Nice to Have<\/span><\/h2>\nFor when you want to turn heads and stay on the cutting edge of the eCommerce market, these design elements aren\u2019t necessary, but they\u2019re not frivolous either. If you can swing it, any of these could be a great investment in the future of your website and could give you a leg up on the competition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nInteractive Product Photography<\/span><\/h3>\nGreat product photography is the standard, but the cutting edge is photos that are interactive. When you use a technology like <\/span>3D visualization<\/span><\/a> or <\/span>virtual reality,<\/span><\/a> you transform your visitor from a passive viewer to an active participant in your online store. They\u2019re now turning the product around to see it from all angles the way they might if they were holding it in their hand in a brick-and-mortar store, or actually getting to see what it might look like in their space instead of simply imagining it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
However, implementing this kind of photography can still be a bit expensive. It is cool and customers love it, but no one is expecting it. If you\u2019re looking for a similar effect with lower cost, try a video showing your product being handled and in action.<\/span><\/p>\nItem Availability<\/span><\/h3>\nThere\u2019s nothing like <\/span>scarcity to drive demand<\/span><\/a>, and having a <\/span>real-time update of inventory<\/span><\/a> on a product that is running out can be just the boost you need to convert your customer. There\u2019s nothing like seeing a little red text that says \u201cHurry, there\u2019s only 1 left in that size!\u201d to really kick a customer into gear.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
In addition to the motivation to buy before products sell out if you have product stock availability listed on the browsing pages, particularly when a product is sold out, it can avoid the frustration of clicking on the product only for it to show up as sold out when they get to the product page. Neither of these features are necessary, but they can decrease friction and increase urgency, which is a winning formula for higher conversions.<\/span><\/p>\nChat Bots<\/span><\/h3>\nEvery brand is used to handling repetitive questions from potential customers. No matter how clear your description, product photography, and FAQ section are, you\u2019re still going to get a lot of inquiries. But what if you didn\u2019t have to handle them anymore?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Setting up a chat bot on your site<\/span><\/a> can be a great way to streamline your customer service and give your team more time to handle complicated questions. Chatbots reply instantly and work 24\/7, and for basic questions, that may be the only touchpoint the customer needs. When you\u2019re doing the cost-benefit analysis of whether or not to invest in this technology, freeing up the time of your human employees can be invaluable.<\/span><\/p>\nKind of important\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\nNo visitor is going to leave your site if you don\u2019t have these features, but these are well on their way to becoming expected in the near future.<\/span><\/p>\nSite Navigation\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\nFor web pages that are especially long, it can be an annoyance to have to scroll manually all the way to the top. Having a button at the bottom of a long page, like for a store page that has been adjusted to display 100 items, is a nice gesture. It\u2019s not a necessity, but it\u2019s one of those little touches that goes a long way towards demonstrating that you\u2019re looking out for your customer.<\/span><\/p>\nLots of Payment Options<\/span><\/h3>\nThese days most eCommerce stores are set up to accept debit, credit, and PayPal. However, expanding these offerings is a great way to make the checkout journey even shorter. Adding options like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Venmo can win over customers by providing an even easier checkout process. Typically these <\/span>payment options<\/span><\/a> are set up through the phone, so if the shopper is able to checkout entirely with data that is already linked to their device, they\u2019ll love it.<\/span><\/p>\nRatings and Reviews<\/span><\/h3>\nSocial proof is one of the gold standards<\/span><\/a> for increasing conversions and winning over customers – and that\u2019s what having ratings and reviews enabled on your products can do. Even <\/span>a bad review can be a good thing<\/span><\/a> – it can be an opportunity for you to improve the product, or it can even just show potential customers the \u201cworst-case scenario,\u201d which makes them more informed. Unless your products are consistently low quality or the listing is misleading, there are very few downsides to allowing your customers to leave reviews, and future visitors love to see them.<\/span><\/p>\nYou need this<\/span><\/h2>\nIf your site has these features, consider it the bare minimum for 2021 – if it doesn\u2019t, prioritize adding them immediately. If your sales and conversions are down, any of these could be one of the <\/span>reasons that people are not buying from your eCommerce site<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\nHigh Resolution, Multiple-Angle Product Photography<\/span><\/h3>\nThere is no excuse for poor product photography these days – potential buyers should be able to see multiple, hi-res photos of your product from all angles, including at least one of the product being used. Including dimensions in the photo caption or somewhere in the product description is also a nice touch.<\/span><\/p>\nSite Navigation (The Basics)<\/span><\/h3>\nCustomers expect <\/span>user-friendly website navigation <\/span><\/a>that is as intuitive as possible. This includes things like a navigation menu with multiple tabs, a clear logo or brand signifier that can be clicked on to head back to the home page, and good search functionality. An intelligent search bar can correct for minor spelling errors, search for synonymous words, and provide smart adjacent matches. Product category pages should also include filters for narrowing down products if your site sells many SKUs, like apparel or electronics accessories.<\/span><\/p>\nBasic site navigation features like these should fade into the background; they should assist your customer in finding what they need and allow them to focus solely on that mission, without distracting or frustrating them in the process.<\/span><\/p>\nAccessibility<\/span><\/h3>\nMaking your website accessible and ADA compliant in 2021 – and making sure you stay compliant every year – is a no-brainer. Unfortunately, many websites are the equivalent of a curb with no ramp for those with disabilities browsing the internet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIt should be every eCommerce store’s mission to educate themselves and <\/span>understand ADA compliance and how it applies to eCommerce websites<\/span><\/a>. Making menus navigable by keyboard keys and not just the mouse, forms that allow navigation and correction with screen readers and keyboard keys, and images with \u201calt\u201d tags are some common ways to make a website more accessible. ADA compliance isn\u2019t just a nice thing for those with disabilities; some functionalities are more convenient for non-disabled users, too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nMobile-Friendly<\/span><\/h3>\nEvery year there are more and more shoppers who browse on their phone, and every year there are still eCommerce websites that refuse to make their store mobile-friendly. Developing a <\/span>mobile marketing strategy<\/span><\/a> is a must. Responsive design – design in which your site automatically adjusts based on what device it\u2019s being viewed from – is the industry standard at this point. Just do it.<\/span><\/p>\nA Clear and Visible Return Policy<\/span><\/h3>\n
Interactive Product Photography<\/span><\/h3>\nGreat product photography is the standard, but the cutting edge is photos that are interactive. When you use a technology like <\/span>3D visualization<\/span><\/a> or <\/span>virtual reality,<\/span><\/a> you transform your visitor from a passive viewer to an active participant in your online store. They\u2019re now turning the product around to see it from all angles the way they might if they were holding it in their hand in a brick-and-mortar store, or actually getting to see what it might look like in their space instead of simply imagining it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
However, implementing this kind of photography can still be a bit expensive. It is cool and customers love it, but no one is expecting it. If you\u2019re looking for a similar effect with lower cost, try a video showing your product being handled and in action.<\/span><\/p>\nItem Availability<\/span><\/h3>\nThere\u2019s nothing like <\/span>scarcity to drive demand<\/span><\/a>, and having a <\/span>real-time update of inventory<\/span><\/a> on a product that is running out can be just the boost you need to convert your customer. There\u2019s nothing like seeing a little red text that says \u201cHurry, there\u2019s only 1 left in that size!\u201d to really kick a customer into gear.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
In addition to the motivation to buy before products sell out if you have product stock availability listed on the browsing pages, particularly when a product is sold out, it can avoid the frustration of clicking on the product only for it to show up as sold out when they get to the product page. Neither of these features are necessary, but they can decrease friction and increase urgency, which is a winning formula for higher conversions.<\/span><\/p>\nChat Bots<\/span><\/h3>\nEvery brand is used to handling repetitive questions from potential customers. No matter how clear your description, product photography, and FAQ section are, you\u2019re still going to get a lot of inquiries. But what if you didn\u2019t have to handle them anymore?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Setting up a chat bot on your site<\/span><\/a> can be a great way to streamline your customer service and give your team more time to handle complicated questions. Chatbots reply instantly and work 24\/7, and for basic questions, that may be the only touchpoint the customer needs. When you\u2019re doing the cost-benefit analysis of whether or not to invest in this technology, freeing up the time of your human employees can be invaluable.<\/span><\/p>\nKind of important\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\nNo visitor is going to leave your site if you don\u2019t have these features, but these are well on their way to becoming expected in the near future.<\/span><\/p>\nSite Navigation\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\nFor web pages that are especially long, it can be an annoyance to have to scroll manually all the way to the top. Having a button at the bottom of a long page, like for a store page that has been adjusted to display 100 items, is a nice gesture. It\u2019s not a necessity, but it\u2019s one of those little touches that goes a long way towards demonstrating that you\u2019re looking out for your customer.<\/span><\/p>\nLots of Payment Options<\/span><\/h3>\nThese days most eCommerce stores are set up to accept debit, credit, and PayPal. However, expanding these offerings is a great way to make the checkout journey even shorter. Adding options like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Venmo can win over customers by providing an even easier checkout process. Typically these <\/span>payment options<\/span><\/a> are set up through the phone, so if the shopper is able to checkout entirely with data that is already linked to their device, they\u2019ll love it.<\/span><\/p>\nRatings and Reviews<\/span><\/h3>\nSocial proof is one of the gold standards<\/span><\/a> for increasing conversions and winning over customers – and that\u2019s what having ratings and reviews enabled on your products can do. Even <\/span>a bad review can be a good thing<\/span><\/a> – it can be an opportunity for you to improve the product, or it can even just show potential customers the \u201cworst-case scenario,\u201d which makes them more informed. Unless your products are consistently low quality or the listing is misleading, there are very few downsides to allowing your customers to leave reviews, and future visitors love to see them.<\/span><\/p>\nYou need this<\/span><\/h2>\nIf your site has these features, consider it the bare minimum for 2021 – if it doesn\u2019t, prioritize adding them immediately. If your sales and conversions are down, any of these could be one of the <\/span>reasons that people are not buying from your eCommerce site<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\nHigh Resolution, Multiple-Angle Product Photography<\/span><\/h3>\nThere is no excuse for poor product photography these days – potential buyers should be able to see multiple, hi-res photos of your product from all angles, including at least one of the product being used. Including dimensions in the photo caption or somewhere in the product description is also a nice touch.<\/span><\/p>\nSite Navigation (The Basics)<\/span><\/h3>\nCustomers expect <\/span>user-friendly website navigation <\/span><\/a>that is as intuitive as possible. This includes things like a navigation menu with multiple tabs, a clear logo or brand signifier that can be clicked on to head back to the home page, and good search functionality. An intelligent search bar can correct for minor spelling errors, search for synonymous words, and provide smart adjacent matches. Product category pages should also include filters for narrowing down products if your site sells many SKUs, like apparel or electronics accessories.<\/span><\/p>\nBasic site navigation features like these should fade into the background; they should assist your customer in finding what they need and allow them to focus solely on that mission, without distracting or frustrating them in the process.<\/span><\/p>\nAccessibility<\/span><\/h3>\nMaking your website accessible and ADA compliant in 2021 – and making sure you stay compliant every year – is a no-brainer. Unfortunately, many websites are the equivalent of a curb with no ramp for those with disabilities browsing the internet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIt should be every eCommerce store’s mission to educate themselves and <\/span>understand ADA compliance and how it applies to eCommerce websites<\/span><\/a>. Making menus navigable by keyboard keys and not just the mouse, forms that allow navigation and correction with screen readers and keyboard keys, and images with \u201calt\u201d tags are some common ways to make a website more accessible. ADA compliance isn\u2019t just a nice thing for those with disabilities; some functionalities are more convenient for non-disabled users, too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nMobile-Friendly<\/span><\/h3>\nEvery year there are more and more shoppers who browse on their phone, and every year there are still eCommerce websites that refuse to make their store mobile-friendly. Developing a <\/span>mobile marketing strategy<\/span><\/a> is a must. Responsive design – design in which your site automatically adjusts based on what device it\u2019s being viewed from – is the industry standard at this point. Just do it.<\/span><\/p>\nA Clear and Visible Return Policy<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n
However, implementing this kind of photography can still be a bit expensive. It is cool and customers love it, but no one is expecting it. If you\u2019re looking for a similar effect with lower cost, try a video showing your product being handled and in action.<\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s nothing like <\/span>scarcity to drive demand<\/span><\/a>, and having a <\/span>real-time update of inventory<\/span><\/a> on a product that is running out can be just the boost you need to convert your customer. There\u2019s nothing like seeing a little red text that says \u201cHurry, there\u2019s only 1 left in that size!\u201d to really kick a customer into gear.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In addition to the motivation to buy before products sell out if you have product stock availability listed on the browsing pages, particularly when a product is sold out, it can avoid the frustration of clicking on the product only for it to show up as sold out when they get to the product page. Neither of these features are necessary, but they can decrease friction and increase urgency, which is a winning formula for higher conversions.<\/span><\/p>\n Every brand is used to handling repetitive questions from potential customers. No matter how clear your description, product photography, and FAQ section are, you\u2019re still going to get a lot of inquiries. But what if you didn\u2019t have to handle them anymore?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Setting up a chat bot on your site<\/span><\/a> can be a great way to streamline your customer service and give your team more time to handle complicated questions. Chatbots reply instantly and work 24\/7, and for basic questions, that may be the only touchpoint the customer needs. When you\u2019re doing the cost-benefit analysis of whether or not to invest in this technology, freeing up the time of your human employees can be invaluable.<\/span><\/p>\n No visitor is going to leave your site if you don\u2019t have these features, but these are well on their way to becoming expected in the near future.<\/span><\/p>\n For web pages that are especially long, it can be an annoyance to have to scroll manually all the way to the top. Having a button at the bottom of a long page, like for a store page that has been adjusted to display 100 items, is a nice gesture. It\u2019s not a necessity, but it\u2019s one of those little touches that goes a long way towards demonstrating that you\u2019re looking out for your customer.<\/span><\/p>\n These days most eCommerce stores are set up to accept debit, credit, and PayPal. However, expanding these offerings is a great way to make the checkout journey even shorter. Adding options like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Venmo can win over customers by providing an even easier checkout process. Typically these <\/span>payment options<\/span><\/a> are set up through the phone, so if the shopper is able to checkout entirely with data that is already linked to their device, they\u2019ll love it.<\/span><\/p>\n Social proof is one of the gold standards<\/span><\/a> for increasing conversions and winning over customers – and that\u2019s what having ratings and reviews enabled on your products can do. Even <\/span>a bad review can be a good thing<\/span><\/a> – it can be an opportunity for you to improve the product, or it can even just show potential customers the \u201cworst-case scenario,\u201d which makes them more informed. Unless your products are consistently low quality or the listing is misleading, there are very few downsides to allowing your customers to leave reviews, and future visitors love to see them.<\/span><\/p>\n If your site has these features, consider it the bare minimum for 2021 – if it doesn\u2019t, prioritize adding them immediately. If your sales and conversions are down, any of these could be one of the <\/span>reasons that people are not buying from your eCommerce site<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n There is no excuse for poor product photography these days – potential buyers should be able to see multiple, hi-res photos of your product from all angles, including at least one of the product being used. Including dimensions in the photo caption or somewhere in the product description is also a nice touch.<\/span><\/p>\n Customers expect <\/span>user-friendly website navigation <\/span><\/a>that is as intuitive as possible. This includes things like a navigation menu with multiple tabs, a clear logo or brand signifier that can be clicked on to head back to the home page, and good search functionality. An intelligent search bar can correct for minor spelling errors, search for synonymous words, and provide smart adjacent matches. Product category pages should also include filters for narrowing down products if your site sells many SKUs, like apparel or electronics accessories.<\/span><\/p>\n Basic site navigation features like these should fade into the background; they should assist your customer in finding what they need and allow them to focus solely on that mission, without distracting or frustrating them in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n Making your website accessible and ADA compliant in 2021 – and making sure you stay compliant every year – is a no-brainer. Unfortunately, many websites are the equivalent of a curb with no ramp for those with disabilities browsing the internet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It should be every eCommerce store’s mission to educate themselves and <\/span>understand ADA compliance and how it applies to eCommerce websites<\/span><\/a>. Making menus navigable by keyboard keys and not just the mouse, forms that allow navigation and correction with screen readers and keyboard keys, and images with \u201calt\u201d tags are some common ways to make a website more accessible. ADA compliance isn\u2019t just a nice thing for those with disabilities; some functionalities are more convenient for non-disabled users, too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Every year there are more and more shoppers who browse on their phone, and every year there are still eCommerce websites that refuse to make their store mobile-friendly. Developing a <\/span>mobile marketing strategy<\/span><\/a> is a must. Responsive design – design in which your site automatically adjusts based on what device it\u2019s being viewed from – is the industry standard at this point. Just do it.<\/span><\/p>\nItem Availability<\/span><\/h3>\n
Chat Bots<\/span><\/h3>\n
Kind of important\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Site Navigation\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
Lots of Payment Options<\/span><\/h3>\n
Ratings and Reviews<\/span><\/h3>\n
You need this<\/span><\/h2>\n
High Resolution, Multiple-Angle Product Photography<\/span><\/h3>\n
Site Navigation (The Basics)<\/span><\/h3>\n
Accessibility<\/span><\/h3>\n
Mobile-Friendly<\/span><\/h3>\n
A Clear and Visible Return Policy<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.webdesign-inspiration.com\/article\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/author.jpg\")
<\/p>\n