Online selling has never been as popular as it is today. It allows businesses to tap into faraway, new markets especially in these times of social distancing and pandemic. Plus, it offers buyers a safe haven to buy whatever they need. Moreover, the businesses can also cut a significant amount of costs. But to get the best out of online business you need to make sure that the online selling platform is expertly designed so that you can achieve the desired ROI.

Read on to learn about the common mistakes to avoid when building an ecommerce platform -

Time Consuming or Complicated Checkout ProcessCustomers prefer quick and easy checkout processes. They may lose interest in shopping with the platform if it has the complex and lengthy process of purchase. Customers should be provided with the option of guest checkout if they are not willing to create an account. Customers don't like to wait for too long at check out. Hire web developers who can assist you in building an efficient website with quick and easy checkout for a seamless experience for the customers.

Providing improper info of the products

When your customers enter the virtual store they should be able to feel and check the labels of the product like they would do in-store shopping. They should also be facilitated with talk sales staff support when needed. There is less human interaction in online shopping. Hence, the customers rely on the info and description provided about the products. Keep product descriptions as detailed as possible to offer an optimal shopping experience to the customers.

Improper and unresponsive web design

Today, over 50% of people use their handsets to shop and browse through the ecommerce stores. It's important to ensure a responsive website to save your online business from failure. Catering to mobile users has become more important than ever. Get a customized ecommerce site for a seamless experience for your customers. Customization of ecommerce sites is also important from a business point of view.

Not integrating your online store with a Search Engine

Most of the customers know exactly what kind of product they want to purchase. They search for the product on a search engine and zero in on the item instead of going through categories and filters which wastes their time. Online stores should feature on the top search engines. Your online platform should have an inbuilt search engine enabling users to find the item easily using keywords. It's best to hire web developers if you want the best in class ecommerce store for your online business.

Providing incorrect or incomplete contact info

Customers would never deal with a faceless or a nameless entity. Buyers these days prefer shopping on trusted sites only. After all, they are required to provide sensitive information to the site. The customers need to be ensured that they can reach out to an 'actual person' in case anything goes wrong.

If the potential shoppers can't find proper contact information they'll probably get suspicious, and won't place an order on your online platform. Provide contact information on the site's sidebar, header, or footer. Also, mention the contact channels such as contact forms, email, telephone number, chat, and mailing address.

Wrong images of products

As potential customers aren't able to feel and touch the products in real life before adding them to the carts they'll need proper and clear product images. Don't upload small images or one image of the products featured on your site. You'll see that the top-rated ecommerce sites have fairly clear and large images which are taken from multiple angles. It gives a better idea of the product to the consumers.

Plus, they can learn about the looks and size of the item and make comparisons. Let's say you are offering ladies' handbags. The picture gallery should have images of the product from all angles including a photo of a model with the handbag. It will give customers a proper idea of its build and size. Also, the picture should be clear when zoomed in.

Conclusion

Navigating the entire site just to find the product of their choice eventually irritates the shoppers. Hence, when designing your ecommerce platform it is important to make sure the products are categorized wisely. Customers don't like to waste their time in finding a product suiting their taste and budget. But avoid creating categories if you don't have any product for adding there.

Navigation categories and elements should be considered carefully before you add the items to the catalog. Make sure every category that you have created features a few relevant items in them. It makes it easy for the shoppers to check the categories while navigating on your ecommerce platform.