10 Essential Features of an E-Commerce Website

1. SECURITY
This is an extremely important feature. There needs to be high cyber security to ensure that no user data like credit card information gets stolen. When going through the transaction process, there should not be any sort of breaches; the pathway should be secure. One of the ways to establish security is to change the prefix in the address of your website from ‘http’ to ‘https’ after purchasing a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate. This helps avoid online frauds and keeps user’s data safe. Having ‘https’ also boosts your website’s search engine rankings.
2. MOBILE-FRIENDLINESS
Another feature that boosts SEO rankings and essential to an E-Commerce website. You might get customers who would want to shop on the go rather than going home, switching on their computers and then shop. Your website must be able to adapt to any kind of device it runs on to provide a user-friendly experience. Over two billion people use their smartphones to make some sort of online transaction. Another reason to go mobile friendly is that Google penalizes websites that are not mobile friendly.
3.REVIEWS
Whilst shopping, customers are not just going to buy products. One of the factors that affect their decision when purchasing something is the reviews. Customers trust reviews. Do not filter out the negative comments. Negative comments are actually beneficial to your business. Bill Gates once quoted, “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning”.
4. LOADING TIME
Optimize your source code, cut down on loading time and make your website as fast possible. If a webpage takes more than three seconds to load, then bounce rates soars. Google has taken speed into consideration as well when indexing websites. 79% of online customers have said that any minor setback in terms of speed or performance that has occurred affects their decision on returning to the website. Web Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or KeyCDN calculates the speed and performance of your website and gives a detailed report on what’s slowing your website down.
5. NAVIGATION & USER-FRIENDLINESS
Your website should be user-friendly and easy to navigate through. The customer should be able to reach their destination with a minimal number of clicks. Navigation and user-friendliness improve the overall experience and increases sales. Your website should be as organized as possible. Use easy to read font and font size, display all essential tabs, include a search bar which has the feature of autofill as well and try not to clutter everything in on the main page. For example, if a user is shopping for electronics, sub-categories for electronics can be displayed.
6. CHATBOTS
Suppose, a customer has a question about your product or website but does not have the time to call customer service, that’s where a chatbot comes in handy. A chatbot can help improve your website’s conversion rates and increases engagement. A chatbot does not overwhelm the customer with too much text or complication, it is straightforward. With the development of AI, chatbots have huge potential to propel your business. According to an Oracle Survey, “80% of businesses said they currently use or are planning to use chatbots by 2020”.
7. OFFERS
No customer can resist special offers once they see it. It motivates the customers to buy something. Even if this does not convert into a sale, the engagement time with your website increases. Not only does this boost your sales, but also your search engine ranking.
8. REGION & LANGUAGE
You can provide the option for a change of country within that region. This makes it more convenient for customers, makes it user friendly and improves the overall experience.
9. A WISH-LIST
A wish list allows users to bookmark the items they intend to buy in the future. Consequently, it reduces shopping cart abandonment rates. So, when the same customers return to the website for shopping, they are reminded of what they were planning on purchasing. This brings in more sales and allows the website to analyze customer interests. Customers can even share their wish list with friends and family allowing them to purchase the items for the customer. Not only does this boost sales, but traffic as well.
10. Social Media
Try bringing your business in to the top social media platforms. Users can discover your brand from these different social media platforms. One section of your website should display the company’s social media handles. This allows users to get in touch with you, share the company profile on their social media accounts and help bring in more traffic. You can even post fun videos and pictures, advertisments and share the latest merch on these accounts. It forms a connection with your customers.