An E-Commerce Website: What a Customer Wants…

If you tried to google something like the question above in the search engine, then you are obviously interested in the latest techniques of website promotion. Or… you do own an e-commerce website, but you somehow fail to benefit from it. It’s a sad situation anyway.
But, once you’ve asked “What a customer wants from an e-commerce website?”, be ready to ask more questions about the functionality of your website.

Ask someone to buy a product on your website, and then ask them these questions:

1. Was it easy to find the product?
2. Was the product description clearly displayed?
3. Could you see larger images of the products?
4. Was there information about delivery or additional charges prior to purchase?
5. Did you feel that the transaction was secure?
6. Did you enjoy the website’s design and navigation?
7. Is the website easy-to-use?

Ask your “mystery shopper” to be honest while answering them. It’s no use burying your head in the sand if your e-commerce website doesn’t bring you customers and buyers. If the answer to these questions is “No”, then you definitely need to start changing.
In terms of navigation and functionality an E-commerce website should meet these requirements:

• Your E-Commerce website should be accessible from any web browser. Even if you are a Google Chrome fan, make sure your site can be accessed form Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, and mobile browsers too.
• Make it simple! Your web design and navigation should be the guiding elements for you potential customers to find the product quickly. Opt for minimalism in your website. Forget about the flashy introductions and jingles since they distract your visitors’ attention from the products.
• Take care of the privacy policy. A customer’s name, their transactions, IP addresses, tracked cookies, etc. are to be kept private.
• Make the product work for you. Don’t save money on photography service to show your products in various views and dimensions. Create promotional trailers if you feel like making your website more vivid.
• Employ easy-to-use shopping cart and checkout. The problem here iswhat irritates visitors most. Don’t let you customer doubt as to what they are doing is right. Provide multiple ordering and payment options to show potential customers that they have several payment options at their disposal, like PayPal, e-bullion, electronic checks, offline bank transfer, etc. Consider the customer support option and respond to customer queries in a timely manner. If you provide money-back and after-sales guarantees the visitors will respond more positively to your e-commerce website. People always want to stay on the safe side, you know.

• Remember what they taught you at college – it’s a classic sales tactics to provide showcase of popular and related products. It not only promotes the products, but also makes the visitors to a website think that you sincerely want to help them make the best choice.
• Make safety and security your top priorities. When it comes to personal data, IP addresses and financial transaction make sure your website operates in secure transaction environment. We, at Plumrocket Inc. offer Magento Platform which is the leading E-Commerce software and provides more hacker-proof online transactions.

When writing this post we decided to make a short questionnaire concerning the visitors’ expectations from an E-commerce website among the programmers, designers and marketing specialists working at Plumrocket Inc.
These are the results. We hope that they will help you improve your website too.
And here you can see the examples of smart and beautiful e-commerce websites.
So, our “target group” wants:

1. Easy navigation (including a search box too);
2. Logically grouped products;
3. The ability to view color variations;
4. Clear pricing and simple checkout process;
5. Error-proof payment system.

We are sure that you have something to add to this list.
Feel free to leave your reply.