If you have thought about how to create a professional e-commerce website, this article from O2 web design company in Abu Dhabi may interest you. Our business objectives will always be to increase sales whether you want to start your own business to sell online. Or if your current business already has a physical store with different product lines, but you need to sell more. In both cases, you may need to evaluate how to create an e-commerce from scratch.
To evaluate this alternative, some administrative and technical requirements depend on different factors. Some of these factors may be the business line, the resources needed to manage it, and the budget allocated for that purpose. Technical aspects for its implementation, the type of e-commerce chosen, and many more, must also be considered. There are also some limits imposed by the business, such as the size of the business, the number of products in the portfolio, and the positioning of the brand, among others.
When Do You Decide To Design an e-commerce Website?
O2 web design company in Abu Dhabi advice you to look at your business type, if your business has a wide variety of products, such as a retail company, or several services available, such as an e-learning company, the proposal could be quite interesting. However, if your business has a limited product portfolio, it may not be necessary or appropriate due to the cost you must incur in generating the proposal. The decision may also be dependent on business operations, available budget, and technical resources.
However, there may be more solid reasons for using e-commerce, such as: generating more loyal customers, creating new opportunities to build productive relationships with customers, and staying open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It can even reduce your operational costs for logistics and administrative management.
The recommendation in these cases is to carry out an exhaustive analysis for correct decision-making.
How Does e-commerce Website Work ?
If you are reading this article, it is very likely that you have a pretty good idea about the functionality of an e-commerce . It is a website where the sale of products online is offered . You can also clearly differentiate it from a conventional website because the e-commerce has an online product catalog, the possibility of online payments through a shopping cart, a payment gateway and logistics operators that allow the delivery of the merchandise.
In order for it to work properly, administrative, commercial and logistical procedures must be clear. Even more so if any of these processes are outsourced to suppliers. Critical factors such as delivery times must also be taken into account , as they can affect the commercial process and customer service .
Achieving the development of an online store involves a series of very specific steps that range from the technical part to the comprehensive development of a 360 digital marketing strategy .
Planning an Ecommerce Website from Scratch
O2 web design company in Abu Dhabi suggests firstly to develop a plan that allows you to visualize the entire business. In this way, you can establish the necessary elements needed for its implementation.
Using business models allows you to view it in a comprehensive way. The first thing is to define whether the business is aimed at an end user or a business. Also, the Business Model Canvas is usually used, where all aspects of a business are taken into account.
In this section, you must consider the different digital marketing strategies that allow you to analyze the business, whether internal or external. This analysis includes the definition of the target audience , competitor analysis, segmentation strategy , brand positioning, among others.
Formulating the Technical Aspect of an Ecommerce
With the business plan already formulated, you must choose which platform to use. There is a wide variety on the market. You can find web developers who will start your ecommerce proposal from scratch. You can also find payment platforms with which you can develop an attractive proposal, through pre-configured templates. Some well-known platforms can be Magento , Prestashop , Shopify , OpenCart and even WordPress using the WooCommerce plugin .
The ideal is to develop your own platform, although there are alternatives called marketplaces , which are ecommerce platforms that already have a domain and have all the technological infrastructure to put a portfolio of products online. What is not allowed on this type of platform is to customize the pages and use your own business domain. Some well-known platforms may be Amazon , and AliExpress among others.
Next, it is necessary to establish the operational guidelines of the online store , such as the structure of the website (sitemap), the product catalog, the categories of the product portfolio, and all the elements necessary for the e-commerce to meet the functionalities required by the user.
Developing User-Centered Design for Ecommerce
When referring to online store functionalities , aspects related to the elements or tools that a virtual store has incorporated are taken into account.
Some common elements are: shopping cart, search box, category menu, product description, product photos, customer recommendations, web forms, price comparison, search filters, login, among others.
In this part, it is necessary to consider user experience techniques , so that criteria can be established that allow for intuitive and pleasant navigation . An essential part for e-commerce to work is not to forget the adaptation to different devices through responsive design .
Ensuring Quality of Service in an Ecommerce
The way to ensure quality of service is by identifying the key processes of our virtual store.
Another of the most important aspects of an e-commerce web design is to cover security aspects . Here the SSL certificate is considered , due to the use of online payment methods. Without also considering how important it is for SEO . Another element can be the implementation of data management policies . Let’s not forget the definition of the website’s terms and conditions.
It is also necessary to consider file backups to prevent data loss. It is always advisable to have an appropriate bandwidth. It is also worth acquiring software to protect against viruses and malware.
O2 Web Design Company in Abu Dhabi Strategies for Ecommerce
Just like a conventional website, an e-commerce website is a web page that contains information about the business. The difference is that the latter allows online shopping . This fact makes this virtual store an important channel that generates sales revenue.
This implies that digital marketing actions and strategies must be established . This will allow the online store to be exposed to the target segment. It is advisable to use a comprehensive strategy that covers different aspects such as SEO , SEM , content marketing , social media marketing, lead generation , e-mail marketing, mobile marketing, among others.
These 360 strategies outlined in a digital marketing plan will allow you to gain visibility and improve your branding , thereby generating traffic to your website. And most importantly, it will also allow you to generate online sales.
Measuring Ecommerce Results
Finally, once the project is implemented, we will need to measure the results . An e-commerce platform usually has similar indicators to a website, so their metrics are similar. In the case of a virtual store, there are additional metrics such as CPC , CPM , Bounce rate and many others. These indicators will allow us to measure the effectiveness of our online sales process.
To Wrap Things Up
To build or create an ecommerce , the following points must be considered:
- Analyze and review the entire business line.
- Develop a business plan that can be a guide for developing the project.
- Research the types of ecommerce and platforms available on the market.
- Establish user-centered design guidelines for website development.
- Achieve quality in its operation and establish the security parameters of the e-commerce.
- Propose digital marketing strategies and actions with the purpose of promoting and positioning the website.
- Define the appropriate metrics or KPIs to evaluate progress.
Don’t forget that O2 Web Design Company in Abu Dhabi is here to take the burden of all these tasks off your mind and perform them professionally.
