The saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” probably wouldn’t do justice to the current predicament with e-commerce websites these days since it only takes about 0.05 seconds for users to form an opinion about your website that determines whether they will stay or leave.

With just 2 additional clicks they’re on to the next website looking for the information they first visited your site for. Now, slow loading speed is just one of the many reasons why a visitor might dump your website for good and form a negative opinion about it. There can be an array of other reasons too.

Whatever the reason may be for you, it is crucial that you know what isn’t working for your e-commerce website and mend it immediately because guess what, your book is being judged before the cover can even load. Moreover, the global e-commerce industry is on trajectory to amass a staggering 5.4 trillion USD in sales by 2022 and you definitely don’t want to miss out on that.

Assuming that you are aware of some jammed cogs in your e-commerce website and want to implement changes, there are a few things you need to be clear about before doing so.

Questions to ask yourself before deciding to rebuild your website

• How do I know my website needs an overhaul?

  Think of it this way – if you walk into a store and its messy, unorganized or simply killing your vibe you won’t stick around to find what you’re looking for. In fact, you won’t think twice before making yourself scarce. Apply the same concept to your online store. When a visitor is displeased with your website outlook and or settings they will be quick to leave. The advantage with an online store is that there are tools at your disposal like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, etc. that measure your performance metrics such as the bounce rate, conversion rate, site speed, and mobile-friendliness to determine what aspect could use a redesign.

• What are some of the most fundamental elements of an e-commerce store?

  To keep things short and simple, the basic fundamentals that you need to master when redesigning your online store, especially for the newer businesses or smaller retailers are your product ratings and reviews, an all-encompassing set of payment options such as Apple Pay, PayPal, Visa, MasterCard and more, PCI Compliance for SaaS businesses, mobile-adaptiveness, and a swift and seamless checkout process.

• What are some guidelines to live by?

  Visitors are looking for a pleasant browsing experience when they come onto your website so make sure a few things are in order to help them do so. Exhibit high-quality authentic images only, do NOT put up false reviews and testimonials as customers will be quick to call it out and will leave a bad taste ensuring they never return, and most importantly create a clutter-free layout of your product catalogue with the help of clear product categories, filters and search bars. Couple that with a quick checkout process and you’ve got yourself a new and improved website.

What is the need to rebuild?

Imagine losing over 80% of your online traffic in a single day abruptly. Such is the case for e-commerce websites that don’t perform well. Over 88% of online consumers have admitted that they are less likely to return to a site after a bad experience, whatever may be the reason. There are plenty of ecommerce website development agencies that will advise you to rebuild your site using their ecommerce website design services but before you go pouring your annual gross earnings into a new website know exactly what it is that isn’t working for you.

Hire ecommerce developers to run a complete audit on your website with the help of an SEO team and get to the root of the issue. Perhaps your website just needs better branding to help it stand out in relation to your competitors. Many a times your UI might not be up to the mark because of which you are unable to convert visitors into customers. This may involve an overload in SKU’s rendering your site slower than before leading to a loss in sales. Perhaps a revamping is required to help accommodate all the little changes you wish to implement.

There are majorly 3 different types of maintenance rebuilds that you can do are – storefront maintenance, marketing or UI maintenance and security maintenance. Regardless of which aspect NEEDS an update, you must make the effort to dot all the I’s and cross all the T’s as it will often cost less to have a look through all these overheads at once than to address them individually at a later date.

Red Flags of a Sub-Optimally Functioning Website

If you are here reading this article then you’re already aware that something is blocking you from reaching your sales target this year and want to fix it. Just in case you can’t quite seem to put a finger on what the exact cause may be, here are a few red flags you need to watch out for:

• Poor reflection of your brand – Your website is the most cost effective and simplest way to create an image for your brand. The look and feel speaks volumes to the nature of your business and gives the visitors an idea as to what it might be like to associate with you. If your site looks too old, has an unfinished design or is crowded with too many ad spaces, it reflects poorly on your brand. Your website needs to be consistent with your brand in look, voice, and message so make sure those things are in order first.
• Irresponsive mobile website – 85% of adults think that a company’s website when viewed on a mobile device should be as good as, if not better than its desktop website and over 57% of internet users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile website to a friend. This should bring to light the importance of having a swift and seamless mobile-friendly website. When you redesign ask yourself if your website look as good on a phone or tablet as it does on a desktop and does your site fill the full width of the browser on a desktop. If not, you know what you need to get working on.
• Unable to make Updates – No matter what your trade is; whether you deal in apparel, SaaS or simply run a blogging website, making updates are a part and parcel of owning any website. Make sure your objectives are aligned with the content management system (CMS) you choose so you can make changes and install updates as and when required from the back-end without having to write any cumbersome code. In this cut-throat environment if you are unable to make changes and keep up with the times, you might as well build a new site from scratch or risk losing your business completely.

What are some of the Benefits of Remodeling your Website?

Let’s say you’ve done all that you needed to do and have a brand new website to run with. A few things that you can expect are reduced cart abandonments, positive user reviews, increase in rankings on SERP’s and an overall improved user experience.

All these factors combined should draw the best out of your website and propel your business to reaching your annual targets. Maintaining an e-commerce website that ensures a smooth shopping journey and user experience from start to finish translates into customers being much likelier to return or recommending to a friend.

Having trouble with your website?

Perhaps your website is in need of a remodeling. Don’t keep skating on thin ice any longer. At Mobikasa, our e-commerce website developers are equipped with all the knowledge and expertise to help take your business to the next level.

Leave a comment in the box below and we’ll reach out to you shortly!