So you want an eCommerce website for your business but are not sure which package you should choose, right? Or you may be wondering what are some of the essential features you must incorporate in your eCommerce web design package for running a successful online business.
No worries. By the time you would finish reading this blog post, you will learn,
1) What are some of the must-have features of an eCommerce website for small businesses
2) How much does a basic eCommerce website cost
3) What are the different types of eCommerce website packages and their costing
Make no mistake here. It’s about your business, money, and time. You can’t simply afford to compromise on the below 4 must-have features (other than the basic features like an intuitive shopping cart, great website design, and seamless checkout process) when it comes to your eCommerce website development.
#1 Mobile-Friendly Web Design
For most of you, it may sound obvious that every website (not only eCommerce websites) should have a responsive web design which means every website should have a different/compact view on all mobiles & tablets. I would still like to emphasize the importance of a responsive eCommerce website because I know that there is still a huge percentage of webmasters who don’t care about their website’s responsiveness.
Do you know that various studies have shown – Around 80% of internet users own a smartphone? What does this mean? It simply means that there are higher chances that these users will often use their mobile phones to access online information. To browse products & services that they need. To buy their desired products & services at the convenience of their time and place.
Now my question to you is “Would you still like to risk your eCommerce business by not having a responsive website?”. I bet you say NO. So, you better ask your web developer to provide you with a new responsive eCommerce website or if you already have a website that’s not responsive, you know what to do next.
#2 Speed Performance Tools
Let’s face it. Online users don’t want to waste their valuable time staring at the white screen and waiting for a website to load. If they don’t get their desired information on time, they hop on other options (the internet is flooded with options). Isn’t it?
So, the point here is that having a fast-loading website should be on your top priority list before you decide on any eCommerce web design package. You must check with your eCommerce developer about their strategies for the speed performance of your website.
An ideal website renders the webpages in less than 6 seconds. Again, several studies have proved that users tend to quit those websites that take longer time to load. Get your website out of that list.
#3 SEO Plugins/Modules
There is no point to have a great website if there are no provisions or strategies to get traffic on it. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is considered one of the best sources of attracting organic & targeted audiences to a website. We all know that most internet users seek the assistance of search engines (like Google) whenever they need any product, service, or solution. Having your eCommerce website on the top rankings of search engines for the user’s queries is nothing less than a magical formula to grow your business sales.
Make sure to have on-page SEO plugins/modules incorporated in your eCommerce website package. Request your web developer to add these features if their package doesn’t include them.
#4 On-site Blog
For most webmasters and even eCommerce designers, it would be a strange “must-have” feature to include an on-site blog. But for me, it is essential. As important as traffic. As important as SEO. As important as customers and revenue. Based on my eCommerce development experience, I can definitely say that having a blog on your online store will help you to achieve below objectives (if done strategically and effectively):
a) Get more traffic
b) Get more loyal subscribers
c) Get in touch with your customers
d) Sharing news & updates of your company/website
e) Sharing newly launched products and services
Is the above list not convincing enough for you to believe that a blog is a must-have feature for every eCommerce website? If you think it is, make sure to include this point as a must-have feature in your eCommerce web design package.
How much does an eCommerce web design cost?
In one of my previous blog posts, I had already explained how much an eCommerce web design cost. You can read this blog and you will learn not only the pricing of eCommerce websites but also some of the important determinants that affect eCommerce website packages.
The cost to develop a basic eCommerce website is usually less than $6000 which includes features like free domain & web hosting, template-based design, flat shipping & payment system, Paypal payment gateway, logo design, and other basic shopping cart features.
The cost of an advanced eCommerce web design package usually starts from $10000 which includes advanced features like flexible pricing & shipping system, a payment gateway of your choice like Smoovepay, eNets along with Paypal and other basic shopping cart features.
What does an eCommerce web design package look like?
Different web developers offer different eCommerce packages so there is no fixed pattern as such. However, I would like to share with you the eCommerce web design packages that we offer to our clients.
