5 Essential Features Every Successful E-commerce Website Must Have 

Ever found yourself browsing an online shopping page only to give up on your purchase because the website’s too glitchy, confusing or doesn’t feel secure enough? If your web store stats are down – or have been consistently disappointing since launch – your customers might be experiencing similar issues.  

If you are falling short, the fixes don’t have to be complicated. Hit a few basics, and you’ll be well on your way to boosting sales. To give you a helping hand, here’s our guide to the five essential features every successful e-commerce website must have. 

1. Easy navigation and a user-friendly shopping experience 

No one wants to navigate a maze. Make every buyer journey as fast and linear as possible. Shoppers want a clean, simple interface with clear menus and intuitive navigation. If your products or services are easy to find, and every click gets an instant response, you’re well on your way to creating a shopping experience that drives first-time conversions and attracts repeat customers. Even if your business requires something more intricate than a single shop page, creating a simple layout and navigational framework keeps things tidy and effective.  

Take the Really Wild Emporium website, for example. With several strands of the business needing to be housed under one umbrella website, seamless, logical navigation was key. The site had to incorporate an online soap shop, event ticket sales, restaurant menus and booking links, as well as direct links to their Airbnb. There was huge potential for confusion, but with careful UX design, the shopping experience they offer has significantly improved, despite the complex nature of the business. (Read the Really Wild Emporium case study.) 

A useful first step in assessing your own website is to visit your home page and navigate through your buyer journey to identify areas where user-friendliness could be improved. Whatever bottlenecks you stumble upon will give you a clearer idea of what needs to change.  

2. Secure payment gateways to build customer trust 

No one wants to type their credit card details into your website if they’re not absolutely certain it’s 100% secure. According to recent data, cyber-attacks have a significant impact on UK consumer trust in online payments, with almost three-quarters of people having concerns about shopping on digital marketplaces.  

When customers trust your payment system, they are far more likely to complete their purchase. The best step you can take is to integrate secure payment gateways, such as Worldpay, Stripe, PayPal, Shopify, and Square, to name a few, and ensure your checkout page is fully encrypted.  

Showing your commitment to cyber-safety by displaying SSL certificates and offering financial reassurance with money-back guarantees can also go a long way in demonstrating that you are a reliable business. It’s always worth doing a quick check to make sure your security and online payment systems are up to scratch – it’s a fundamental area where you could be losing sales.  

3. High-quality product images and detailed descriptions 

This is an area where many online shops fall short. Blurry, dull images or pictures that aren’t optimised for the site just won’t cut it. Your digital shop window has to look as good as possible to encourage people to part with their hard-earned money, especially as shoppers can’t pick up an object or see it in person. 

Images should be professional, high-quality and optimised so that they fit any device and don’t slow down your website. For full accessibility, they’ll also need good alt descriptions. Customers want to see your products from different angles, have an idea of scale and a clear view of all the key features, so make the most of 360° shots, mock-ups, and even videos where possible. 

In addition to the images, every product needs a well-written description. A strong description not only informs but also builds trust and confidence to buy. Focus on the essentials that matter most, like product uses, key features, dimensions, materials, quality, aftercare, and sustainability. Descriptions help a product shift from looking great to being worth investing in, so that purchasing is a natural next step. 

A great example of this is the website we created for packaging firm Some Bottle. Every product listing is designed to help the customer understand the product and its value at a glance. (Read the Some Bottle case study.) 

4. Fast loading speeds and mobile optimisation

Every website, whether it’s e-commerce or not, needs to load instantly and work across every device, from your mobile phone to your desktop. Every second you add to your load time increases your bounce rate. If your e-commerce website takes longer than three seconds to appear, you’re almost certainly losing customers. 

The E-commerce market has tripled over the last five years, with over two-thirds of all purchases now being made on mobile phones. That’s a lot of traffic you could be missing out on if your website isn’t fully optimised for mobile and other devices.  

A well-optimised website will automatically adjust to small screen sizes, which means buttons won’t disappear from view and your sales page isn’t going to morph into a logistical nightmare. Test your site on various devices, including phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops, to ensure your web content adapts seamlessly. 

5. Simple checkout processes to reduce cart abandonment

Why has your customer added all their items to the basket and then suddenly ditched the purchase at the last minute? 

The number one reason for cart abandonment is a complicated checkout process. If customers have to click through too many screens, re-enter information, or create an account, many people will leave your site for an e-commerce platform that doesn’t require them to jump through hoops.  

The trick is to keep it simple. Save addresses and key information. Enable easy guest checkout. Add a progress bar so people know where they are in the purchasing process. The smoother and more minimal the process, the more customers you’ll keep. 

Need professional help to build a successful e-commerce website?

Whether you’ve already nailed the key points above and still feel your site isn’t performing, or you’re unsure how to implement the changes on your own, we can help.  

Our Web Adept team specialises in e-commerce website design that’s fast, intuitive and built around delivering the ultimate customer experience.   

If you’d like to explore practical ways to improve your online store, let’s talk. 

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