Ollie Reardon — April 3, 2017 
Ever visited an online store but left without purchasing due to getting frustrated with navigating around the website? Maybe the website is missing some essential features such as no option to pay via PayPal, Bitcoin or other favoured methods of payment?
Here is a list of some of the most important must-have features to have on any ecommerce website:
Mobile Friendly Design
Like any other website, having a mobile friendly design is crucial for a modern ecommerce website. Did you know that over half of online sales within the UK are now made using a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet[1].
Make your products for sale accessible to people who are not by their office desk. Ensure products are displayed without any hidden content, unnecessary zooming in and out and no need to do any horizontal scrolling.
Multiple Methods of Payment
Not everyone wants to enter their debit or credit card information on your site, especially if it’s their first purchase. Luckily, there are plenty of other ways to request payment. PayPal offers the ability to redirect users to their recognisable payment gateway page that is used across many sites including eBay, Argos and British Airways[2].
Secure your site with HTTPS
It is crucial that the potential customer earns your trust before considering making a purchase with you. There are several ways to put security in place in your ecommerce platform, one of which is by ensuring the SSL is enabled throughout your website.
Modern web browsers will warn your users if they are about to enter personal information such as emails, password and payment details on a website that does not have an SSL certificate assigned. This will deter customers from entering sensitive payment information on your website.
Need an easy way to check that your ecommerce website is secure? Look for the green padlock and “https://” at the top of your browser.
Encourage sales with discount codes
Discount codes give the potential customer a sense that they are getting a good deal buying a product via your ecommerce site. Discount codes can be targeted at many potential customers, usually new customers and the customers that have already made a purchase on the website.
Encourage returning customers
Not only is providing discount codes for their next purchase a good incentive, but also having the ability for the customer to save their personal information with you means that a customer will have to jump over fewer hurdles to make a purchase with you at a future date.
If you are selling a subscription or a product that has an expiry date, then it is good business practice to install a reminder system so that you can contact a customer via email or text. For example, to get the customer returning to your ecommerce site so they can order the same product again.
Is your ecommerce site missing some key features listed in this blog article?
Sources
[1] https://www.imrg.org/media-and-comment/press-releases/over-half-of-online-sales-now-made-through-mobile-devices/
[2] https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/getstarted
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