Few things are as irritating as a buggy website. Sure, it’s a first-world problem. But that doesn’t change the fact that having an ecommerce site with a lot of technical issues will turn people away. With a million other shopping options online, if your site can’t provide basic functions such as navigating forward and back, be prepared to lose customers fast.
Easy Navigation Is A Must
An ecommerce site is an online store. If you went into a physical shop with no organization, items thrown everywhere, and no clear way to find your way around the store, you’d probably leave. You may hang around long enough to ask someone to help you, but if that help wasn’t fast, you’d probably find it easier to just walk out. That line of thinking applies, perhaps even more so, to ecommerce sites. In fact, people don’t even need to walk out of an ecommerce store; all they do is click the little “X” to close the tab and move on. Making a site that’s clear and easy to navigate should be top priority for anyone starting their own online business. It’s the foundation the rest of your hard work will build upon.
Basic Functionalites Are Expected
First off, basic functionality is very important. If you have navigation keys like forward and back, be positive that they work and move the customer in the correct direction. Often times, when a customer is moving one way or the other it’s because they are remembering something they wanted to purchase. Even if they’re just browsing, having a site that’s simple for them to sort through will make them more likely to buy. They’re also more likely to be return customers, the goal of any business.
Appearances Matter
Second and almost as important is the look of the site. You want people to know what you’re selling and how they can buy it but you also want them to enjoy being there. If you haven’t built an ecommerce store yet, check out some sites that provide options and designs for your business. Some even offer free website themes so you can present a cohesive and well-crafted site to wow people before they even start shopping.
Having a good-looking site with a clean flow to it is half the battle. Once you’ve got that set, you can make sure that your site works efficiently and without major issues. This is more than just navigation. You also have to check all the buttons to see that they lead to the correct area and see if pages like order forms and anywhere people are going to be entering personal information work.
Pest Control is a Must
A buggy site will turn people away; especially if it’s a page where someone is entering credit card information. Problems here may well destroy your credibility. When people order things online, they put a lot of trust in the the site. It’s very unnerving to enter personal information only to have the page blank it out or seemingly register it but not move on to the next step. Someone who’s already concerned about safety on the internet is going to stay far away from a site that doesn’t seem secure.
Your ecommerce business is your store, your livelihood, and your baby. You want it to be enticing, but you also want it to be safe and functional for your customers. Small things can turn someone away and bigger things can cause trust issues between you and your customers. Therefore, something seemingly insignificant like forward and back navigation is important. A well-tailored site, free of bugs with easy navigation will make your business stand out and keep customers returning.
