10 Tips to Successfully Run an Online eCommerce Website

Were you wondering how to increase conversions for your eCommerce store? Do you want to learn how to generate more leads and increase your return on investment?

You’ve come to the right place.

You see, running a website is never a piece of cake. But when you’re running an eCommerce website, everything is more important. You have to make sure your customers are happy, your website is easy to use, and you’re getting back what you’re investing. This is why many ecommerce owners consider working with a Shopify development company that will help them create a strategically designed online shopping experience for their customers.

That’s tough. But what’s more, you’re competing with giants like Walmart and Amazon. Talk about a challenge.

So, how can you run a successful online eCommerce website that converts without getting crushed under the heavy lifters of the industry?

Let’s find out!

10 Tips for Successfully Running Your Online eCommerce Website

As a seller, you have complete control over your website. You can make it slower, faster, prettier, more basic, or more innovative. It’s your call. You can do anything except ensure your success.

That’s a bummer.

But there are ways around that. Let’s look at the best:

Create an Engaging Website Design

Let’s get it out of the way. If you have the best product in the world, but your website is slow, doesn’t work on mobile, and is difficult to use, nobody is going to come to you. Your conversion rates will be microscopic, and churn will be sky-high.

In fact, according to a Kissmetrics study, more than 93 percent of buyers consider the outlook of a website and the product when making a purchase. See? Nobody likes single-tile, boring websites that force you to click on a million other pages to get more information.

So, make sure your website captivates your visitors.

You can do that by using fantastic graphic designs and high-resolution images, making videos, and avoiding vague descriptions. An independent contractor will be your best bet for great designs, but if you can’t hire them, there are thousands of excellent eCommerce templates you can get your hands on.

TemplateMonster, Apollotheme, and TonyTemplates are just some template-making sites you could use.

Simplify Everything and Avoid Clutter

Simple is better in the eCommerce world. Why? Because simple websites allow your customers to focus on your CTA instead of all the beautiful images you’ve splayed around everywhere.

So, if you want to make sure your customers purchase something when they land at your website, reduce the clutter and make purchasing as easy as possible. In fact, the CTA should be the first thing your customer should see when they visit your homepage.

Aside from that, make your checkout process simpler because almost 28 percent of consumers say that they don’t buy from websites that make the checkout process too long and complicated.

So, instead of asking for your buyer’s maiden name, favorite color, or best friend, go for their billing information and shipping address and get done. That’s all you need. Really.

Purchase a Premium Web Hosting Service

Speed is the power behind catching opportunities, making money on the stock market, running from a killer desperate to get your boots, and increasing your customer conversions.

Even research shows that a one-second delay in page loading time leads to a 16 percent decrease in customer satisfaction and a 7 percent loss in customer conversions. So, if your website has a three-second delay, say bye-bye to customers.

But loading delays aren’t the worst that could happen. Site crashes, error reports, and glitches are the primary cause behind terrible conversion rates.

So, do yourself a favor and get a premium web hosting service. We know you’ll be spending the big bucks, but you’ll get even bigger bucks back. That makes this investment a win-win.

Make Your Site SEO-friendly

According to research, more than 45 percent of customers begin the buying process through search engines like Google. They also rarely look at Google’s second page. So, if your website isn’t one in the top 10, they’ll buy from your competitors and leave you in the best.

How can you fix that? Use search engine optimization (SEO).

SEO is a strategy that uses keywords and specific strategies to ensure your website reaches the top of Google rankings based on whatever your customer is searching for. So, make a blog, use keywords or specific tools, and analyze everything. Just make sure you reach the top. Make sure to check First Rank an e-commerce seo experts that can help you with this strategy.

Write Informative Descriptions

Make sure each product on your website has informative descriptions, but don’t go overboard and start writing long paragraphs. In fact, keep your product descriptions short, sweet, and to the point.

Explain everything using the least number of words possible. You can even use bullet points, which, as you may remember, were a no-no in school.

Nuke All Ads

Ads are the enemy of conversions when they’re on your website. That’s right. When you use your platform as an ad post, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Sure, you’re going to hit the big for a while, but then the purchases will slowly fall off, leaving you wondering what happened. Plus, constant pop-ups and sidebar ads may make your visitors think you’re suspicious, which is not what you want.

Don’t believe us?

Here’s a fact: more than 82 percent of customers in the U.S. complain that online ads ruin their shopping experience. So, remove any ads from your website and keep your customers close to your bosom.

Offer Fantastic Customer Support

Customer service is the backbone of a business. Why? Because even if you have the best product, customers will inevitably find a concern, an issue, or a complaint with it. And if nobody helps them navigate their problems, you won’t have any customers anymore.

So, if you’ve made an eCommerce support, loosen your pocket and invest in some customer service support people as well. They can keep in contact with your customers through phone, email, and live chat, as well as help you gain insights into what your customers think of you.

You’ll even be able to get insights that improve your products or website. That’s a great benefit.

Give as Many Payment Options as Possible

Not everybody may have a MasterCard or Visa, and even if they do, they may not use it as their primary payment option. So, if you’re operating an eCommerce website, try to make sure you accept as many payment options as possible.

You could start with the following:

• Discover
• American Express
• Apple Pay
• PayPal.

Remember: Don’t be like stuck-up bosses who have no time to create real paystubs and instead hand their employees checks. Try to think about everyone you can.

Make Sure Your Website is Mobile-Friendly

Most people are using their smartphones to complete online purchases. So, if your website looks great on a tablet but terrible on mobile, fix it fast.

You can’t afford to sideline mobile shoppers when you’re thick in the online business. You may even want to create an app for your business to encourage more people to buy from you. Why?

Because that’s the best way to ensure your customers get the best shopping experience. Not only will your customers be able to buy this quickly, but they’ll also not have to enter their user information or credit card for every transaction.

Offer Free Shipping

Unexpected costs are the bane of shopping carts. In fact, most people would happily buy a slightly expensive product instead of buying a cheaper one and getting hit with a shipping doozy.

So, instead of driving your customers away by listing high shipping prices at the end of the checkout, either make shipping free above a certain amount or increase your product prices to cover any shipping fees incurred by your customer.

The Bottom Line

Running an eCommerce website is not easy, but with some hustle and bustle, you can drive your chances of keeping your customers coming back for more — every time.

Just remember to start small and make one change at a time. If you make too many changes, you’ll end up plagued by indecision and end up where you started.