When you’re online shopping, a smooth experience really does make all the difference. After all, if the site’s easy to navigate, loads quickly, and doesn’t give you any problems or headaches at checkout, you’re far more likely to click buy and not head off somewhere else. And as a business, that’s exactly what you want - happy customers who don’t abandon their cart halfway through.
Whether you’re running a small online store of you’ve got a massive eCommerce business to manage, the truth is that customers always just want (and expect) things to work the first time and to be a smooth experience. So with that in mind, keep reading to find out more about how to make sure that’s the case - your business will definitely be more successful as a result.
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It All Starts With Speed
No one enjoys waiting, especially not online, and if your website is slow, clunky, and basically just hard to use, people are going to leave before they even see what you’ve got to sell them. That’s why optimising load times has to be a priority - you can compress your images, clean up the code, and make sure your mobile version actually works, and that’s all going to help. So basically, you need to treat your website like a real shop in the real world, which means it can’t be messy or falling apart because people won’t buy from you.
And of course, you need to remember that speed isn’t just about page loading times - it’s also about how quickly a customer can go from product to product, and from product to cart, or even cart to checkout (not to mention the checkout process itself). Try to make the entire process done in as few clicks as possible, and your customers will be happy.
Keep It Clear
A simple layout and clean design can do wonders for usability, so you’ll need to think about that as well. That doesn’t mean your site has to be boring (in fact, you’ll want to avoid that happening), but it does need to be easy to use, and clutter-free. Customers just want to be able to find what they’re looking for without hunting through endless menus or working out what your category names really mean. So make sure you’ve got clear labels, good filters, and consistent page layouts because those are the things that can turn a browsing session into a sale.
Plus, descriptions matter as well. Your products should have accurate, concise descriptions with useful details that people need to know before they decide to buy. It doesn’t have to be long (people won’t read long descriptions), but you’ll need to include the most important details like size, colour, materials, and a little bit about how it works and why it’s a good choice, for example.
Streamline The Checkout
This one’s a big point and it’s got to be a priority if you’re running an online store… your checkout has to work. If people have added things to their cart, you’re almost there with making a sale, but it can all come apart at the end if your checkout process is complicated, long, confusing, or just doesn’t work in the way it’s meant to.
So you need to keep it all really simple - let customers check out as guests if they want to, and don’t ask for loads of information you don’t actually need because it just slows things down. It’s also a good idea to offer a variety of payment options because not everyone is going to want to use a credit card, and if there’s choice, it’s more likely the customer will get to the end of the process successfully. This could be where tools like an online payments SDK would be useful - with the right one, you can integrate secure and smooth payment options that work on any device, can be used with multiple currencies, and can basically give your customers the freedom to choose exactly how they want to pay - it could make all the difference.
Let Them Trust You
Trust plays a huge role in the buying journey, and customers are going to be cautious with their money until they’re sure they can trust you. That means you need to give them a reason to trust you and feel confident when they’re buying from you, and that’s quite simple to do - have visible contact details, clear returns policies, and put some reviews on show as well.
A site that feels trustworthy through its design, content, attention to detail, and so on, goes a long way. Make sure you add secure checkout icons, and ensure your domain uses HTTPS as well - it might seem like a small thing, but people will notice, and they will appreciate it.