How to create a successful eCommerce website

People, businesses, brands everywhere are selling online. For some it’s a hobby or side hustle, for others it’s a serious business with goals and KPIs. If you fall in the latter, then this article is for you. We’ll tell you how to build a successful eCommerce website that will attract customers and achieve results.

Let’s assume you run a small to medium sized-business and have a good range of quality products that customers want to purchase. Some businesses will set up a store on Amazon, eBay, or Etsy. It’s easy but it does come with compromises, not the least of which is that you are always selling under their brand and subject to their regularly changing terms and conditions.

The best way to have control over your online store is to create your own eCommerce site. That might sound complicated and time consuming, and we won’t skirt the issue – it can be. But you will have complete control over your brand, products, and data.

We’ll mention here that there is an easy and effective way to have an eCommerce site – that’s to engage the services of eCommerce experts such as Icon Visual Marketing.

Icon can create your online store in a style that suits your brand. We can maintain it and manage it. We can do the marketing, such as social media posts, blogs, and paid search advertising. We can even take care of storage of your product and fulfilling orders. In other words, while you maintain complete control, you can place everything about your eCommerce website in our experienced hands.

From our years of experience in building and promoting eCommerce websites, we’ve built a list of tips and recommendations of everything you need to know to get started. So read on.

Concise 'About Us' page

Everyone has a story, and your customers often want to know yours.

Having an ‘About Us’ page:

• gives people background about who you are,
• gives customers trust in you, and
• distinguishes you from your competition.

Include a page about yourself and your background. This little bit of personal information can make a world of difference to your site. It gives your brand a human touch and adds personality. It means you’re not being secretive and gives your customers some degree of trust in you.

Keep it short and to the point. A long-winded story may come across as over-indulgent.

Online customer support

At some stage, one of your customers is going to need your help. If you’re not there to help, you will probably lose the sale.

Your online customer support should be:

• easy to find and use,
• responsive, and
• friendly.

Ensure you make it clear where they can go to seek your help. Respond quickly and honestly and be sure to address the enquiry. The best eCommerce sites are very efficient when it comes to customer support. It’s their way of fighting for every sale and keeping every customer happy.

Good payment options

A range of payment options will make it easier for your customers. Some of the most popular payment options include credit card, PayPal, and AfterPay.

If you want customers from outside of your country, they should be able to buy from you without barriers such as conversion rates or payment options that are not available in their country.

As an adjunct to this, you should make your guarantee and money-back policy clear. Be as customer-friendly as possible because people will shy away from sites that have restrictive policies. Avoid using a negative, authoritative tone on your site listing all the things people can’t do. Instead focus on what they can do.

Marketing your store

There are numerous ways to spread the word about your eCommerce store. Some you should consider include:

• Social Media
• Email
• Influencers

Social Media

You can reach your audience for free using social media. But if you want to boost sales, you should try using their paid advertising services.

Regular posting to social media is a good idea as it keeps your brand top of mind and can reach a wide audience who might not be aware of your store. It also demonstrates that your store is active, giving people confidence in purchasing from you.

Paid social media advertising is highly targeted so you’re not paying to have your ad in front of people who have no interest in your product.

Social media gives you analytics so you can quickly see how effective your advertising is and where improvements can be made.

Remember to include links to your social media pages on your eCommerce site so people can follow you and keep up with your latest news.

Email Marketing

Another effective method of marketing your store is by email marketing. Emails are very effective at attracting customer attention and can be personal and targeted. They are also perfect for communicating offers, discounts, and competitions.

Of course, you need to build a database of clients to send your emails to. This is something that builds over time and there are several ways to go about it. If you want help in building an email database, talk to the team at Icon Visual Marketing.

Engage Influencers

Another way to market your store is by using influencers. Influencers can promote your products to their followers, reaching people you might not be able to reach. This can be measurable, and you should be discerning about which influencers you choose.

Writing blogs

Many people underestimate the power of the blog. Blogs are a great way to:

• give more information about specific topics,
• keep your online presence active,
• be perceived as a topic expert, and
• generate visitors to your website.

Search engines love blogs. That’s why at Icon Visual Marketing, we’re consistently writing and posting blogs for our clients as well as for our own website (like the one you’re reading now).

There is an art to creating blogs. But the bottom line is to be original, use good spelling and grammar, and ensure your headline explains what the article is about.

Using SEO

Many people underestimate the power of the blog. Blogs are a great way to:

• give more information about specific topics,
• keep your online presence active,
• be perceived as a topic expert, and
• generate visitors to your website.

Search engines love blogs. That’s why at Icon Visual Marketing, we’re consistently writing and posting blogs for our clients as well as for our own website (like the one you’re reading now).

There is an art to creating blogs. But the bottom line is to be original, use good spelling and grammar, and ensure your headline explains what the article is about.

Reading your data

Your data is powerful information. Data is the information that you receive about the interaction between your website and the visitors it is attracting. It helps you make business decisions about your store and where you need to focus your marketing.

First party data helps you to:

• understand information about your customers,
• reach the right customers, and
• communicate effectively with your customers.

Google Analytics is a service offered by Google that tracks and reports your website behaviour, giving you information beyond sales figures. Google Analytics provides business insights and information such as telling you how many people are visiting your website, their age and where they are from.

You’ll can learn far more about your customer with your own eCommerce site than you will with third party marketplaces such as eBay, Amazon, and Etsy.

What if you don't have the time or skills?

Your data is powerful information. Data is the information that you receive about the interaction between your website and the visitors it is attracting. It helps you make business decisions about your store and where you need to focus your marketing.

First party data helps you to:

• understand information about your customers,
• reach the right customers, and
• communicate effectively with your customers.

Google Analytics is a service offered by Google that tracks and reports your website behaviour, giving you information beyond sales figures. Google Analytics provides business insights and information such as telling you how many people are visiting your website, their age and where they are from.

You’ll can learn far more about your customer with your own eCommerce site than you will with third party marketplaces such as eBay, Amazon, and Etsy.

Want our opinion?

Whether you already have an eCommerce site up and running that could be improved or if you want someone to build it from scratch, talk to the team at Icon Visual Marketing. We are confident that, like all our eCommerce clients, you will be pleased with the results.