In the last year, Ecommerce in the US accounted for a whopping $453 billion in online sales.
That’s an impressive 16% increase over last year’s numbers.
What does this mean for you, the aspiring Ecommerce entrepreneur? More and more people are going online for their shopping needs–which means there’s plenty of money to be made.
But there’s more to building a great WordPress Ecommerce website than just good site design and layout.
In this post, we’ll reveal 8 need-to-know tips to ensure your WordPress Ecommerce site is a success. Read on!
1. Pick a Product You’re Passionate About
For starters, it’s not enough to sell a product online just for the sake of selling something.
CBD oils and smartwatches might be all the rage right now. But if you’re not interested in either product, that lack of enthusiasm will show through in your website.
Creating a successful online store requires passion, so pick a product you’re passionate about. What items do you get excited about when you shop? What products do you use and love on a daily basis?
The more specific your product niche (and the more enthused you are about them), the better your odds of Ecommerce success.
2. Choose the Right Domain Name
Once you’ve decided which products (physical or digital) to sell, your next step is choosing the perfect domain name for your store.
Start by doing some keyword research in your niche. If you can come up with a domain name that includes a commonly-searched term, your ranking in Google will soar.
Shorter names are easier to remember, and it’s best to avoid hyphens, as most people will forget them. Also, avoid words that sound the same but are spelled differently (“there” and “their”).
A final consideration is any alternate interpretations of your domain name. You may feel you’re being clever, but an immature or disgruntled customer could make your brand the butt of a bad joke.
3. Make Your Site Blazingly Fast
Just how important is site speed? Users will wait a few extra seconds for a product they really want, right?
Think again. The truth is that 40% of users will abandon a site that takes longer than 3 seconds to load. And for every second of delay after that, conversion rate drop by another 7%.
With so much competition among Ecommerce websites, customers will simply close a tab and find what they want on another (faster) site. Don’t let this happen to you!
The good news is that there are many easy ways to get your site up to speed. Start with some plug-ins designed to speed up your site. Then focus on image optimization and caching to keep your site loading in no time.
4. Use Only High-Quality Images
Speaking of images, let’s talk about the images you’ll use to display your products.
No matter how amazing your products are, no one will buy them if your images are tiny, blurry, or dimly lit. People want to clearly see what they’re buying before they’re willing to spend money on it. This is especially true for fashion items like clothes, shoes, and jewelry.
Make it possible for them to zoom in on your product photos. Take photos from every angle and include exact sizes or dimensions. Make sure there’s nothing distracting in the background, as that’s a sure sign of an amateur seller.
The better your product images, the fewer returns (and aggravation) you’ll receive.
5. Write Engaging Product Descriptions
Your next challenge to conquer in your WordPress Ecommerce store? Crafting compelling descriptions for each of your items.
Remember, users can’t physically see or touch your product. All they have to go on is your (high-quality) photos and whatever you tell them in the product description.
“Black dress, size 6” isn’t going to cut it. You don’t want to bog the reader down with a long-winded description, but you do need to capture their interest and help them connect to what they’re seeing.
For that same dress, consider something like this: “Turn heads in this classic little black dress. Knee-length, cropped sleeves, plunging neckline, lace detail on bust.”
See the difference?
6. Use Best SEO Practices
Search engine optimization (SEO) isn’t just for blogs and generic sites. For your store to be a success, you’ve got to use all the best SEO tips and tricks too.
One important SEO aspect for online stores is to optimize your product names and page titles. Including the right keywords is essential to letting Google know what your store is all about.
If you have any doubts about the latest SEO practices (and how to implement them), an Ecommerce website development company can help.
7. Secure Your Site with an SSL
Before users enter their credit card or PayPal credentials, they need to know their information is safe and secure.
Give them that assurance with an SSL certificate for your website. This is the secure link between the customer’s web browser and the hosting server.
It appears as either “https://” in your site’s URL or as a green lock symbol. Either way, it’s essential to establishing trust with your customers (and preventing identity theft or fraud).
8. Make Checkout a Breeze
If your checkout process isn’t streamlined and easy, buyers will go elsewhere. It really is that simple.
Complicating the process with multiple checkout pages will leave users frustrated or angry. The last thing you want is them abandoning their shopping carts right before checkout!
Make the buying process quick, seamless, and intuitive. Include everything they need to enter (address, credit card info, etc.) on one page if possible.
Keep in mind that not everyone is savvy when it comes to shopping online. So the easier you make it for them, the better your chance of securing those sales.
Final Thoughts on Your WordPress Ecommerce Site
As you can see, there’s a lot that goes into running a successful WordPress Ecommerce site.
By implementing these tips, though, your online store is sure to be a success–and a great source of income.
Speaking of income, would you like some more great advice? Click here for our recent posts on how to make money online.