Shopping is no longer limited to brick and mortar buildings. In fact, hundreds of thousands of companies now engage in e-commerce. While e-commerce offers companies the change to make incredible profits, making sales is not always easy.
Top 5 E-Commerce Mistakes
Aside from fierce competition and failed marketing strategies, mistakes can cost you big. While there are plenty of ways you can lose customers, below are our top 5 e-commerce mistakes costing you sales.
- Not catering to all devices. E-commerce websites need to be viewable on all potential user browsers and devices, including desktop and smartphone products. Websites that do not easily and quickly load, scaled to the appropriate device, can stop a potential customer in their tracks.
- Complex checkouts cost customers. Studies have shown that e-commerce sites lose roughly $18 billion every year due to abandoned shopping cart. Complex checkout processes increase the likelihood of this. Keep your process simple, quick and easy to navigate.
- Lack of transparency equals customer shock. If you charge shipping, assembly or other such fees, it is important for you to convey this to your customers before they start the checkout process. These types of hidden costs are another means of encouraging shopping cart abandonment.
- Tricky navigation vs back buttons. If your site is hard to navigate, the back button can rescue a lost potential customer quickly. In other words, if you customer finds navigating your site hard, they are much more likely to back out and go find a different website they can easily use. Keep navigation simple, consistent, and minimal.
- Failure to stand out gives competition something to stand on. Your company is unique. It needs to convey that to potential customers. Growing your brand, providing evidence of your accomplishments, and taking a stand help you create a bond with your customers. From donating to causes to positive press releases, awards and certificates – give customers more than just a product to buy.
Other Mistakes to Avoid Before Taking Your E-Commerce Site Live
While the top 5 mistakes are costly, other issues can affect your e-commerce site as well.
- Poor product descriptions just do not sell. Unlike a traditional store, e-commerce items cannot be picked up, tried on, or tested. This means your product description must stand out and provide all necessary and relevant information. Failure to do turns customers away.
- Using the wrong pictures and descriptions? This happens more often than you realize and leaves potential customers feeling lied to. Making your customers feel like you are lying, sloppy, or do not care is one of the fastest ways to send them to your competition instead.
- Requiring user registration just to browse your content is out. First time users do not want to have to give you emails, phone numbers, addresses, or even a name when they visit your page. They want to view your products and get a sense of who you are before they go through the registration process.
- Unnecessary popups are annoying. Popups are considered outdated and often intrusive. While they may offer flash sales or discounts, they should not be the first thing users encounter when they visit your website.
- Slow speed, quick exit. Your website is expected to load, on any device, in 3 seconds of less. Failure to do so increases the likelihood of lost sales and cart abandonment.
- Unsecure connections will send them running. Online purchases require customers to enter personal information into fields on your website. If customers do not feel confident in your ability to keep their data safe, they will not buy from you.
Your Website Host Choice Matters
Web hosting matters. Load times, device compatibility, and security are all important features your WordPress hosting company should help with. Reputable, dependable e-commerce WordPress hosts should thoroughly understand the complex nature of online sales and make the process as easy and safe as possible.
Why BionicWP is For You
At BionicWP, we take our web hosting responsibilities seriously. Our scalable packages help e-commerce websites of all shapes and sizes to provide the type of quick and easy experience customers have come to expect.
As WordPress experts, we know how important reliable and affordable website hosting is. Our website hosting packages include 90-day off-site backups, professional WordPress support, unlimited 30-minute tasks, real-time monitoring, daily malware scans, and relevant updates to your core, themes and plugins. If you want even more support, our managed WordPress hosting packages include live support, transparent pricing, Lorem ipsum, widget generators, improved dashboards, and more.
While your marketing strategy draws potential customers to your e-commerce website, the right WordPress hosting company can help keep them there. Let the experts at BionicWP worry about hosting your website while you focus on making the sale.
Visit BionicWP today for expert WordPress support and more!