12 Mistakes In An E-commerce Website That Affect Online Sales

World economy is moving online. Building an e-commerce store is no longer a major challenge right now. Entrepreneurs with the dream of doing something big for their product get perfect exposure through online shopping applications. To succeed in this game, however, you need to be aware to prevent any minor but critical mistakes that will drive the customers away from your platform. From cross browser compatibility issues to product search, in this article, we shall discuss 12 common mistakes impact sales in e-commerce applications.

Website’s Performance Issues

Due to incorrect and lengthy coding, the website may become slow and customers may face issues during flash sales or while checking out and proceeding to the payment gateway. Failures in payment are also common which may lead to the user getting frustrated. Proper performance testing should be executed before the website is deployed in production.

Support on Multiple Devices

Nowadays, users mostly use their mobile devices to access websites. This is also applicable for e-commerce applications. Many old e-commerce sites are still stuck to desktop versions and do not work properly in mobile. With the increase of mobile internet traffic, users for desktop websites are slowly increasing.

Support on Multiple Browsers

Not only cross device, cross browser compatibility is also an important factor. Earlier it was the reign of internet explorer, but currently it is one of the most hated browsers. There are hundreds of browsers, even local browsers of certain mobile devices which are user favorites. Test your e-commerce website on cloud platforms like Lambdatest to make it cross-browser compatible and accessible by different user zones.

Fewer Payment Options

It is ideal for an e-commerce website to provide multiple payment options like net banking, credit/debit cards, online wallets as well as cash on delivery. Site owners do not know which payment option is preferable by a user. Having more payment option means more people will access the site for purchasing products.

Poor Product Description

It has been often observed that products displayed in the catalog of an e-commerce website either have the poor image or poor product description. Just by looking at the name, customer face difficulties understanding more about the product. As a result, they move on to another website for purchasing where the product has a better description and image. Provide at least one proper image for every product you sell and write a proper description, reading which the customer can understand why this product is ideal for their needs.

Poor Return Policies

Purchasing a product online is always risky. The customer may not like the product when it arrives. E-commerce websites often have not so good return policies that make it difficult for the customer to return or exchange the product. This is bad for business and decreases the rating of the website.

Lack of Mobile Applications

Most e-commerce websites are developing mobile applications for their platforms. It is ideal that as a business owner, you move up and compete with the others by launching Android and iOS applications for your site. A dynamic shopping application with rich user experience will result in an increasing number of customers.

Marketing on Social Media

Currently, there are a number of e-commerce websites and applications. Marketing is an important factor that is often looked down upon when a new application is launched. You will need to make the crowd aware of your product. Use social media like Facebook or Google ads to advertise your product. People will like it once they get to know about it.

Not Keeping A Close Eye On Your Competitors

Competitor Analysis is a key to survival in these modern times. This is equally relevant to big enterprises and startups. You need to know how other companies in your domain are delivering their product, how they are strategizing, how they are branding themselves. This is crucial if you wish your website or web-app to come out on top. But doing so could be very challenging. After all, there are so many established businesses and budding organizations in the global internet market. Fortunately, we have got spying tools to help you keep a very close eye on how your competitors are doing! Do check out the top 21 facebook ads spy tool of 2019.

Long Check Out Procedure

It will result in loss of your business if customers are given a second chance to reconsider their purchase. Confusion in the payment procedure will result in customers exiting the application and choosing another one. Don’t keep the checkout procedure last longer than 3 pages. One for confirming products to purchase, the next one for delivery and payment information and the third for order confirmation.

Don’t Make Registration Mandatory

Often because of security reasons, e-commerce applications or websites have mandatory registration before a user tries to purchase a product. However, many users avoid and go for another application because of the lengthy and time-consuming registration procedure. It is wiser to follow in the footsteps of leading e-commerce applications and offering purchase options with a guest account.

Don’t Keep Any Hidden Costs

This is applicable mostly for international sales. If there is a customs duty involved, the customer should be informed beforehand. Incidents are often seen where even after prepayment, the customer has to pay additional delivery charges or customs duties. To prevent loss of reputation, include those costs or update the terms and conditions for purchase.

Poor Search Feature

It is bad news for your business if your customers can’t find the product they are looking for while searching. Test the search feature of your application properly before deploying it in production. Include advanced search features as well so that customer can find whatever they are looking for with minimal information in the search bar.

Not only the facts stated above, there are other factors as well that may lead to reduced site ranking of your sales website. Remember to do proper functionality and usability testing before launching your website for the global market.

Arnab Roy Chowdhury

Arnab Roy Chowdhury is a UI developer by profession and a blogging enthusiast. He has been writing content for about 5 years and has strong expertise in technical blogs, travelogues, and content in the latest programming languages.

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