So, you recently built a new online store on WordPress? Great. You’ve made the right choice. WordPress is an excellent option for developing an eCommerce website.
Now, what next?
Have you already uploaded all the products and content on your website? Have you planned how to organize your eCommerce website to increase sales? Or are you still thinking about it?
In this blog post, I will share eight tips for populating or reorganizing your WordPress eCommerce website to get the most out of it. Even if you don’t have a website, this information will help you plan for your new eCommerce website.
Points #1, #6, #7, and #8 are my favorites and are always on my top list when developing any eCommerce website.
#1 Images
Online buyers don’t touch and feel the products they will buy from an eCommerce website. Therefore, it becomes essential for webmasters to ensure that all the product images are high-resolution.
Several types of research have shown that an eCommerce website with poor-quality product images has low conversion/sales; however, the one with high-resolution images always grabs the more significant share.
If required, hire a professional photographer at an affordable price, but don’t compromise on the picture quality of your products.
#2 Product Description
The description of products is another element that encourages or discourages potential customers from buying from an online store. As I already mentioned, online buyers will not experience a feeling of products; therefore, a detailed product description always helps them decide.
What could you include in your product description?
- Product features
- Product benefits
- Product differentiators (how it is better than the competition)
- Product history
- Product usage (if it’s a unique/new product)
The more you write about each product, the more likely it will be sold on your website.
#3 Secured Shopping
In the age of cybercrime, security has always been a concern for online buyers, and webmasters face challenges in overcoming these concerns.
What’s the solution?
If you are running an eCommerce store, it would be an added advantage (rather mandatory) for you to secure your website through SSL. SSL is a security technology that establishes an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. It ensures that all data passed between the web server and browsers remains private and integral.
Contact your web hosting company to learn more about their packages if you are unsure.
Read some more tips to secure your WordPress eCommerce website
#4 Social Sharing
You will agree that most internet users are on social platforms like Facebook and Twitter. We also know that internet users are potential customers for every eCommerce website. So, it simply implies that the more an eCommerce website is visible on social media, the higher the chances of conversions.
Integrating social sharing widgets with product pages and blog posts is a great idea to increase website traction. When users tag/share your web pages on their social pages/timelines, their friends may also learn about your brand and visit your website.
Again, suppose you are fortunate enough to have a WordPress eCommerce website. In that case, several easy-to-use plugins are free to use on your eCommerce website and make your web pages shareable.
#5 Blogging
Does your eCommerce website have a blog? If not, get one.
Before discussing blogging, let me explain why it’s essential for an eCommerce website’s success.
- A blog helps eCommerce websites get updated regularly and, therefore, helps them rank higher on search engines.
- A blog helps your company to get engaged with your customers.
- A blog helps your important product pages to get more inbound links through your blog.
- A blog helps you announce or discuss your new products and helps your audience learn more about them.
Considering the above benefits of having a blog for an eCommerce website, there is no second thought about having it. If your eCommerce website has been developed using WordPress, it should be pretty easy to have a blog because WordPress is primarily a blogging platform.
#6 Checkout Refinement
The checkout process is the backbone of any eCommerce website, and believe it or not, the success of an eCommerce website depends, to a large extent, on its checkout process. As an eCommerce consultant, I’ve experienced that most webmasters and web developers miss out on several essential aspects of an ideal checkout process, resulting in more abandoned orders.
What to do?
Ok, once your web developer has finished his job, your job starts. As a user, you must check how convenient it is to complete the checkout process and buy products from your website.
To do this job, you must ask yourself a few questions:
- Is the whole checkout process convenient and more accessible to complete?
- Are you asking for too much information from the buyers?
- Have you kept your buyers informed about their purchases throughout the whole checkout process?
- Does your buyer have the option to checkout as a guest if he doesn’t want to register an account with your website?
- Is the loading speed of your checkout process fine?
- Is the design of your checkout process compatible with all devices and mobiles? In other words, is it responsive?
If the answer to these questions (of any of these questions) is ‘No,’ it is time for you to recheck, analyze, and improve your checkout process. Checking the checkout process doesn’t require any special skills. Instead, putting yourself in your buyers’ shoes would be best.
You may also like to check out my blog on fixing your eCommerce website for a high abandoned orders rate.
#7 Loading Speed
The loading speed of an eCommerce website is as important as its existence. There is no point in having an eCommerce website with great design, features, products, and superb graphics. These things will not help your business survive and grow unless your website has excellent speed.
Why is loading speed so important for eCommerce websites?
Because your eCommerce website is the virtual face of your company, it is even more critical than ever to ensure that potential buyers engage with your online store. When talking about engagement, loading speed comes first.
Another fact is that today’s buyers have plenty of options for buying products online. If your website doesn’t serve them well and on time, they can easily hop over to your competitors’ websites.
Who has the time to wait and watch your website load? Yes, it’s a straight question that you may not like, but that’s true. So, let’s face it. Several studies have shown that websites with a loading speed of more than 7 seconds have suffered from higher bounce rates. For an eCommerce website, a high bounce rate is a curse.
Read how you can enhance the loading speed of your WordPress eCommerce website.
#8 Responsive Web Design
In 2017, I don’t think I need to emphasize this point. Having a responsive website is no fancier now; it’s a necessity. For me, responsive web design is as important as its existence for any eCommerce website.
Given the fact that most internet users today use their mobile phones or tablets to access information online, there is no question that you must not have a responsive website.
Here are some reasons to have a responsive eCommerce website:
- Most internet users access online information through their devices.
- Search engines like Google consider responsive web design an essential factor in determining a website’s ranking.
- Social media can send significant traffic to an eCommerce website, and most social media users access these websites through their devices.
Final Words
The real work on an eCommerce website starts after its development is completed. But most webmasters don’t understand this. As a result, they either re-invest their time and money when they face low sales problems or stop relying on their websites to grow their business. But I want you to read and implement these points for your website to increase sales and revenue.