Every website is unique in its own beautiful way. An online website or a store is inclusive of many tricky components and features. Ecommerce software cuts down this with an easy-to-use interface in a way that even non-technical personnel can operate it without any hindrance. Further, the ecommerce platform facilitates things by integrating with many services including CRM (Customer Relationship Management), ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), CMS (Content Management System), Payment Gateways, and the list goes on. The ecommerce software can help you support your website, scale down the operational costs, and seek the attention of the potential customers. There are a few features you must consider when running an online business and having an ecommerce store/ website. The success of the software in your ecommerce platform depends on the features you choose in the beginning. As an online seller, it is essential that your regulatory features match your business processes and you have the necessary tools for managing your website.
The important features required for ecommerce software
The ecommerce business is growing like never before. Some ecommerce businesses are blooming, while some are barely surviving in the storm of the ecommerce giants. There are no special secrets behind the success of the ecommerce stores. The features remain the same, but, the way they do it, differs. They focus on the right and important aspects such as UX (User Experience), UI (User Interface), security, and the right hosting services, etc. and lastly, they work on the features that help their website become easy-to-use, simple, attractive, safe, and speedy. We understand; there is a lot of things you have on your plate, and therefore, we are here to provide you with some essential features you must look when picking ecommerce software. The following are the important features that are needed for an ecommerce store:
User-Friendliness
You might have heard of the maxim, K.I.S.S of the U.S Navy in the 1960s that refers to Keep it Simple, Stupid or Keep it Stupid, Simple. The principle simply states that t if anything is kept simple rather than making it complicated, it works the best. Good ecommerce software design must be focusing on simplicity. Studies state that 76% of online customers agree that the most essential aspects of an online store are its ease-of-use and ease of access. The purpose is to aid shoppers in getting whatever they want, speedily without running into the hurdles that may be seen in the purchase cycle.
As an online seller, you have a few minutes, or even a few seconds to make a sale. Therefore, focusing on the user experience by providing them with categories for shopping, comparison charts, filters, etc. is quite important. You can also consider improving the search functionalities by integrating automated processing for automatic showcasing of relevant products through the search bar. You can build creative visual navigation, and get a competitive advantage for your ecommerce services.
Multiple Designing Options
There is no one-design fits all concepts when it comes to businesses, especially the ecommerce industry. Every brand has its set of requirements and some even need a change in designs with the changing market trends. As an online seller, you might want a website filled with bright colors, high definition images, and attractive layouts or you could need a website that is simple, sleek, professional, and bland. There are many ecommerce platforms today that offer free as well as paid themes and templates to their customers to meet their continuously changing desires of designing their store.
Mostly, these themes and templates are just a few clicks away from them. For instance, in Builderfly Ecommerce Platform, the customers have the complete power of customization, wherein they get to choose the template of their choice and design their store, their way. No hassles of limited access to store creation, and no boundaries to designing a unique online store; everything is definitely a few clicks away. Some ecommerce platforms offer a few selective themes, while there are some who provide dozens of themes and templates. Also, there are designers who offer a variety of themes in exchange for a few bucks.
Integrations
In order to ensure providing the most efficient and profitable ecommerce services, many ecommerce software provide the option to seamlessly integrate the online store into multiple applications. For instance, the store can be integrated directly into external payment gateways, social media platforms can be integrated with the store, other selling platforms, and be integrated into one platform; these are a few examples of integrations in the ecommerce software.
Also, a few ecommerce software lets you integrate with third-party shipping providers to let the customers customize the way they get delivered with the products they purchase as well as calculate the costs for the purchase at the time of the checkout. Additionally, there are a few other integrations such as integrating to accounting software that includes getting aid in revenue management, and other outstanding payments in the ecommerce software.
Mobile-Friendliness
Did you know that 50% of the online transactions accounted for mobile shopping? Isn’t that a substantial growth to be considered? Well, if you are not focusing on an ecommerce solution with mobile-friendliness, you are leaving 50% of your sales on the table. A website is a must or we can say, the best way to boost sales in ecommerce software. Now, if you have created a responsive website, the content you have included in your website automatically adapts to the screen size of the device from which it is operated in order to provide the best user-friendly experience to the online customers.
For instance, one of the leading ecommerce giants, Walmart reported a 98% increase in sales after they optimized their mobile site. Since the majority of the online shopping population has gone mobile in search of better convenience, the ecommerce industry is gradually following the path of the customers’ convenience. Therefore, it has become extremely important to build a mobile-friendly experience for the customers to get more sales and potentially, your search ranks.
Security
If you are a new store owner, the phrases such as ‘SSL certificate’ and ‘PCI compliance’, can probably get you slightly. However, these are the terms you need to know and learn, sooner or later. The security of your ecommerce store as well as the customer data is largely important. The ecommerce software you choose has a huge impact on the security of your online store. SSL certificates are small data files that let a browser securely complete the processing of sensitive transactions such as online purchases. When ecommerce software is provided with an SSL certificate, in case you choose a hosted platform, you can be assured of the security of your store as well as the data of the customers who purchase products or services from your ecommerce store. On the other hand, when you hear PCI compliant ecommerce software, it simply means that it is meeting the 12 PCI security standards that are generally applicable to every website that deals with accepting and storing payment information.
When you sign up to an ecommerce platform such as Builderfly, the majority of your transactions are processed through the platform and a secure payment gateway and you can ensure the safety as the platform abides by the PCI set of rules. However, as an online seller, it is extremely essential that you are well-aware of these security features as it helps you understand which platform shall work the best for you to sell online. Also, there are many ecommerce software that offers additional security features such as monitoring of DDoS attacks and fraud protection, which is obviously optional. But, as the company grows, you’ll need these additional features at some point in selling online.
Navigation
The website navigation of ecommerce software is the key to the success of the business. The navigation process is supposed to be neat, definite, and user-friendly. You need to build an easy-to-understand navigation system in order to make sure that your customers are not getting lost while surfing through your website. The User Experience (UX) and the User Interface (UI) are the main aspects of developing a long-lasting relationship with the products with the customers. The users’ experience and feedback towards the website can be obtained using the UI, which deals with the technical side of the website. On the other hand, UX helps in knowing how the customers feel when browsing your ecommerce website. If you have done the navigation right, the customers are having a great experience with your website to share with their near and dear ones. And, yes, they are probably becoming your next loyal customers!
Conclusion
These were a few features we found, could help you deliver the best ecommerce services to the customers. Now that you are well aware of the features, you’ll easily understand why Builderfly shall be your best choice to sell online. Explore the extensive features of the Builderfly Ecommerce Platform by signing up for the 14-days free trial period; after which, you can connect your domain and get access to the world as your audience!
