03 Dec How to Maintain a Successful eCommerce Website
The market is changing rapidly. New things are constantly being introduced, the market is flourishing and if you are running any sort of business, you have to constantly climb further up the ladder of success in order to ensure that you stay on top. As we all know, the economy is mostly bad, which makes every entrepreneur’s job very hard – that’s for sure.
On the other hand, the best thing that happened to the market is the Internet and the ability to shop online. We are still in the period of transition and some are still not used to the fact that you don’t really have to see the product you want to purchase – you just have to order it online and it will be delivered to your doorstep in perfect condition. Now, there are those who don’t get the benefits of owning a website and spreading the business worldwide – since the Internet has no boundaries. If you are selling a certain product/service, you can open a local store/office in your hometown and work on expanding your business locally. You will have your clientele and your numbers at the end of the month may even be satisfactory, but if you have a well-functioning eCommerce website, your numbers will multiply and this is a fact.
Being that there are numerous websites out there, one can deduce that it is very hard to even get noticed online. This process takes time. However, if you are present on the web and you are seeing some revenue from your site, then here are some tips to help make it stay that way.
Google is your friend
Google is the most commonly used search engine. 67% of all Internet users use it to find what they need (source), but some predict that this number is even larger. So, if you want to keep having traffic on your site, you should make sure you follow some webmaster guidelines that the people at Google provided for you. And, do not forget that they update their software constantly, so you have to keep track of what they are doing and make sure that everything on your site is done according to the instructions. Keep in mind that what Google is trying to achieve is mostly related to relevant content and fast loading – in plain words, they are striving to make sure that the visitor finds what he or she is looking for as fast as possible. So, they are doing their job – make sure you do yours.
Keep track of web design trends
Since technology is constantly improving, people have started developing new and efficient ways of making a website look cool, without deteriorating its functionality. On the other hand, the devices people use to access the net nowadays are stronger and more efficient than they were before. This means that, as time passes, you will be able to see more and more things on a website – better images, better video files and so on. For these reasons, it is best to keep track of web-design trends and ensure that your site is up to date when it comes to this.
This is a vast topic and it requires a lot of reading. Here are some articles and infographics that will help you get started:
- http://visual.ly/web-design-trends-2014
- http://blog.lunaweb.com/2013/08/07/6-web-design-trends-that-will-make-your-website-pop-in-2014/
- http://www.smartcheck.me/en/web-design-trends-in-2014/
There is an online content management system (CMS) called WordPress (you are probably familiar with it). The community surrounding it has worked a lot and you can find thousands of beautiful themes and plug-ins that will help you improve the look of your site, should you chose to utilize this CMS. You can check out the Envato market, if you want to purchase a new theme and some new plug-ins for your site.
If your website looks cool, it will draw the viewer’s attention, he or she will stick around longer and eventually, you will have more profit.
Ensure safe payment and shipping methods
This is the trickiest and the most important part of the story at the same time. In the end, it all comes down to money transaction. There has to be a safe method, where the customer can choose what he or she wishes to purchase, pay for it and get exactly what he or she ordered.
The most widely used method is PayPal, but you have to be aware that PayPal is not present in all countries. You should make sure that you incorporate other, alternative methods so that you can ship your products literally everywhere. If you want, you can go through this article to find out more about the subject. Keep in mind that you will lose a lot of your clientele if you don’t cover this aspect well.
When it comes to shipping, there are literally tons of companies that send containers that deliver goods all across the globe. Some of these companies have dealt with all this for a long time and they have safe and secure routes that they will use to ship the products people ordered from you. When choosing a shipping company, you should go for experience. The more experience they have, the better the quality of their work will be. Also, you should ask around and see how much they charge for their services. You are looking for a reasonable price for the best possible service. Really consider your options here.
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So, to wrap up, you and your website might be on top, but things can change rapidly if you don’t pay attention. Running an online store of any kind requires as much devotion as running a regular kind of store. You have to invest and you have to keep up with the times, which are changing rapidly. All in all, I hope that this text helped you a bit and I advise you continue scrolling the net for other sources of useful info. In the end, all I can say is good luck.
