Developing an eCommerce website is a popular investment choice among the majority of business owners, entrepreneurs, retailers, and most of the commercial enterprises to change the competitive edges of online shopping into a uniform revenue source through a recognized eCommerce online store.
Ecommerce websites “online stores” empower consumers to discover, compare and buy desired products or services online conveniently on their fingertips using tablets, smartphones, and PCs which help you determine to invest time, efforts & money in the eCommerce website development process a balanced decision concerning boosting your business growth with more sales and higher revenues.
In addition to the seamless online shopping experience, there are several other competitive advantages offered by Ecommerce websites which are holding but not limited to:
- Increasing your business scope by targeting various local & international markets
- Drawing more potential clients & improving the sales volume with a professional online eCommerce store available 24/7
- Decreasing operational and marketing expenses required to run and support a physical store
- Tracking and interpreting consumers behavior “your eCommerce website visitors engagements” to customize your products & marketing campaigns
- Generating more upselling & cross-selling possibilities with remarketing campaigns
When it comes to the advantages of an eCommerce website development, there’re countless business opportunities produced daily once you have an expert online store customized to suit your business needs and goals.
Types of eCommerce Websites
Before explaining the process of an eCommerce website design and development, we will review first the main types of E-commerce websites to determine the most suitable type for your needs and goals before starting the development process.
The main types of eCommerce websites are:
- B2C Online Stores: The standard type of eCommerce businesses with an Ecommerce website assign to display and promote products to final consumers like apparel, footwear, and tech products including mobiles and PCs or furniture.
- B2B Ecommerce Platforms: Enterprises develop online eCommerce Platforms to sell their products and services to other companies while extending their reach and targeting international markets.
- C2C Ecommerce Stores: Third-party stores like eBay allow regular individuals and retailers to advertise and sell their products online to final consumers.
Starting an eCommerce business is a choice suitable for various types of commercial, technological, and industrial projects as you’ll be able to sell physical products and also digital products like online sessions or eBooks or particular digital content like stock pictures through your e-commerce website.
The main steps of the Ecommerce website development process are:
#1. Choosing the best suitable eCommerce solutions
The first step in your Ecommerce website development process is picking the best suitable Ecommerce solutions to modify the website into a fully-functional online store with the expected and desired features integrated efficiently.
The main eCommerce solutions that require precise selection before beginning the eCommerce website design phase are:
- CMS eCommerce platform, for instance, you can opt for Magento 2 Website Development Services suitable for your eCommerce business regarding the nature of your products and desired integrated features
- Ecommerce website like best Magento hosting plan that suitable concerning the price, performance, and expected visits amount to your online store
- The suitable theme “template” for your Ecommerce platform concerning the Home page appearance and mobile-friendliness level
- Seamless online payment options for your potential customers
- Custom features and extensions such as accounting extensions to provide full control of your eCommerce platform
#2. Creating a user-friendly eCommerce website design
Once you have chosen which eCommerce solutions are suitable for your online store, the following phase of your eCommerce website development is building professional user-friendly eCommerce website design to take big steps further towards having a successful eCommerce business.
Your eCommerce website design will build a competitive advantage for your online store when you keep the user experience in mind to ease the website navigation experience through:
- Creating a responsive mobile-friendly eCommerce website design with scalable images, elements, content, & buttons on all devices for all type of device users
- Creating a unique web design for your entire e-commerce website pages with clear branding components, for instance, an official logo or color scheme.
- Analyzing your e-commerce website design by eliminating redundant items
#3. Providing the best online shopping experience
The growing competition among eCommerce businesses requires presenting the best online shopping experience to evade losing potential and existing buyers to your competitors.
The process of providing the most reliable online shopping experience through your eCommerce website can be done through:
- Improving the online store pages loading speed, not more than 4 seconds
- Efficient product categorization like main categories – subcategories – tags.
- Applying advanced search and products filtering options
- Displaying all details for each product, like shipping cost, stock update & duration – professional product photos & a lot more.
- Designing a “Thank You” page for confirming completed purchases
- Creating a simple registering process and encouraging guest checkouts
- Multiple suitable secured online payment options integrated
#4. Testing & launching your Ecommerce Platform
The next step of your eCommerce website development journey is testing all elements and features to ensure launching an effective professional online store including:
- The navigation experience, which includes compatibility with browsers, mobile navigation & support options.
- The checking out process for online purchases that includes ease of completion, integration of online payment options.
- The security level of databases and monetary transactions
- The functionality of tracking codes and discount coupons
- The integration level of bespoke extensions and features added
Once you’re satisfied with everything relevant to your eCommerce website, you can begin the launching phase to make your online store convenient and accessible for potential buyers to locate and buy available products.
#5. Promoting your Online Ecommerce Store
The Ecommerce website development process will finish after launching your online store. Except for future updates of your eCommerce website structure & features and the second phase will take place which is the online marketing process.
Integrated digital marketing solutions are the affordable choice for improving your online store’s visibility to generate more sales and revenues including:
- Customizing an eCommerce SEO strategy for producing more free profitable traffic from search engines of potential buyers
- Paid search engine ads for drawing more motivated buyers within your budget limits
- Social media marketing campaigns on suitable channels to improve awareness and visits to your eCommerce website
- Offering sales discounts and coupons for faithful customers
#6. Evaluating your Ecommerce business performance
Having a constant eCommerce business will need periodical evaluation for your Ecommerce website performance to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of your online store for generating a constant high return on your investment.
Using tracking codes and detailed traffic reports and behavior analysis will allow you to evaluate your eCommerce website performance efficiently using proper metrics which are:
- Evaluating Monthly traffic volume
- Conversion rate (completed purchases & traffic volume)
- Each product sales volume
- Average order value
- Return on Advertising Spend
- Bounce rate
- Shopping cart abandonment rate
Conclusion
The journey of thriving professional eCommerce website development process starts with outlining your business needs and set goals to achieve with your online store then collaboration with an experienced eCommerce solutions provider to launch, develop and promote a flawless online store that generates innumerable company opportunities and the highest return on your investment.
