E-commerce development - key steps, facts and tips

Would you like to create an online store, or do you already have an e-commerce website, but you require more complex development work? Find out that you can outsource any task-related, in this case, with your e-commerce business.

Due to the global pandemic last year, online shopping has skyrocketed as never before. It forced many entrepreneurs to transfer their activities to the Internet. Growing competition of companies caused customers to demand availability of goods, professional service, express delivery, and a wide range of services. That is why it is important to build an e-commerce store so it can develop at your pace. Thus, you should choose the right experts for your e-commerce store setup. If you are struggling with: domain connection, API update, social media integration, delivery options setup, or others.

E-commerce development - store's website

To correctly create your online business, the first thing is to choose a proper e-commerce platform. Currently, there are many e-commerce platform providers on the market, we can distinguish among them Magento, Shopify, and WooCommerce.

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WooCommerce: Choosing the right software depends on your preferences and budget. WooCommerce is relatively cheap and easy to use. Beginners are their target group. At the moment, it is the most popular platform for building an e-commerce store. 26% of businessmen during e-commerce development while creating their websites choose Woocommerce. In tests, pages placed on this software load a little slower than Magento. It's good to know that WooCommerce is a WordPress partner. It means you can use over 55,000 WordPress plugins and themes. It allows you to load an unlimited number of products. What's more, it has all the latest features to help you write a blog.

‍Magento is a dynamically developing platform. For this moment, it ranks third in terms of popularity - 8% of users choose this software. It is probably because Magento is a much more expensive and professional solution. However, it is equaled by a high degree of security and high performance. Magento is quite stable- the average availability rate is up to 99.71%. By using Magento, you have access to over 6000 extensions. They cooperate very intensively with developers and agencies. It will be a better solution for large companies that operate on a global scale.

‍Shopify is an easy-to-use hosted platform. It enables multichannel selling on Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, E bay. When creating a store, you can easily move items from one place to another using drag and drop. Working with a website theme does not require knowledge of the code. It means that the owner of the store can make changes to the website on his own. Most of the themes are paid, but they look great on mobile devices.

E-commerce software offers many functionalities, which, if known and well used, can bring significant benefits. Moreover, the specific features can be modified and supplemented with additional integrations and custom plugins development. So you can ask to set up the e-commerce platform, develop strategies and customize the best solutions. Building a business strategy for your e-commerce is a clue.

A properly placed e-commerce platform allows the customer to track the order at every stage, easy payments, receiving messages about promotions and coupons, and managing the delivery method. All these elements are the basis of a successful shopping experience and customer satisfaction. Moreover, the e-commerce platform must be easily accessible on all devices (PC, laptop, phone, tablet, etc.).

The website should be readable, intuitive, and responsive. These three factors were distinguished during studies with e-commerce customers. Clients of online stores usually know what they are looking for, so a high-performing search setting can significantly increase sales results. It is worth seeking help from a UX designer to properly design product pages, categories, and home-page. Product descriptions and other website content should bring valuable information to the customer.

Web integrations and e-commerce development options

A properly constructed platform allows for controlled development. The comfort of work for you and your employees is extremely important. Streamlining the sales process, information flow, and being able to control costs will result in more efficient work. Let verified e-commerce freelancers show you the enormous possibilities offered by modern e-commerce platforms. See if you need to implement or develop any of the following:

• storefront integration
• products’ upload

Each website offering to buy products or services must ensure a sufficiently large selection of products on the website. The client likes to have a choice. Products should be updated throughout the year so that a returning customer can always find something new.

• page speed improvement

Recently, the awareness of Internet users has increased significantly. Pages that are underdeveloped and slow to load often discourage potential customers.

The speed of order fulfillment in 11% affects the customer experience

• customer service integration
• chat integration

Enabling the customer to contact the service provides the basis for building a long-term relationship with the customer. It is about our accessibility and flexibility. And most importantly, it allows us to react to problematic situations, thanks to which we have the opportunity to retain the client and recognize errors on our website. At the very beginning, it is worth embedding the chatbot and controlling his conversations. Another solution is placing your number on the website or configuring the possibility of communication via the facebook-messenger tool.

• an ordered customer base
• a loyalty club, gift cards setup, or subscription process

The customer base should be the treasure of every entrepreneur. Thanks to organizing it through the implementation of the CRM system, we can easily send e-mails, inform about promotions and analyze sales results.

• improving the management of the sales basket

Automating the activities related to the sales basket assures the customer of our professionalism. It is worth making sure that products in the basket save automatically in the same way as the customer's data in the delivery form. The customer should return the list of products without fear that the previously entered information in the cart will be deleted.

• filtering setup

Filtering is an absolute must. The customer should filter products by size, color, functionality, name, and price. It is particularly relevant for current customers and for those who search for products directly through search engines. Therefore, taking care of the appropriate naming of products is of great importance in SEO optimization. Think about what the customer will write to find your product specifically.

In 2020, searching for products using search engines accounted for 48% of global purchases

• streamlining payment and checkout optimization
• multi-currency display
• delivery options setup

Having a choice of delivery and payment options increases the likelihood of matching your store to different customers and their differing preferences.

• custom theme design

For many, the appearance may not matter, but nevertheless, most clients subconsciously evaluate the website. When designing e-commerce, it is worth taking care of its intuitiveness. Colors, fonts, theme - it all has to be consistent. The customer's impression of our website improves the design of a specific customer path. The "call to action" buttons are helpful in this case. They are signposts on the site.

First impressions are 94% related to design

Adding new functionalities may contribute to the increase of interest in your product. The introduction of new forms of payment increases customer confidence. Ask to implement the Chatbot and you will find out how easy contact with the service may increase the sale of products.‍

Research shows that transaction security and store credibility have a 16% impact on online purchases.

Meet the customer needs

The development and acquisition of customers depend on many issues. Private and professional clients pay attention to other aspects. A private customer pays attention to easy contact with the service, the number of comments on Facebook or Instagram, or the availability of various payment methods. On the other hand, the business client will additionally focus on brand consistency, website transparency, and professionalism of service. The company's strategy and building a suitable profile are essentials in the development of e-commerce. Knowing the customer is paramount. Only by meeting his needs at all stages of using your platform, you increase sales, which means an increase in income.

In 84% customers choose to shop online is that they can do it around the clock.

Improve the customer experience

The visual reception of the website is one of the first steps in acquiring customers. It is the moment when a potential customer verifies the value of the services offered and your professionalism. Therefore, it is worth making sure that the website is clear and in line with current trends. The customer buys with his eyes. But that's not all. The goal is to get the customer to make the payment and return to our website. Here, the crucial issues of the game are page navigation and the refinement of the shopping cart. The client who puts the goods into the basket should have a straightforward way to pay. The simpler the path, the greater the possibility that the buyer will not get distracted and make the payment. Pay attention to quality, customers who are determined to buy are very demanding. The website should be extremely responsive and automated at this stage.

Marketing for e-commerce

In recent times, the competition is enormous. The situation forced many entrepreneurs to transfer their business to the Internet. Moreover, it entails an increase in customer requirements. Marketing is an indispensable element. Its integration will not only bring results in additional orders but also improve the work of the team. Worth considering integrating a marketing automation program: Klaviyo or ActiveCampaign marketing.

Discounts play the main role in the e-commerce industry. By informing the customer about promotions, you attract his attention. E-mail or SMS communication will work best in this case. Thanks to automated strategies, you can give your clients discount coupons, small gifts, or "secret information for club members". Due to the tough competition, you must constantly remind about your store and the products you offer. Marketing activities have unlimited possibilities, but it is worth starting with a newsletter, social media activities, and creating a club of regular customers who receive special discounts.

The work of an expert at this stage of the company's e-commerce development also depends on your expectations. You can purchase the implementation and integration of the automation program, the task of solving an existing problem, or training for a team that will learn to work with them. Thanks to properly selected programs, your team will easily manage the customer base and marketing campaigns. It is important to use the potential of the product through SEO optimization. If you have a problem determining the strategy and tools for running a social media campaign, report the problem and mark "social media integration." In creating e-commerce marketing, you should control the traffic on the site. For this purpose, you can hire an expert for Google Analytics integration and then train your team with him.

Knowing that an online store is not enough is the key to success

First of all, you need to get to know your client. This can be achieved through appropriate shopping cart analysis, website traffic navigation, and sales reports. In e-commerce, we care about numbers in the form of monthly profit, the number of customers, and the daily number of goods sold. To achieve satisfactory results in these matters, you must first analyze the running numbers:
- how many customers leave the website without buying,
- how many clicks and scrolls the customer has to make to purchase a product,
- how many products are never put into the basket,  
- how much I have to spend on marketing activities to achieve satisfactory results.

In SoftwareSupp, you can count on help at every stage of the business. We are available for you. We guarantee quality and timeliness. Due to the size of our network, you do not have to worry about not completing the project and about the right know-how.