Knowledge Base

With an increase in the number of Internet users, the scope of online shopping has become limitless. Now huge sum of money is being spent online as more people have started shopping on the web. They simply go to a eCommerce website and buy the required articles. In this way, website becomes the first medium of interaction between a seller and a buyer.

As in the case of a physical storefront, the shopkeeper needs to take care of his/her physical store, so as is required in the eCommerce store too. In the physical store, it is very important that all the things are placed in a proper manner. These have got proper positioning and have been categorized well. The visibility of the things is very much required. If the customers need to put an effort to search to be able to find some article then, it would definitely create a bad impact on her about the management of your store. The same applies in the eCommerce store development. Let’s see what factors enhance the usability of an eCommerce website:

1. Fast Loading of website: The eCommerce market is very competitive. Your eCommerce website should not take unreasonable time to load. If customers have to wait for pages to load, they are likely to move on to a different site. You need to optimize your website to improve its loading time. Always remember that the Internet surfers are very impatient. If you need a quick and positive response from their side in terms of purchasing decision, they also expect a quick response from your website.
2. Easy Access to the products: There is always a need to improve the viewing options for the products. Keep your eCommerce website design simple. Don’t hide the products and make things complex. Rather categorize your products properly. Make use of the breadcrumbs so that these can be easily browsed by the customer. Not just this, you can put pictures with every product. Images enhance the product visibility and hence, accessibility. For more ease, you can place a short description below each product image and keep the details as an option to choose for the customers.



3. Keep the sign up form short and simple: It is very obvious that you need to track the customer for future reference so you want as much details about the customers. But your curiosity of knowing more about them can actually put hurdles in their purchasing decision. Avoid lengthy sign up forms which customers are likely to run a mile from as soon as they open. All you really require is an email address and a password. It’s a good idea to allow ‘guests’ to add items to their carts and checkout without the hassle of registration. Once they get satisfied with the buying decision, they should be given an option to sign up. I think that they would be more interested to provide you details anyhow.



4. Break the ordering process into small steps: Asking the users to provide all the information at once can make confused. To shed off their confusion, it is better to break that process into small chunks as Amazon.com does in the following way:
   1. Login
   2. Choose delivery address
   3. Choose delivery options
   4. Enter payment details
   5. Review and submit the order
5. Always address users common queries: It is very important to address the common queries and issues of the customers throughout their ordering process. It will facilitate the process as well as users will feel more comfortable. You may have a section of FAQs to get all their issues resolved under one and can also provide them with the online support.
6. Make customers feel safe: After seeing so many scandals and frauds happening on Internet every other day, shoppers do feel hesitated in revealing their financial details like credit card details, or other account related details. You need to reassure your customers at every stage that your site is safe and that you are a reputable merchant who will protect their privacy and not share their information.
7. Place Search Function and effective CTA Buttons: Every eCommerce needs a search function to be placed in the high area of visibility. So you can place effective call to action buttons to make the purchasing decision of the shoppers fast. In case you have some special offers or discounts, those can be highlighted so as to draw the attention of the shoppers.



8. Confirmation of Order: The last stage of the ordering process should always ask the user to confirm their order. Once a user has placed their order, a confirmation e-mail should be sent out straightaway. This ensures that things are on right track.

‘You could be selling the best products in the world, at unbelievably low prices, but if shoppers can’t find them or get confused along the way, you’re never going to reach your full potential in terms of sales. So take care of the usability factor in eCommerce website design.‘

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 29th, 2010 at 7:50 am and is filed under E-commerce. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.