Building a user-oriented e-commerce website is becoming easier, but it is much harder to make it profitable. On one hand, more tools and services are available to help you get the stunning, professional look you need for your site. On the other hand, creating a website has become easier, so more people are doing it. If you want to create a website that will be profitable for years to come, you need to focus your efforts on two things: offering an in-demand product or service and focusing on your user.
What Does It Mean to Be User-Oriented?
In the past, buying things online was new and trendy. There were few stores to compare and people could often find what they wanted with little research. Now they are presented with dozens of choices every day. They are becoming savvier and only want to work with companies that they can trust.
Being user-oriented doesn’t just mean building a better brand, it means you are focused on offering your users something beyond a sale. For most companies, this means creating an interactive experience. For others, this means providing extra information to the reader through a blog. This increases engagement with the user, keeping them on your website longer, making them more apt to buy and making it more likely they will visit you again.
Where to Start
After you have decided on a basic concept, you will need to purchase a domain name and hosting. In some cases, you can find great deals when you resell your hosting later. You can shop around for the best bargain, as you don’t need to purchase a domain name and hosting from the same service.
Once you have your basics covered, you can start looking at e-commerce software to help you. Some services allow you to build an online store instantly, including the shopping platform and room for a blog. Other companies that want more creative freedom may want to start with a WordPress website and build a storefront from there.
Building the initial website will take several hours, regardless of the method you choose. That’s why many companies prefer to work with web designers early on. By hiring a web designer, you may be saving yourself from hours of coding and tweaking your site to perfection.
Create the Perfect Shopping Experience
While you want to focus on every user, you are going to want to ensure you can collect payments before you enhance your site any further. The two most essential element of any online store is the shopping cart and collecting money.
If you don’t have an easy checkout system that offers users several payment options, you won’t be very successful. The more hoops people have to jump through to check out, the more likely they will click the back arrow. A perfect checkout can be done in under 30 seconds with only a few clicks.
Offer Peace of Mind and Security
The next step in creating a profitable ecommerce website is securing it. Users want to feel safe when they shop online, especially if they are entering a credit card number into your website directly. Find the best ways to encrypt personal information to keep it safe from hackers. SSL certificates can go a long way, both in keeping your website safe and giving users peace of mind.
You should also give every user confidence when they visit your site. People like to know they are working with companies that have been recognized within their industry. For example, if your company is part of the Better Business Bureau or another industry-specific firm, proudly display their logo on your website. This helps you establish trust between you and your user right away.
Be Unique
If you want to stand out among the competition, you need to be unique. This doesn’t just help you stand out visually, it can also help boost your listing in search results. Search engines like Google rank websites that feature original content much higher than others.
Start by writing one-of-a-kind descriptions for every item you sell, even ones that are very similar. Search engines penalize duplicated content, even if it comes from your own site. While you should focus on including keywords to boost your SEO, your main focus should be on creating a human-readable, clear description of what you are selling. This enhances the user experience and makes you look more professional.
Embellish, Enhance, Improve
The last step in making a website profitable is to enhance it as much as possible. Because you are focusing on your user experience, there are several steps you can take:
- Become active on social media.
- Write a weekly or daily blog post.
- Create online quizzes to help buyers learn more about products.
- Spread the word about your website with infographics or videos.
- Create and moderate a review section for your website.
The ultimate goal of your website is to bring in new users and keep them interested. By finding constant ways to enhance your site, you are showing that you care about your audience. You are showing that you want to do more than just sell them something, and that is what will keep you profitable for years to come.
Whether you want to create a user-oriented website to sell your goods or to simply build traffic and resell your hosting later, how you set up your website is important. Focus on the user first and traditional SEO second. You will be surprised by the results you can get.