Supercharge your e-commerce business with a heart-winning website

As per the India E-Commerce Index 2023 report, consumers continue to explore both marketplaces and brands’ websites to shop for their choice of products. As consumer choices for different products varied between channels, marketplaces observed a 31.2% YoY increase in order volumes whereas brand websites saw a 24% YoY rise in order volumes during FY 2023. With more than 45% of the entire Indian population now having access to smartphones, online shopping on mobile phones is expected to grow in the coming years. Since entrepreneurs and brands position their products on e-commerce marketplaces as well as their own brand websites, it is critical to ensure that the customers get a seamless shopping experience on the brand website. In order to achieve that, some critical optimization strategies must be implemented. Staying relevant and within the customer’s reach is crucial to the brand’s success at all times. Apart from a great product line, a well-designed, mobile-responsive website certainly helps pave the way into the customer’s mind.

Let us discuss some key characteristics of an elegant brand website:

1. Device Responsive Design

As the stats suggest, the majority of e-commerce purchases by customers are being done on mobile phones – either on online marketplaces or on brand websites and apps. Therefore, having a device-responsive design ensures your website adapts to various mobile and tablet devices across varying screen sizes and orientations. The website should be elegant, clutter-free, and user-friendly so that the shopping experience is as painless as possible.

2. Page Loading Time or Lag

Shopping online is as much psychological as it is financial. The entire shopping experience – especially in the case of high-end brands or luxury products – is an exhilarating one for the shopper as it raises the dopamine levels of the shoppers. It is not by accident that many people resort to shopping to address bad moods hence the term “retail therapy”. Therefore, delays due to any reason in the purchase process on the website – such as page crash or delay in loading, “white screen on scroll”, images unavailable, etc. – tend to break that high level of anticipation built up for the shopper and there are equally high chances that the shopper ends the journey there. Therefore optimizing page loading times, and investing in technology to ensure that the lags are minimal and the journey from menu-to-cart-to-checkout is quick and uninterrupted. 

3. Simplified Navigation

Mobile screens are smaller and generally more strenuous for the user to use for shopping. To add to these struggles, if the website is cluttered with options for navigation or uses non-standard icons, fonts, or terminologies, the user is likely to expend more effort in navigation and product selection. This, depending on the product line as well as the brand, can lead to negative perceptions in the customer’s mind and encourage him/her to discontinue the purchase. On the contrary, a simplified navigation flow of the website, closely aligned with the customer’s shopping journey on the website, will enable swifter completion of the sale and realization of the revenue for the brand. 

4. Call-To-Action Elements

Along the shopping process, there are certain critical milestones in the customer’s journey. For instance, “add to cart”, “view cart”, “add to wishlist”, “select payment method”, “checkout” and “proceed to payment” are standard calls-to-action that are common to all shopping processes. However, it is very surprising how many brands get some or all of these important milestones wrong leading to a disappointed customer who vows never to shop from the brand again or leaves a scathing review about the brand or both. Incorporating simplified yet prominently placed CTA elements on the website is sacrosanct. One must remain mindful of the differing screen sizes and orientations of the mobile, tablet, and laptop/desktop devices and ensure that these issues are addressed adequately.

5. Streamlined Payment Process

Revenue realization in the case of e-commerce happens only once the payment for the cart is completed. With a multitude of payment options, the shopper is empowered with multiple choices. However, it is critical that all the payment options are fully functional and working seamlessly to ensure that the shopping journey is completed. This requires regressive, continuous testing combined with the addition of newer options being rolled out in the industry. Payment gateways and end-to-end integrations with banking software are the essential elements of a modern e-commerce website. Unlike the marketplace platforms, this specific area becomes mission-critical for the brand when implemented in the brand’s own website.

6. Positive Reinforcement Content

Shoppers are keen to ensure that the products they are purchasing are worth every penny that they are paying. Therefore, visually appealing content about the product as well as decision-supportive content from other customers validating the purchase decision act as brand reinforcement for the shopper. It is for this reason that good quality, yet mobile responsive content such as videos, images, and Augmented Reality (AR) enabled elements are routinely used in e-commerce. To support that though, careful attention is also required for the reviews, ratings, and descriptions of the products being advertised on the website.

7. Data Security and Customer Identity Protection

One of the many important considerations for e-commerce websites is ensuring data security and protecting the customer identity. While this is often overlooked, it is critical for brands to take this issue very seriously to avoid data theft and compromising customer’s personal data such as credit card / UPI data, personal data like birth dates, gender, and location, products purchased which may be sensitive or personal, and other associated details such as delivery addresses. 

8. SEO for Traditional as well as Mobile Responsive Websites

Getting more traffic to your website takes more effort than usually anticipated, Having a great product line and customer reviews only gets you traffic to an extent. However consistent optimization of the website to rank high in the search results is critical for continued success. Search Engine Optimization or SEO is not restricted only to browser sites but also to mobile devices. It is common to misconceive that it is one and the same. But SEO experts can help you differentiate between the two as well as help you rank better on mobile device browsers as well as traditional browser websites. 

Implementing the necessary steps to achieve the desired outcomes in the areas outlined above is a herculean task. Entrepreneurs and brand owners routinely make the cardinal sin of prioritizing their brand presence in the marketplace rather than their own website. After all it is the path of lesser resistance compared to marketing your own brand website and attracting customers. However, in a crowded e-commerce marketplace, your brand power can often get drastically diluted leading to lesser revenue and depleting profits. Do not let that happen to you. Reach out to the experts. 

About Marcabees 

At Marcabees, we specialize in SEO website management and brand marketing, leveraging our expertise to drive organic growth and elevate brand presence. Our team excels in optimizing websites for search engines, ensuring higher rankings and increased visibility. We craft strategic marketing campaigns tailored to enhance brand identity and engagement. With a proven track record of success, Marcabees is your trusted partner in navigating the digital landscape and achieving sustainable business growth. Get in touch with us today!