For the past decade, the e-commerce industry has seen significant growth. The online sales are expected to touch 220 million by 2025. Amidst the rise of e-commerce, COVID-19 acted as a catalyst, and businesses offering online products and services saw a significant rise in demand.
2021 is also the era of entrepreneurship and if you too are looking to make your way Into the E-Commerce business, then this is the time to capitalize on online sales. However, it takes a considerable amount of planning and thinking to formulate a successful eCommerce business.
One hard truth is also that hundreds of startups open every day, but only a few make it through the cutthroat competition. While some lack planning others fails to recognize the right eCommerce platform for their business. In this article, we are going to guide you through factors to consider while choosing an e-commerce platform for your business.
So, let’s begin:
1. Mobile-friendliness
More than 60% of online search is performed via smartphones and tablets. A majority of these searches are done to purchase products and book services. This means, if you have a hundred customers on your web store, 60 of them might be surfing via a smartphone or tablet.
That is why you need to have a mobile-friendly and responsive interface. The responsive interface is where the screen size of your webshop adjusts according to the customer’s a phone and tablet size. When you are selecting a platform, go for the designs that can accelerate the mobile pages and simplify the entire servicing process.
2. Security
With the increase of identity theft, security is a prime concern for both customers and website owners. No one wants to provide their personal information to a website that they cannot trust. That’s why your website must have an SSL certification that keeps your customer’s data safe and secure. Besides do not forget to inspect whether the E-Commerce platform is following PCI compliant or not.
3. One-click purchase
One of the reasons behind the rise in online shopping is the convenience of buying a product. People can sit back in the comfort of their homes and order whatever they want. Customers find online shopping time-saving and fun. In addition, they can find many great deals on the same.
Therefore, when you choose an e-commerce platform make sure the browsing and checkout experience is completely automated and swift. That is where 1-Click browsing comes in. It is also called one-click or one-click buying and it allows customers to make purchases with the payment information already stored on the website. The cardholders simply store their details on the shopping website and whenever they make a purchase, they just have to authenticate it in the end. Browsing lags often lead to abundant cart, which is not good for the health of your E-Commerce business. Platforms offering one-click payment are the best for the shopping experience.
4. Customizable HTML head
Another important consideration you should have while finding an E-Commerce platform is the ability to change the <head> section. Being able to change the <head> on a page-by-page basis will improve the search listing and will help the website rank higher.
While most of the platforms let you add Meta descriptions and headings, you should be looking for more liberties. Find a platform that allows you to add Twitter over cards, Robot tag, Canonical tag, and Facebook open graph data.
5. Page load speed
Numerous factors come together to make an eCommerce successful. One of the first that your customers are going to notice when they visit your website is the browsing speed. According to Google, the Threshold for a website acceptance is 2 seconds and Google tries to make it even below half a second. It is very important to have a fast website; else, it can be a massive turn down for your customers. Make sure you can perform caching, compression, image Optimization, and minifying to create an attractive and fast website.
6. Architectural development without hiring actual developers
Some eCommerce platforms are so complicated that you cannot make any architectural changes without hiring a professional developer. When you are trying to rank a website, you would need to make several changes.
Hiring someone for each of these processes can be very costly and time-consuming. A good eCommerce platform will allow you to change and optimize your website efficiently and quickly. Always look for an eCommerce platform that offers you easy update features.
7. Unrestricted content features
Content generation helps a lot in taking your website on top of Google ranking. Whether you are selling products or services, you will need the help of several forms of content. There will be blogs, newsletters, infographics, images, and whatnot. Some eCommerce platforms offer limited freedom. While choosing an E-Commerce platform make sure, that you have complete freedom of adding product descriptions and other forms of content.
8. Building SEO tools
You want an eCommerce platform that offers tools to control and implement different SEO techniques. SEO plays an important role in making a business successful. Besides, the SEO requirements are very dynamic as Google keeps updating its algorithm from time to time. So, make sure you are up-to-date with your customer’s requirements.
Look for features that offer hassle-free implementation of Meta descriptions, page titles, and SEO-friendly URLs. You should also be able to manage Canonical URL, sitemap generations, robots.txt, and 301-redirect management.
Some of the best eCommerce platforms for SEO are BigCommerce, Zyro, Square Online, Bluehost, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, WooCommerce, OpenCart, and Ecwid. However, every business is different and may have a unique requirement. Try to understand the in-depth necessities of your business and derive an SEO strategy according to it. Depending on this strategy, select one of the leading eCommerce platforms.
Finally, yet importantly, do not forget to check your financial boundaries. As a start-up, you might also seek a demo of the eCommerce platform, before setting up your entire business on it. Some platforms offer a free trial. So, take a demo and then proceed towards the final selection.
