6 E-Commerce Website Mistakes to Avoid
The eCommerce market nearly tripled in the last several years as the pandemic spurred a global wave of digital business transformation and online shopping. In 2022, there is ample market opportunity for digital entrepreneurs to launch successful online stores from home. Entering the eCommerce market is easier than ever. Still, competition for consumers’ attention is fierce, so maintaining an attractive, engaging, and effective online store and digital presence is essential for being successful. Here are some common mistakes entrepreneurs should avoid when building their eCommerce websites.
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Choosing the Wrong Platform
The eCommerce platform you choose to sell through can drastically impact the way your products are listed, how you market to consumers, and how customers can access your products. You want to select a reliable, affordable platform that offers you the creative freedom you desire over your products. Some platforms provide easy-to-operate digital storefronts for small business owners but don’t offer the customization of building your own website. The sheer popularity of some eCommerce platforms can be beneficial for building brand awareness and your initial customer base.
Poorly Managed Online Store
If your dream is to scale your online business, you will most likely benefit more from creating your own online store than depending on a limited platform. WordPress is the most popular CMS out there. By utilizing fully managed WordPress hosting from Nexcess, you don’t have to know any coding to create a visually stunning and efficient online store. Nexcess can help you build a beautiful site “that loads ultra-fast with instant auto-scaling, visual comparisons plus automatic plugin and platform updates built-in.” Customize your WordPress site with designs, plugins, content, and more that help you increase sales and drive traffic to your site.
No Mobile Accessibility
As you optimize your website, be sure to check its mobile compatibility. More consumers than ever before are turning to their smartphones for online shopping. If your eCommerce store does not convert efficiently to a mobile display, you will lose business due to bounce from smartphone users. Test your mobile display and performance through analytics tools.
No Performance Tracking
Understanding how well your online store performs and how your users interact with your website is essential for developing business strategies. Tracking sales performance over time is critical for any business from the beginning. Utilize analytics tools compatible with your WooCommerce plugin to gather and understand your sales data easily.
Forget to Consider User Experience
Everything from your landing pages to your checkout process needs to be streamlined, efficient, and easy to use for the consumer. Failing to consider UX can lead to a high bounce rate and low conversions across your web pages. Optimize your landing pages with a clear message and actionable next steps to navigate further into the site. Utilize convenient and popular POS software so customers can make swift and easy purchases. The UX of your online store is essential for your company’s success; if your site is challenging to navigate or unengaging, you will lose tons of business.
Not SEO Friendly
Often, business owners will neglect to optimize the content on their websites for search engine optimization. Every piece of content on your website is an opportunity to target keywords that will lead to higher search rankings and increased traffic. If you’re unfamiliar with SEO strategies, learning some digital marketing basics can improve your conversion rates. Use a tool like Ubersuggest to identify relevant keywords for your industry and begin tailoring your content to target these searches. Over time, you can see tremendous growth and higher search engine rankings.
These are a few critical mistakes new business owners make when launching online stores. As you create your business and scale to reach higher profits, keep in mind these mistakes and be sure to avoid them at every step of your development.