5 Things to Consider When Building a Small Business Ecommerce Website

Lincoln Narelle Business Specialist July 21, 2011 0

Example of a Magento ecommerce theme.

Building a successful ecommerce website can be challenging, and require a lot of time and investment to ensure it delivers the online sales you expect. So, before you start building your money-making website, consider these five important things to help you generate revenue from site visitors:

1. Content is King
When thinking about the content, implement proven SEO principles to ensure that your webpages contain meaningful, original content rich with your primary search keywords. This will help you rank high in search engines like Google, which will in turn increase traffic to your site. Factor into your budget a good content writer who understands how to write for SEO. Over time, this service will prove invaluable.

2. Backend and Administration
Once you have mapped out t the content of your website, consider how you will run the site on a day-to-day basis. A database is required to keep track of orders and also create a backup which would protect important data. Also look into where you will be hosting your site. A good outsourced, dedicated hosting provider can save you lots unwanted expense and headaches.

3. Improvement
Keep your website as user friendly as possible. Continually test your landing pages, button placement and content to increase sales conversion from your ecommerce website. A great shopping experience will turn first-time shoppers into repeat customers. Think Amazon or Zappos. Out-of-the-box shopping cart solutions have become far more advance like allowing customers to save their information for future purchase or recommend additional complimentary products based on the original item selected. All, with the end goal of improving the user experience and revenue generated from your ecommerce website.

4. Design
What you put onto your site will determine how successful it will be. Review best practices for building a high conversion website. Or, even choose existing themes and templates for WordPress or the Magento ecommerce platform. It isnt all about pretty pictures. Functionality, bold and relevant call to actions, and pleasing visuals all play a role in driving more sales through your ecommerce website.

5. Setup a Paypal or Other Merchant Account
Now that the rest of your ecommerce website is complete, you need to get paid! Choose the payment method that best works for you and your audience. Most smaller ecommerce websites start with just offeringPayPal payment because its simple and reputable. However, as your business grows, you will need to offer more payment options like Visa and Mastercard which means youll need to set up a merchant account. Merchant account forums are a great place to start your research, as there are many merchant accounts available. Find the one that best works for you.

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