effectively attracts a large number of visitors.

Free Shipping Services

eCommerce websites also offer free shipping services as now the companies are not restricted just to the local market, but have transcended geographical barriers and catering to the entire world. Thus, the costs of shipping are also taken into consideration, still, it is affordable when compared with actual stores. It is seen that when shopping at branded online stores or big retailers, multiple purchases results and that makes shipping services added to the shopping value quite negligible. Also, customers are not deterred by free shipping even if the order price is low. Moreover, shopping online sans any deal or discount is still reasonable as compared with shopping at boutiques or shops. If we talk about shipping strategy, the best example is Zappos. The e-commerce company, Zappos offers free shipping services to their customers no matter what the amount is. If you are not happy with the product then return facility is also provided by the company.

Branded Products at the Top

Every customer has unique choices and demands, but it is practically not possible to give space to each product on the home page. Thus, most of the eCommerce sites place their most exciting and eye catching offers and products on the main page, ensuring ready accessibility. The retailers who have a huge collection of products, it makes things easier. Branded merchandise is given a premium position followed by other less known brands. Also, the items on sale are placed up front, followed by the newly added branded stock. The idea is to grab the attention of the target customers, especially first time visitors who take some time to get the feel of the site. Using effective and targeted channels, customers can look for the merchandise they were looking for! Amazon is an amazing example of this strategy. The website has a filter that keep the most popular brands on the top followed by the least recommended. They even have a different section for other brands that are majorly highlighted on the index page.

Login Box, Search Box and Shopping Cart

The features of an eCommerce site like the Login Box, Search Box and Shopping Cart must be placed close to each other. Having an eCommerce site without shopping cart feature is unthinkable. A simple looking cart can be made to denote a shopping cart in a prominent corner space. Private accounts are created and shared with the customers by several stores where they can review their past and present orders. The customers are given Login and password details that help the customers to further access the site. Such premium customers also get to enjoy special schemes, discounts and offers. Having a Search Box feature on a site makes it easier for the customers to wade through an extensive collection by streamlining their search. Website of Marks and Spencers has everything aligned properly. Log in, Log out, Cart and search tabs are placed quite close to each other that gives an excellent opportunity for customers to explore better.

Icons for Payment Systems

The eCommerce sites have been able to reach out to the customers located in the different parts of the world and it is important that the payment options given to the customers meet their desire. In case there are any technical limitations to any payment system, the same must be clearly stated. For example, many sites do not accept International Credit cards and some sites make it mandatory to share the billing and delivery address of the customer in the country where the store is located. This limits the number of customers. Thus, whatever payment options are available with the site, they must be clearly displayed in plain sight on the Home Page, reducing confusions. Snapdeal.com has the best solution to deal with this problem. If you see the index page footer, there are icons that tell about payment options. All these icons help customers to understand payment options in a better manner.

If you are new in the e-commerce industry and don’t have enough resources then it will be better to hire an e-commerce development company to assist you. Incorporating the above components help in creating a successful eCommerce site

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When it comes to online marketing, it’s difficult enough to drive traffic to your site and keep them engaged, how much more to persuade them to buy from you? However, the Internet is a robust goldmine of revenue and to not even attempt to take advantage of this internet shopping boom is a financial mortal sin.

To develop an eCommerce website that would bring in sales is not that easy and even web developers with years of experience building non-eCommerce sites would frequently need to hire eCommerce development in order to get things started for them. While the methods in creating eCommerce websites vary, there are necessary ingredients in order for you to build a successful eCommerce website and reap the financial benefits of a strong online presence.

Create an Impression of Credibility and Authority in Your Niche

Unlike traditional shopping, your online customers won’t have the benefit of actually seeing and inspecting your product or services. This virtual environment can actually work to your disadvantage because not physically seeing the merchandise before purchase can create doubt among shoppers.

That being said, when you develop an eCommerce website, your first order of business is to create a design strategy that will build your credibility and authority in your niche. Without trust, there is no sale. Craft your online store in such a way that highlights your strengths and positions you as the best in your industry.

Prioritize Ease of Use without Compromising Style

Unlike your other web properties such as your corporate site or your business blog wherein you can exercise creativity, when it comes to building e-stores, ease of use definitely precedes visual appeal. Navigational tools should be properly located in the site. A navigation list should be displayed on a sidebar or on top of the page coupled with the use of breadcrumbs. Clearly designated buttons should be visible. There should be a search bar that can be easily seen. Plus, an accessible “contact us” at the bottom of the page.

Of course, this does not mean that your site cannot be visually appealing, especially if your success depends on catching your customers’ attention through powerful imageries as in the case of fashion brands. What we’re saying is that you can’t be too fancy and artistic that it compromises the functionality and substance of your site.

Spend A Great Deal of Time and Resources on Your Product Pages

A great meal does not end with an appetizer. Following the same line of reasoning, when you develop an eCommerce website, it’s not enough to have a great homepage. As your hook to draw customers in, it is just right that you carefully craft your homepage, but don’t forget your product pages. These pages are the ones that will “seal the deal” and close the sale.

Pepper your product pages with great photos that show your products in different angles. Provide as many information as you can to help your customers deciding. Informative, interactive and experiential – these are the three elements that your product pages should possess.

Choose an Ecommerce Platform that Suits Your Business

We have given three tips on how you can make a successful eCommerce site, but one question still remains: What is the best eCommerce application platform? Some developers would push for their favorite platforms, but the best answer to this question is it depends on the nature of your business and the size of your operations. Choosing an eCommerce application platform will vary depending on what you are selling, how many products you are selling, your reach and how broad your market is and a number of other factors. If you’re new to this, it is best that you hire an eCommerce development company to help you figure things out so as not to waste your time and investment.

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The insatiable retail appetite has overflown into the online retail space. According to the UK firm Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG), B2C electronic commerce sales will breach the $1.25 million mark this year proving that people are indeed spending online. If you’re a retailer who wants to get your own bite of this spending phenomenon, you should shop around and look for someone who can develop eCommerce website for you.

Before venturing out into any web or eCommerce application development, it’s necessary to do your due diligence. One way of doing this knowing what platforms are available where you can develop eCommerce website on.

You basically have three choices: hosted ecommerce platforms, open source ecommerce platforms and hosted shopping carts.

Open Source Ecommerce Platforms

Open source platforms first became famous among CMS websites and now, these platforms have also risen in popularity in ecommerce site creation and ecommerce application development. Essentially, you can download an open source ecommerce platform and choose where you want to host your site. This flexibility is attractive to many designers and developers. However, if you’re going to do it on your own, setting up an ecommerce site on an open source platform can be quite challenging. Further, customer support is very narrow and basically restricted to wikis and forums.

If you’re eyeing to develop ecommerce website using these versatile platforms, check out these tried-and-tested options:

Magento

Arguably the most popular open source platform, Magento has been the choice of many companies including both startups and established brands (i.e. Nike). While Magento also offers paid versions, the free or community edition packs a lot of features.

• Does not cost a penny to download which can significantly bring down cost
• Offers both free and premium design templates
• Very active Magento community for add-ons
• Easy order and customer management using the dashboard
• Inclusive of marketing capacity
• Compatible for browsing using mobile devices

PrestaShop

Used by more than 125,000 businesses worldwide and winner of the Best Open Source Business Application Awards in 2010 and 2011, PretaShop offer anyone who want to develop ecommerce website over 310 features, all for free. Some of the functionalities worth highlighting are:

• Dynamic inventory management whether you have 10 or 1,000 products
• Integration with Ebay
• Cross selling of related products, hence improving the shopping experience
• Ability to sell downloadable products
• Superior quality stock management feature
• Display and sell an unlimited number of products, attributes and categories

Hosted Shopping Carts

Lastly, hosted shopping carts give you the leeway to choose your own CMS and where you want your site to be hosted. What these platforms will provide are the checkout mechanism and the shopping cart itself. Since payment will be processed from their end, they will also provide security to ensure that all transactions are safe. This is a good option if you already have a CMS in place and if you’re site is already hosted somewhere else.

Two notable hosted shopping carts options are:

FoxyCart

The main features of FoxyCart is you can customize the look and feel of the checkout process and the shopping cart to match the visual identity of your current site. While FoxyCart aims to be simple, it is still equipped with many features including:

• Compatibility for both small and large businesses
• Coupon codes can be used
• Options for one-page checkout
• Total control over tax rates and shipping charges
• Capability to sell digital merchandises

Digital Product Delivery (DPD)

As its name suggests, DPD is geared towards entrepreneurs who want to sell digital goods online (although you can also sell tangible products). It has a lot of useful features which include:

• Convenient download process for your customers
• Buyers are given a secure link to download their purchase
• Hosting for your digital goods/files
• Integrated with affiliate marketing
• Mobile-friendly

Hosted Ecommerce Platforms

For a fee paid either monthly or annually, hosted ecommerce platforms will host your ecommerce website, will give you access to their ecommerce infrastructure and will provide technical support. The only negative to using this kind of platform is you can’t choose the host you prefer. But rest assured that most of these hosted platforms have strong ecommerce systems in place. Further, these platforms are pretty secure and security is a main concern among online shoppers.

If you opt to go this route, here are a few highly suggested hosted ecommerce platforms you should check out the following:

Shopify

Definitely one of the most popular platforms where you can develop ecommerce website on, Shopify boasts of the following advantages:

• Convenient and fuss-free design implementation
• Intuitive and visually appealing user interface
• Unlimited bandwidth allocation
• Equipped with content delivery network which boosts page loading speed
• An array of design options which include free templates, premium templates and personalized designs
• Extensive marketing tools including mechanisms for couponing, incorporation with MailChimp for email marketing and social media linking
• Compatibility with more than 70 payment facilities
• Mobile friendly through responsive design

Highwire

This is a platform which is very similar to Shopify, but is different in its own right. Develop ecommerce website using Highwire and reap the following benefits:

• Perfect for business owners who pay a lot of attention to aesthetic creativity
• Ease of use and convenient implementation of the ecommerce system
• Well-crafted admin interface making it easy for business owners to manage inventories and products
• Cross channel selling through Ebay, Bonanza and Facebook

Every forward looking business owner knows that the online retail battleground is a potent source of thousands of dollars in revenue. As such, ecommerce application development and companies who develop ecommerce websites are being sought after. This was meant to equip you with the basic knowledge before you embark on your journey to ecommerce success.

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