| Items | Descriptions |
|---|---|
| Using your homepage for direct advertising | Connecting to the users’ intent is important—product advertising should be placed on dedicated landing pages |
| Overloading on information | Providing an overwhelming amount of information doesn’t give your users a focal point |
| Omitting the search feature | If your site features many products, the lack of a search bar will only confuse and frustrate customers |
| Excluding product tagging | Without a tagging system, it is difficult for the users to find relevant products |
| Failing to understand your audience’s needs | All elements of your e-commerce site, like copywriting and visual communication, depend on researching and understanding your target users. |
If you’re running an e-commerce business today, you know that it’s not an easy feat to ensure consistent results.
Whether you’re a seasoned site owner or a fresh arrival to the world of e-commerce, successful business owners must continuously learn and grow from mistakes made along the way.
We’ve compiled a list of five basic but significant mistakes we see e-commerce website owners make so that you can avoid similar pitfalls in your own endeavours. How many of these errors have you steered clear of?
Using Your Homepage for Direct Advertising
It might surprise you, but your business’ homepage isn’t the ideal place to sell individual products to visitors.
Using the homepage to advertise a single product or service renders the rest of your site’s content irrelevant, and even hides vital information that a visitor might actually be looking for.
In reality, it’s best to leave sales to dedicated landing pages. Your store’s homepage should function as an overall introduction to the brand and shop.
Think of it as the online equivalent of a directory—with a structured map of visuals and copy, users can get a quick overview of everything your site offers.
Overloading Information
You may think that the more you can tell a customer about your products, the better.
Actually, it’s important to gauge how much content is too much. Drowning your customers in a sea of information overburdens their decision-making process. What’s more, people are likely to leave your site simply because it’s too difficult to digest.
It’s vital to first identify what content and information are relevant to your products, then arrange each page according to a single focal point.
A more structured flow makes your content easier to read, and your site will be more user-friendly and visually appealing.
Omitting the Search Feature
Can you remember the last time you visited a website without a search bar?
The search function is crucial for sites of all kinds, and e-commerce stores are no exception. Visitors to an e-commerce site rely on the search bar as an important navigation tool, especially when they already know what they want to purchase.
Furthermore, excluding the search bar contributes to a poor user experience. It forces a one-way navigation route on visitors to your site, resulting in frustrated and even stranded users.
Be sure to install an efficient search function in your e-commerce store—it should be easy to use and have a standard location across all relevant pages.
Excluding Product Tagging
Just like the search bar, product tagging is key to site navigation for your customers.
Applying suitable and consistent tags to all products helps users explore alternative options for a particular item. An intuitive tagging system also allows users to find products via a process of elimination.
Being able to filter out irrelevant item listings enhances user experience and directly contributes to a boost in conversions.
For example, you can use standard tags to identify products of the same size, colour or material. Custom tags are convenient for niche or very rare items that might otherwise be buried under other products. Additionally, variant tags can be applied to differentiate between variations of the same item.
Failing to Understand Your Audience’s Needs
Setting up your e-commerce website is only half the battle—you must also ensure that the right people will visit the store and find the products they need.
It’s critical to identify your target audience beforehand. all visuals, copy and design for your website will depend on who your customers are and what your product offers them.
Irrelevant content stemming from a poor understanding of customer needs will not inspire confidence in your potential buyers.
A good e-commerce website has solid insight into its target market’s pain points, frustrations with available product choices and what they truly need in a solution to their problem. Once you’ve determined these factors and designed your e-commerce site to cater to your audience, you’re likely to see steady growth in conversions.
Upgrade Your E-commerce Website with JIN
Have you made any of these mistakes in the past? Worried about potentially falling into similar blunders? With the recent boom in e-commerce marketing worldwide, it’s more important than ever to craft an online store that optimises conversion and holds its own against global competitors. Talk to our web design and development experts to find out how we can improve your e-commerce site performance!
