10 Must-Have Features of Every Ecommerce Website Creator
eCommerce websites are amongst the most visited websites. They have become essential for businesses as they allow them to target a much wider audience, and customers have more choices than before. With online stores enjoying unprecedented growth, efficient eCommerce website creator must improve their game. By eCommerce website creators, we are not only referring to the developers but also the designers. Every web design company in Dubai and elsewhere must play their role in creating compelling designs and diligently addressing the target audience’s requirements.
They must incorporate the latest features so that the users enjoy a seamless experience. These features will also help the creators stand out from the competition. What do we mean by the latest features? Well, it refers to elements that are not only innovative but greatly enhance the quality and success of an online store. These features cover many areas, including the design, checkout process, marketing, and security. This article will provide a detailed breakdown of the top 10 game-changing features that every eCommerce website creator should have. On top of it, we will list the top 5 eCommerce website creators globally.
Top 10 Features eCommerce Website Creators Must Offer
It is challenging to list the top 10 features as so many features merit a mention here. So, we will list the 10 most important areas and then provide a list of related features. Without further ado, let’s see if your website creator truly deserves your money.
User Experience Enhancements
Responsive Design
It is the bare necessities that every website creator must provide nowadays. You should not contemplate success or competing with your competitors without a responsive website design. A responsive website is critical because it ensures that your website offers the same experience on every device.
Intuitive Navigation
Would customers prefer to buy products at a store that takes 10 minutes to find the relevant product or hardly takes a few seconds? Indeed, time is money, and no one likes wasting their time. Therefore, website creators must offer clear and well-structured menus and search functionality.
Fast Page Load Times
If your website takes over 3 seconds to load, roughly 80% of the visitors will skip to another website. But, you are losing 80% of the total traffic to competitors. Remember, fast page load times are essential for retaining visitors. Website creators must offer techniques such as image compression and caching.
Personalized Recommendations
Amazon sells 40% of its products through recommendations. The right algorithm can help online stores increase sales. Online store creators must leverage customer data and algorithms to provide relevant offers. It increases cross-selling and upselling opportunities. Leveraging customer data like Amazon, Amazon marketing agencies can craft personalized recommendations for your online store, driving cross-selling and upselling opportunities and maximizing revenue potential.
Streamlined Checkout Process 
Single-Page Checkout
Indeed, no one would like to go through the hassle of different pages to complete a checkout. Today, customers prefer a single-page checkout process. Therefore, online store creators must condense everything into a single page. It will help reduce the cart abandonment rate and improve the user experience.
Guest Checkout Option
Suppose two websites are offering similar products. One requires creating an account, whereas the other requires basic information to process the order. Almost everyone would prefer the second option. So, it is time to offer a guest checkout option to attract buyers who are reluctant to share personal information.
Multiple Payment Options
You cannot achieve success by offering limited payment options. With so many payment methods easily accessible by the target audience, online store owners must embrace more payment options. It helps cater to the preferences of diverse customers and increases the likelihood of completed purchases.
For further information, refer to our article ‘How to Choose Your Payment System – Essential Website Component’.
Integrated Shipping Solutions
Another thing that every eCommerce website creator must pay attention to is the shipping or delivery. The online store must provide real-time shipping rates or order tracking information. It removes the need for customers to seek the services of another business, thereby improving their experience.
Robust Product Management
Advanced Search and Filtering Options
Customers must have the option to find their desired product without hassle. They should easily browse products based on price, size, or any other attributes. Without this option, you are only making it challenging for your target audience to find the relevant products that meet their requirements.
Product Reviews and Ratings
A crucial aspect of product management is allowing users to leave and view product reviews. Product reviews build customer trust in the brand and help visitors make informed decisions. Secondly, customer reviews can aid your marketing strategy. Third, they allow you to make product improvements.
Inventory Management
Easy Product Catalog Creation
eCommerce websites always evolve by adding new products or offering new website features. Every eCommerce website creator must focus on efficiently adding, editing, and organising products. Therefore, simple features such as bulk import/export or customizable attributes are necessary.
Inventory Management System
In any store, inventory management is one of the most critical areas. Ensuring you have the proper inventory amounts at the right time is key to long-term success. After all, over and understocking both are disastrous for any business. An inventory management system facilitates efficient order fulfillment.
Practical Marketing and Promotion Tools
SEO-Friendly Features
The first thing you will do after setting up your eCommerce store is start marketing it. Regarding marketing, search engine optimization (SEO) is a must. Hence, every eCommerce website creator must implement optimized meta tags, clean URLs, XML sitemaps, and schema markup to improve visibility in search engine results.
Social Media Integration
Along with SEO, the next thing online store owners must pay attention to is using the power of social media. The proper social media channels and strategies can help you enhance your online presence. An eCommerce website creator must integrate social media sharing buttons.
Email Marketing Automation
Depending on your product or marketing strategy, you may need to opt for email marketing. The developers must focus on abandoned cart recovery emails or sending personalized product recommendations. These can be beneficial In increasing sales and improving customer service.
Discount and Coupon Management
Every eCommerce website must have a discount and coupon management system. This system must make offering discounts or creating coupons for specific customers easier. With the right discounts and coupons, online stores can increase customer loyalty and improve their sales.
Customer Relationship Management
Customer Account Management
While certain users would value guest checkouts, others prefer creating an account. It saves them the hassle of adding their information again and again. Therefore, every eCommerce website creator must allow users to create reports and then personalize them according to their requirements.
Order Tracking and Notifications
Another functionality that every online store must offer is order tracking. The customer must receive notifications every step of the way. The messages can pertain to order confirmation, delivery, or current status. It can be beneficial in enhancing transparency and reducing customer inquiries.
Customer Support Integration
Another thing that online store creators must focus on is integrating customer support channels into the website. For instance, there should be a chatbot, live chat, or a help center. Also, streamline your communications and set up a VoIP phone service for timely customer support since prompt replies can create a loyal customer base and enhance customer satisfaction.
Customer Feedback and Surveys
Regardless of your sales or success level, there is always room for improvement. Integrating customer feedback and surveys into the website allows the store to identify improvement areas. When a customer realizes how much a store values their opinion or feedback, they may develop long-term brand loyalty.
Analytics and Reporting
Sales and Revenue
As an eCommerce store owner, you must always know the sales and revenue. This data is crucial to data-driven decision-making and undertaking decisions for your store’s betterment. A Magento ecommerce agency can be instrumental in leveraging such data for strategic improvements and tailored customer experiences.
Hence, the developers must provide reports or analytics that cover sales and revenue.
Traffic Analysis
A website generates traffic from different sources. It can be direct, organic, referral, or paid. You must understand your traffic source to optimize strategies accordingly. For instance, if traffic is primarily organic, it indicates the success of the SEO team. Such features can aid efficient resource allocation.
Refer to our guide on ‘How to Measure Website Traffic’ for further clarity.
User Behaviour Insights
Another area that deserves developer attention is analyzing user behavior. For example, what are the store’s click-through rates or average visit duration? These insights are crucial for many design and content-related decisions. The right content placement can drive up traffic and sales.
Scalability and Flexibility
Cloud-Based Infrastructure
You need an online store, making it easier to scale as the business expands. It is here that cloud infrastructure can play a vital role. The chosen eCommerce website creator must utilize a cloud-based infrastructure so that the stores can respond to increasing demand and market changes.
Mobile App Integration
Large online stores must have a mobile phone application. The website and the mobile app should offer a uniform customer experience. The benefit of the mobile app is that it provides further accessibility for customers. Investing in mobile app development is essential to harmonize the online store’s website and app, ensuring customers enjoy a consistent and improved experience. The mobile app can send personalized notifications to enhance customer engagement further.
Multilingual and Multicurrency Support
A crucial aspect of flexibility is offering support for multiple languages and currencies. Indeed, the best part of an eCommerce store is that businesses can target a global audience. Therefore, you should allow individuals to browse your website in a preferred language or currency.
Security and Trust
SSL Encryption
It is not exactly a game-changing feature but a fundamental one. Every website must have SSL encryption to ensure that the information is secure. Otherwise, customers will be reluctant to enter their personal data. If you have multiple subdomains, utilize a wildcard SSL for greater security.
PCI Compliance
Customers need to enter their payment information to complete the purchase. Therefore, every eCommerce website creator must comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). It increases user trust in the website and ensures protection against lawsuits.
Fraud Detection and Prevention
Although one might think it does not fall within the domain of website creators, this is not the case. They must implement card security codes and transaction monitoring to help reduce fraud. Undoubtedly, when you go the extra mile for customers, they will prefer your brand over others.
Additionally, every niche has unique threats to address. For instance, if you open an e-commerce store specializing in sneakers, sneaker bots can present a significant challenge. Sneaker bots swiftly buy limited-edition sneakers, causing unfair competition, inventory issues, and damaging your brand’s reputation. Staying vigilant against these threats and seeking appropriate solutions to safeguard your brand and assets is essential. For example, DataDome’s solution can assist in preserving fair access to products, protect your brand’s reputation, and promote a secure online environment for your customers.
Ongoing Maintenance and Support
Regular Updates and Bug Fixes
Developers must continuously update their service offerings with the latest security patches and provide regular product enhancements. It ensures customers benefit from the latest trends and enjoy a seamless user experience. On top of it, ongoing maintenance and support ensure prompt resolution of issues.
Integration with Third-Party Services
Lastly, a website must have the option for integration with third-party services. Large eCommerce stores need accounting applications, customer relationship management systems, marketing automation platforms, and more. Without these integrations, running a successful store can be a hassle.
Top 5 eCommerce Website Creators
As said earlier, we will list the top 5 eCommerce website creators and briefly overview what makes them the top choice.
MotoCMS
If you search for an eCommerce website creator, it will be among the top names, regardless of your search area. The platform provides numerous ready-to-use templates covering a wide range of eCommerce niches. For instance, if you need a template for a food, travel, or home services business, you can find a unique template.
The best thing about these templates is that they are fully customizable. You can make the necessary changes to make your eCommerce store look appealing and unique. That’s not the only reason to prefer MotoCMS. It offers built-in SEO capabilities, making it easier to rank your store.
Shopify
If you lack the technical know-how and wish to create an eCommerce website on a scalable platform, look no further than Shopify. An individual with zero web development knowledge can easily create an engaging eCommerce store. All you have to do is customize the available templates to your needs.
You don’t have to worry about other aspects, such as the infrastructure. Shopify is a cloud-based platform, meaning you can quickly scale your store. Shopify handles the resources while you can work on improving your products and customer service. The only downside is the cost, which not everyone finds budget-friendly.
Square Online
Square Online is an e-commerce platform that empowers businesses to sell their products effectively. With its integrated inventory management, point-of-sale (POS) system, and online payment acceptance capabilities, companies can easily manage their online and offline stores. While a free plan is available, the paid plans offer enhanced features to maximize sales for small businesses.
Even if you operate a physical store or sell in different locations, Square enables seamless payment processing and automatic inventory synchronization. Additionally, Square Online facilitates selling on popular platforms like Facebook and Instagram. However, customer support issues, limited support hours, transaction fees for high-volume sellers, and limited customization options are among the cons associated with Square Online.
UnitedSol.net
Unlike MotoCMS, it is neither a content management system nor offers ready-to-use templates. However, it provides a fully customizable eCommerce website using the latest techniques and trends. Whether you wish to have a store in Magento, WooCommerce, or any other platform, UnitedSol is highly recommended.
Apart from their website development services, they also offer digital marketing services. You can avail of their services to market your store to the target audience most effectively. It saves you the hassle of managing multiple service providers for different aspects of your store.
FME Extensions
If your eCommerce store is in Magento, you must check out FME Extensions. This website offers a wide range of Magento extensions to help your eCommerce store edge over the competition. These extensions cover many areas, including product management, inventory management, and more.
It’s also one of Dubai’s leading eCommerce web design companies and has offices in multiple countries. You should check out its portfolio to understand its work quality and expertise across several platforms. The company has the backing of renowned names in their respective industries.
Conclusion
Incorporating the above features will help eCommerce stores stay up-to-date and serve their target audience more effectively. These features address different aspects of the store, such as user experience, security, and marketing. By offering these features, creators can help their clients achieve long-term success.
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