The most common question to pop in your mind while setting up an e-commerce store might be, “Which features should I include in my e-store?"

And that is a valid question to ask. Every website is different and trends are changing every day. From a 360 degree view of a product, to adding video features and advanced search filters, e-commerce websites are doing whatever they can to retain their customer base and increase sales.

However, there are certain features that an e-commerce website must essentially possess in order to remain relevant. Let’s find out.

10 features your e-commerce website must have

1. User-friendly

Most e-commerce websites focus on their design a little too much making the site difficult to navigate through. A study by HubSpot reveals that nearly 76% of customers say that the most important aspect of a website is the ease of use. Hence, rather than focusing too much on the website design; use a basic layout that is familiar to your customers.

The main objective of your website should be to lead your customers to what they want without too many clicks and redirections.

2. Customised for mobile viewing

Criteo’s Q2 Global Commerce Review reveals that transactions on smartphones continue to rise in most countries. Majority of customers today use their smartphones to shop and order stuff on the go. Hence, one of the most important aspects of your e-commerce website is a customised mobile viewing site. This can not only boost sales but will also help in improving your ranking.

An e-commerce website is incomplete without customer testimonials and ratings.

3. Clear pictures of products

An e-commerce website without the pictures of your products is like a ship without its anchor. Customers want to see a product from all possible angles before zeroing on the purchase and the product image is the only reference they have while purchasing something online, so it’s critical to get that right. If you are thinking about the huge cost that you might have to incur in getting the perfect product shot, fret not, because smartphones these days are equipped with DSLR level photography and all you need is a proper setting and tons of natural light to get a good quality shot ready.

Also read: Are you forgetting your repeat customers?

4. High resolution videos

A product video serves as the icing on top of your cake. No matter which product you are selling on your e-store, an additional demo video is always a great idea to convince your customers into buying a product. By showing them a demo video, you are bringing a brick and mortar store on their screens and what could be better than that?

While uploading a demo video on your e-commerce website, keep in mind the following things:

• Your video shouldn’t be too long. Keep it short so that it can be easily streamed
• Present content that is relatable to your audience
• All your videos must be of high resolution
  
  

5. User reviews and ratings

An e-commerce website is incomplete without customer testimonials and ratings. Since customers don’t have an access to the actual product or service before purchasing it, reviews can help them decide better and also, customers often trust other people to post honest opinions of the products and services.

An interesting survey by Moz reveals that nearly 67% of customers are influenced by product reviews.  The survey also found out that e-commerce companies can risk losing nearly 22% of customers because of a single negative review. You wouldn’t want that certainly. Hence have a solid review section that your customers can rely upon.

6. Live chat option

A chat bot is another crucial aspect of your e-commerce store.  Customers navigating through your e-commerce site are bound to have queries and a live chat support system can help ease that problem on a real time basis. The following are some of the benefits of installing a live chat bot in your e-commerce store:

• You can handle multiple queries at the same time
• It is convenient for answering queries real time
• It gives a human touch. There is an actual person sitting behind the screen that people can relate to
• By interacting with customers, you can actually analyse the problems they are facing and improve your website
  
  

Also read: 7 ways to write product descriptions that sell

7. Offers and promotions

Who doesn’t like a great offer?  There is no better way to retain your old customers and convert potential ones than by giving them offers and discounts. When your buyers realise that they can avail from a wide range of discounts and offers, hey are easily motivated to try out your products and services.

You can either use email or SMS marketing to let customers know of your offers and discounts or you may have them listed on the home page so that everytime someone visits your page, s/he can see the offer right up front. You can also have a dedicated page for offers that can be availed at the time of check-out.

8. Payment gateways

In order to ensure that your buyers have a seamless online purchasing experience, integrated payment gateways are a must. A payment gateway is a software that connects the merchant’s e-commerce website to his bank and redirects the customers to a secure location where they can feed in their card details for all their current and future online transactions. You can choose from a wide range of payment gateways available in your country and select the one to best suit your budget and website.

9. Security features

To protect your customers and your e-commerce website from falling prey at the hands of cyber crime, it is important that you have proper security features in place. Keep in mind the following things:

• Issue an SSL certificate: An SSL certificate is a small data file that binds a cryptographic key to all company details and when you install it on your webserver, it enables the padlock or ‘https’ protocol thereby ensuring safe browsing and security from cyber theft.
• Install a privacy policy link: A privacy policy link in the footer ensures that your data isn’t shared with any third party.
• Use a firewall: Firewall is a network security system that scrutinizes the incoming and outgoing traffic as per its security policy. This prevents any untrusted network from creating a breach with your e-commerce website.
  
  

10. Order management

Last but not the least, a very important feature of your e-commerce website is order management. Your customers should be very clear on the shipping policy, the modes of payment, return, and exchange policy. They should be able easily track their order on a real time basis. All these factors help in building the trust of your customers.

The easy rule to creating a great e-commerce website is following the KISS or Keep it simple, stupid principle which was a design principle noted by the U.S. Navy in the year 1960. This principle states that things if kept simple and uncomplicated work best and that exactly should be the aim while developing an e-commerce website.

With LINKER.store, owning an e-commerce store has never been easier. Our experts help you set up a store and launch it in five easy steps.  So what’s stopping you?  Head over to LINKER.store and start creating wonderful shopping experience for your customers!

Also read: Post sales: 5 points to remember

Image courtesy: shutterstock.com

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views, official policy or position of GlobalLinker.