Providing products and services online can be very lucrative if you do it right. Whether you’re a beautician, salon owner, florist or baker, you’ll probably be communicating with clients through Instagram or WhatsApp. And while this may work for the time being, social media does have its limitations. If you’re looking to really skyrocket your business, you’ll need a central place for potential clients to make orders and bookings at their convenience. A professional ecommerce website with a trendy yet simplistic design doesn’t have to cost a ton or take months to create. Plus, it’ll be well worth it to own a site that can be used to build your brand.
Why is it important to have a professional ecommerce website?
The power of a website to increase your credibility, increase trust in your brand and enhance the overall customer experience shouldn’t be underestimated.
While you may fully understand your services, policies and pricing, how do you make customers aware of these? The best professional web designers take the time to understand your business goals and needs, and how to translate these into quality work. A website is open to the public so it’s something you want to be on brand for your online store. You’ll also attract a client base that may not have TikTok or Instagram accounts, but may still be interested in what you have to offer. This is where professional design and optimisation is key, along with other website aspects:
- Eye-catching design
- User-friendly
- Content displayed effectively
- 100% mobile responsiveness
- Fast page loading times
- Security
Key elements of a professional ecommerce website
Responsive and Mobile-Friendly Design
An aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly design for an ecommerce website is super important. A responsive design means that the site adapts to different screen sizes. Consumers love to use their mobile devices – from shopping online and scrolling through reels to texting and even making appointments online. So, it’s crucial that your ecommerce website design is both responsive and mobile-friendly.
Optimised Product Pages
Effective product pages are essential for attracting potential clients from search engines like Google. When selling items on your ecommerce platform, it’s highly recommended that you optimise these pages with relevant keywords. So if someone searches for “maroon nail polish”, your product images will pop up on Google shopping pages. It’s also ideal to upload high quality images with detailed descriptions, pricing and clear call-to-action buttons like “Add to Cart.”
If you need advice on optimising your ecommerce website for SEO, feel free to contact the experts at Cariad Marketing.
Streamlined Checkout or Booking Process
A smooth and intuitive checkout process is key to increasing sales on an ecommerce site. This assists with lessening cart abandonment rates – when a customer adds items to their cart and abandons them later on. This can happen as a result of a lengthy and complicated checkout process – something you’ll want to avoid.
With regard to making appointments for beauty treatments and the like, online bookings are becoming the norm. A UK consumer survey indicates that 69% of consumers would appreciate appointment booking software and 21% said they aren’t prepared to wait an average of more than three minutes for service. This shows that if the buyer’s online journey is seamless and convenient, they’re more inclined to make bookings with you.
Secure Payment Options
While you may accept cash payments, contactless payments are becoming increasingly popular. In 2021, 22.9 billion payments were made by UK consumers and 57% of all payments were made using cards. By integrating safe and secure payment methods on your website, you’ll technically engage a third of the UK population! Be sure to chat to your web developer about incorporating trust seals into your ecommerce website design to build customer confidence and protect sensitive information as well.
Personalisation and Customer Segmentation
A fun, vibrant and colourful theme can personalise your website and curate it to your brand identity. From tailoring the shopping experience or booking page to sharing insightful information on a blog page, you’ll create an amazing website that captivates the right clientele. Creating an ecommerce store can assist you to further segment your customer base and understand their needs. And in doing so, you can get to know your target audience so you can establish how your online business can meet their demands better.
Integration with Social Media and Marketing Channels
Although you may already have business social media accounts, a website is an additional online space where your customers can learn more about you. As a result, your social media channels will receive more engagement from your website and vice versa. It’s super important to create insightful content pieces with calls-to-action to drive this traffic. By integrating your marketing channels with an ecommerce site, you can increase your professionalism, expand your reach and drive sales.
Customer Reviews and Testimonials
You might already be receiving positive feedback and reviews from clients – so why not showcase these testimonials for others to see? People love checking reviews before purchasing a product or service and word-of-mouth recommendations are extremely valuable. By displaying past reviews on a website, this not only adds a degree of professionalism and credibility, but potential clients can also gauge what you’re all about – and hopefully convert!
Customer Support and Communication
If your client base has a common set of questions and queries, consider establishing a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS) page
that is both informative and insightful. This will assist your existing customers as well as potential customers. On your website, you’ll also be able to use a live chat plugin to communicate with new visitors. Prompt and helpful customer service is of utmost importance, especially when running an ecommerce business.
Reach a wider audience and increase your sales with a beautiful and professional website. You’ll have total creative freedom and own your website fully. And it’s possible that it can be ready in just 10 days. Get started today for as little as £99 per month for two years. For inspiration, check out our ecommerce website examples on our portfolio.
