Online stores are all around us.

It feels as if 1 out of 5 people is running their own e-commerce business. There is no doubt that e-commerce businesses have boomed as of lately.

People are spending more than half of their day, scrolling on Instagram, constantly being fed with new products and brands. Most of us don’t even go to physical stores anymore. It’s all so accessible online.

At the same time, it’s getting harder and harder to impress on visitors.  Yes, you have to fight in order to have a smooth, cutting edge e-commerce store with brilliant products.

But how do you stay on top of your game? How do you serve your visitors and customers, the newest technology and service? What do you need in order to be taken seriously?

Winning the attention of your customers within seconds after they click on your link, plays a major role in this market. 

There are hundreds of website features and marketing tools available today, that represent the core of any online shop – posters, catalogues, advertising banners, and so on. But what is the main features you need to have to keep up with the ever-transforming customer demands and expectations? The features that guarantee conversion rates and robust user experiences? 

Here is a list of 5 website features every e-commerce site should have:

1. Less is more

Simplicity is the answer, there’s no doubt about it. We want our customers and shoppers to be able to get what they want without going through too much of a hassle. Unnecessary complexity can reduce the number of sales.

Did you know that 60 percent of cart abandonment happens due to a complicated payment process? If you want to sell your products, make sure to make this step easy and quick.

Online sellers have minutes, if not seconds, to make a sale. Focus on the user experience by providing shopping categories, filters, and comparison capabilities. 

Simplicity and ease of use is the basic and most important factor.

2. Informative videos and animations

Don’t we all enjoy watching a quick, informative and fun video? In the world of the internet, things need to move quickly. We love feeling like what we read or watch brings us value. This is where brand videos and animations come in to play.

Why not sell your brand and products by sharing valuable information and fun facts about your company? You know how they say that an image speaks a thousand words? Well, a video can say quite a lot as well. With a story that has emotional value, animations of high quality and a length less than 3 minutes, you could sell a lot more than you would without a video.

3. Mobile friendly

One in three online purchases is completed on a smartphone. 

A mobile site that lacks in key features, will be a turn off to the mobile shopper. New mobile phones are coming to the market with advanced technologies and capabilities. People don’t have time to open their computer to complete the transaction. Most people actually prefer to shop via mobile nowadays. So a good mobile-friendly website can be a big changing factor in your growth.

Moreover, a good responsive website should be adapted to every device. This way, you’ll increase your sales channels.

4. User-generated reviews

This is one of the most important features that every shopper will search for before they buy a product from an e-commerce site. This makes or breaks the sale.

Customers can’t touch or feel the quality of the product they’re thinking of buying. So they read reviews made by other customers. About 92 percent of visitors, will read the review before buying the product.

The star rating feature on a product is also a popular feature among users. For the customer that has little to no time will be able to spot the best-sellers and order it in seconds.

5. Customer service

Last but not least: customer service. Nowadays, the customer experience is more important than the actual product. Customers are looking at your branding, if your brand is ethical, what kind of models you choose and, of course, how you treat your customers. 

We are touching the 2020’s and bots are popping up everywhere. Setting up a bot to take care of customers and their questions while you are asleep or away, will help you greatly. You won’t be swarmed with hundreds of emails, asking the same simple question. Let your bot take care of the most frequently asked questions while you deal with the more complicated stuff.

Conclusion

These tips might feel like no-brainers, but we can still find a lot of e-commerce sites that don’t have them. Consider them the basics you need in order to run a successful e-commerce store and add more specific features and apps later on.

If you feel like your e-commerce site is a little behind the times or would like to know how we could help increase your site's conversion value let us know.