What a eCommerce Website needs
In this article I discuss what I believe to be essential elements of a successful eCommerce website.
There are many different ways to start your own website. If money is no object one can find many people willing to set up a website for you. For myself I do not like to spend my money unless I have to. There is free software available for you to construct a website. You will need a domain name. When you decide on a name check to see if it is available. You will also need a company to host your site. Here are some of the things I think a website should have:
Content: This is something to draw and keep a customer's attention. Search engines like content. In our website, Paula’s Herbs and Plants, you can see I have pages devoted to different things; Butterfly gardening, Herb Companion Plants, Helpful Gardening Tips, Herbal Teas and other information helpful to my customers.
Newsletter: Customers can sign up for my monthly newsletter to be emailed to them with new articles and notices of sales. This helps to keep my site fresh in their mind. Make sure to have a unsubscribe link available in case they signed up by accident. Don't make customers mad by sending them something they do not want.
Links: This is a very important page where you can place links to other sites. Many sites will exchange links with you if you ask and this will help your site's ranking in some of the search engines. Make sure that the links are active, so check them often.
Privacy Notice page: People want to know you respect their privacy. So tell them what information your will require and what you will do with that information.
Shipping and Returns Policy: This is a page that clearly states your shipping and returns policy.
Contact Us: A contact us link is helpful for potential customers to easily ask questions.
Customer Comments: I think every site should have a customer comments page so that potential customers can see what previous customers have said about your service.
Shopping Cart: An easily integrated and easy to use shopping cart is a must.
There are other elements available on some website software but, I feel, these are essential to a well rounded website.
Content: This is something to draw and keep a customer's attention. Search engines like content. In our website, Paula’s Herbs and Plants, you can see I have pages devoted to different things; Butterfly gardening, Herb Companion Plants, Helpful Gardening Tips, Herbal Teas and other information helpful to my customers.
Newsletter: Customers can sign up for my monthly newsletter to be emailed to them with new articles and notices of sales. This helps to keep my site fresh in their mind. Make sure to have a unsubscribe link available in case they signed up by accident. Don't make customers mad by sending them something they do not want.
Links: This is a very important page where you can place links to other sites. Many sites will exchange links with you if you ask and this will help your site's ranking in some of the search engines. Make sure that the links are active, so check them often.
Privacy Notice page: People want to know you respect their privacy. So tell them what information your will require and what you will do with that information.
Shipping and Returns Policy: This is a page that clearly states your shipping and returns policy.
Contact Us: A contact us link is helpful for potential customers to easily ask questions.
Customer Comments: I think every site should have a customer comments page so that potential customers can see what previous customers have said about your service.
Shopping Cart: An easily integrated and easy to use shopping cart is a must.
There are other elements available on some website software but, I feel, these are essential to a well rounded website.
Paula's Hebs and Plants
The authors website.
The authors website.
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