Ecommerce Website Development Guide: Features, trends, tips, and more!

When it comes to eCommerce website development, we have to pay attention to numerous aspects to make it a success. You have to consider feasibility, cost, features, and the latest trends to make your eCommerce site futuristic and desirable.

Thus, deciding which features and trends will work best for your online store is much more essential. Here, we will discuss all that you need to know to develop eCommerce websites the right way.

You can learn about the trending features and noteworthy development practices all in one place. Here, check them out!

Essential eCommerce Website features to add

Considering the intense competition in the eCommerce industry, one has to include unique and desirable features if one wants to stand apart from the crowd. While some eCommerce website features are a necessity, some advanced features are capable of giving you an extra edge in the competition. The best way to find out what these advanced features are is to turn to a reputable agency like Instinctools.

Furthermore, here look at a few such essential and desirable features that can help you create an engaging eCommerce site.

1. Features to add to the Home page, header, & footer

• Ensure the navigation is simple for an improved user experience.
• If you have a physical store, you can add a store finder feature in the header so visitors can easily locate it.
• If you are operating globally and have different versions based on customer region, you can add a change language option.
• Provide social media links, a contact section, FAQ, a newsletter section, a featured items list, or new promotional news on the home page and footer.
• Design and optimize a search bar so customers can easily find a product from the home page itself.
• Include a live chat feature so customers can receive instant support.

2. Category page & product page features

• Breadcrumb navigation for seamless category browsing.
• Use consistent image size for all products including product descriptions.
• Product filter and sort option.
• Show the number of products at the bottom of the page.
• Include high-quality images with the zoom-in feature.
• Design and add wishlist, add to cart and compare buttons.
• Provide related products and consumer review sections.

3. Wishlist, shopping cart, & checkout features

• Multiple payment features.
• Add shipping and billing options.
• Establish Shipping Solution for Seamless Delivery.
• Show security seals and payment gateway examples on the payment page.
• Allow customers to quickly change the number of products.
• The wish list or ‘ save for later’ feature should be added. In the case of multi-category eCommerce websites, you can also allow a wishlist view by choosing a particular category.

While these are some of the useful eCommerce website features that can help develop a unique and engaging site, you must focus on designing the eCommerce site successfully for more user engagement as per the latest trends.

E-Commerce website development trends 2021

E-commerce website development trends may change each year and some of them might not remain as useful in the future as they are now. Nevertheless, we are here to save you from the trouble of investing in such trends.

This list mentioned below includes the latest web development features that are here to stay.

1. Chatbots

Providing optimal support services to customers has always been an area of struggle for eCommerce businesses. Responding to customer queries instantly and providing suggestions through human-to-human interaction is time taking and costly too.

In that manner, the use of chatbots has somewhat relaxed businesses as they can solve customer queries any time of the day, and support executives have to communicate to only a portion of customers only.

2. Voice search

The evolution of smart speakers and voice assistants has influenced the emergence of this trend which is likely to bloom in the coming years. Nowadays, most eCommerce software is built to be voice search compatible so that customers can shop using voice assistants while doing other chores.

3. On-site personalization

Personalization is now an inevitable part of your eCommerce strategy as the trends suggest the same. Most businesses have now resorted to custom web development for providing customers with tailored user experiences.

They assess target customer behavior, their interests, and shopping habits, and utilize the collected data to create personalized web experiences.

4. Artificial intelligence

AI has revolutionary contributions in the eCommerce industry and is likely to bring more innovation. The technology helps in the automation of customer services like chatbots, creating personalized experiences, giving real-time suggestions to customers, and optimizing discount and pricing policies.

5. Headless eCommerce

As customers, one might not be aware of the amount of work a business has to invest in developing the back end of an eCommerce website so that the front end works seamlessly. As an emerging trend, headless eCommerce will help you decouple the front end from the back end and create more progressive websites and PWA.

Note down these eCommerce development tips before you start

With plenty of online stores in the market, it all comes down to the quality of development. Thus, availing of eCommerce solutions from professionals becomes a necessity.

Even so, you need to be aware of the best eCommerce website design and development practices so that the end product is prepared successfully. Having said that, here are some tips that might help you create a user-friendly and feature-rich eCommerce website.

• The first and foremost step is to include the desirable and essential eCommerce website features that make the user experiences seamless.
• Since your focus is to attract target audiences, eCommerce web designers should create customer-centric designs only. You may have to study audience demographics, interest preferences, and design trends that your competitor is using.
• What distinguishes your eCommerce website? That’s a common question users seek answers to. So, when you write website content, make sure it is brief and captivating, and communicate with the audience and convince them to convert.
• Marketing automation and strategized approach can help your online store get the deserved recognition on the web and you can attract more audience. Before you do that, make your site SEO-friendly.

How much does it cost to build an eCommerce site?

The costs of an eCommerce website can vary from project to project depending on factors like –

• Region of development – When you hire web designers and developers, the hourly rate of such professionals can vary based on their geographical location. For instance, developers from Northern and Western Europe can charge about $90 to $120 an hour. Whereas the hourly rate for Ukraine varies between $30 to $75 and the hourly rate in Asian countries may lie between $14 to $45.
• The extent of features – It is obvious and understandable that the eCommerce website cost will vary depending on the extent of features you add to your site.
• Quality of development – Development quality is another crucial factor that may determine the costs. However, one should be concerned about the quality of development and decide accordingly.
• On-site, freelancer, or outsourcing company – A freelancer might cost you a little less. But, at the same time, there are risks involved and the entire development process can be affected.

When it comes to on-site development, it is easier to communicate with the team and get the job done, but you would need to hire full-fledged developers, designers, testers, and managers for the job. Hence, it could cost you more.

When you outsource your project to an eCommerce development company, you can easily get the job done with the help of professionals. However, they will work remotely, and coordinating with them could become a hassle if the process isn’t properly planned out.

These pointers will help estimate the eCommerce website cost and you can achieve a middle ground where you can avail of quality development services while spending a reasonable amount of money.

Conclusion

Given the rise in competition in the eCommerce market, the quality of development matters a lot in differentiating a well-developed website from other amateur ones present on the web.

Thus, it becomes even more necessary to keep the must-have eCommerce website features, the latest trends, cost, and wise development tips into consideration. This blog talks about all that to help you throughout the eCommerce development process.

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