Launching a new e-commerce website can be a bit daunting. There’s so much that can go into the planning and execution, and getting it wrong at launch could spell disaster for the entire enterprise. Fortunately, there are lots of ways to get it right, but the key lies in proper planning. Here are the three things you have to consider during those planning stages of your site.
-
Think About the Boring Stuff: Sure, designing the storefront and how customers will interact with it is easily the best part of building an e-commerce store, but there’s so much more to it than that. You have to consider lots of other factors, particularly those that aren’t quite as much fun. There are big financial concerns behind an e-commerce site as well as security and legal matters that must be considered. Simple stuff like ensuring your merchant accounts are updated and ready to handle electronic transactions as well as more complex factors like PCI compliance and sales tax all have to factor into the planning phase at some point.
-
The Shopping Cart Matters: There are lots of free shopping carts online these days, but they’re very basic. You’re only going to get an “Add to Cart” function and a total. You have to be able to have the functions customers are looking for like shipping cost estimates, product recommendations, and more, so look at your options carefully. Customers expect more thanks to big retailers like Amazon and Target, and if you can’t offer it, they’ll find someone who can.
- Think About Structure: Your design team will likely call this Information Architecture, and the more products you offer, the bigger concern this has to be. You need a good way for customers to find what they’re looking for, so feel free to browse competitor sites to see how they do it.
E-commerce site planning can get a little complex, but we can help. The IT consulting firm Phoenix trusts most, we’re here to help every step of the way. To learn more, and to stay up to date contact us at www.kinetik-it.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.