This is a guide to the top features for eCommerce websites:
So if you want to:
- Reduce your bounce rates
- Improve your conversion rates
- Increase your revenue
- Generate more repeat customers
Then you’ll love this new guide.
Let’s get started.
The eCommerce Website Features for Your Home Page
Your Home Page is the equivalent of a brick-and-mortar shop window for online stores. It has to make an excellent first impression.
A Top-Level Domain
Register a domain name that is easy to spell, remember and find. Also, make sure that you register HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) rather than HTTP. HTTPS shows shoppers that your eCommerce website is more secure when inputting sensitive details like their credit card numbers or when using other payment methods.
Modern browsers like Chrome will also alert web browsers accessing non-HTTPS websites that the site isn’t secure, which will make them click away from online stores.
Your Business Logo
Your logo is an integral part of your branding, but it’s also the feature that users click on when they want to return to the site’s homepage. Make sure that an attractive store logo forms part of your eCommerce website feature.
A Navigation Bar
Your navigation bar is one of the key features on your eCommerce website features list, especially if you have a complex site with many categories and subcategories. A drop mega-menu that provides the complete picture of the categories available in your store will also be pivotal to your success.
The Search Bar
Every eCommerce site needs a search to help them find exactly what they are looking for, like a powerful search engine. Not everyone enjoys scrolling through a menu or items. Your search bar should be able to handle lengthier and more complex searches. Your website search bar also needs to be able to recognize spelling mistakes.
Login Features
Your login page is essential to your eCommerce website marketing and remarketing. Entice customers to log in to shop in your store and add items to their wish list with discount codes presented to first-time shoppers.
Wish Lists
Speaking of wish lists, make sure to include one. Your wish list is a vital eCommerce feature because customers can save products that they want to purchase later. Some eCommerce sites allow customers to create shareable wish lists that they can share, like a register for birthdays and weddings.
Shopping Cart
Every eCommerce site needs a shopping cart so that customers can use it to see how many items they’ve added to buy and how much it will cost.
Notifications
Notifications can pop up to let customers know their online shopping order status or when there are upcoming promotions or sales. It can also nudge them towards events in product categories, like big sales on menswear.
Currency Converters and Translations
If you have a global online store, you may want to offer a language and currency switcher so that potential customers know how much they are spending in their currency. It’s an essential step towards creating a friendly website.
Contact Information Buttons
A customer should be able to reach you if something goes wrong or if they need assistance. Customers should have to search too long to find it. Ensure your business email, phone number, or link to a contact form is visible on the header.
Newsletter Sign-Up
As an eCommerce website, you want to build a relationship with customers and keep them coming back for more by sending them rich newsletters featuring the latest specials and things they love buying.
Ask your customers to sign up for your newsletter at check out and via a subscription box to stay in touch.
Social Media Links
Don’t forget to include links to your social media pages. Some clients prefer newsletter communications; others like to keep up to date via Facebook or Instagram. These links can appear on the footer of your home page.
FAQs
Clients will always have some questions about a new online store. How much does shipping cost? How long will it take for my order to arrive? Can I return an item I don’t like? What’s the refund policy? Save your customer service team time by creating a FAQ list that can be accessed via the footer.
The eCommerce Website Features You Need for Your Category Pages
Your homepage is similar to a bricks-and-mortar shop window, but your categories are the aisles where they look for specific pages. Each product page needs to be user-friendly and contain quality product images.
Breadcrumb Navigation
Breadcrumbs show shoppers how to reach a page they’ve landed on. Each breadcrumb needs to be clickable to make the site user-friendly. This will help your customers who like to jump through categories and pages while they search for deals.
Product Filtering
If you have lots of different product attributes, you should include product filtering. An eCommerce website that sells clothing should allow customers to filter by size, color, and price. Sorting will enable customers to sort products based on ascending or descending pricing or the latest arrivals.
Product Pages
Your customers will find crucial info about products on this page, including names, descriptions, images, and videos. These features will help them make a decision while shopping.
Zoom
Customers may want to zoom in to take a closer look at an online product. Zooming in on product images gives a user a close-up view of the item.
Product Variations
Occasionally a single product will have multiple variations (e.g., color or sizes). Allow customers to view and select different product variations via a drop-down list or checkbox to add to the shopping cart.
Add To Shopping Cart Button
Make it easy for customers to shop with an add to the shopping cart button to add products to their cart. You should also include this feature in customer wish lists to move wish-listed items to their shopping cart at any time. It’s an important call to action.
Ratings and Reviews
Customers pay careful attention to user-generated comments and ratings. Encourage customers to add ratings and reviews to products that they have purchased and promote five-star rated products. You may even want to give customers the option to filter products by ratings.
Related Products and Recommendations
Once someone has added a product to their cart or clicked on a product to see more information, you may want to make recommendations about similar products based on their shopping behavior. Add a call to action to leave a review when a client has paid for something on your website. It’s a great way to boost your sales.
You can also make recommendations based on contextual data, e.g., if someone has bought a toddler toy, they may want to buy a pack of triple-A batteries to help power it.
Social Share Buttons
Allow customers to share their purchases or products that they love via social media. Social shares are one of the must-have features for your site. You can add this plugin to the checkout or a product page or as a call to action after purchase.
Edit Quantity/Remove/Add to Wishlist
Customers may still edit the contents of their cart after adding items to it, especially if the total is higher than they expected to spend. Allow them to edit the quantity, remove items or move items from the cart to the wish list. These features can help you conclude a sale later and help create a positive user experience.
Billing and Shipping Address
Always include both a billing and a shipping address on your payment forms and payment page. This is used to verify authorized card use and reduce fraud through services provided by credit card networks.
Your customers may have a different shipping address to a billing address. They may want items delivered to their work address but want to be billed at home. Sometimes the shipping and billing address will be the same, so customers can check a box that indicates both are the same. This will save them considerable time.
You should also include all the shipping methods your store supports during the checkout process, e.g., same-day express delivery or overnight delivery.
Promo Code Box
Promos are great features for eCommerce websites to have. You can give away discount codes for the holidays, or for first-time shoppers, or present discount codes to users that haven’t shopped in a while. You can switch up promo codes for A/B testing, assign different promo codes to various campaigns.
Allow promo code boxes at checkout so that clients can use their discount codes before they make payment.
Payment Options
eCommerce website features lists won’t be complete without payment options. Payment options will impact the decision to buy. You should also state any relevant payment gateways or other redirects they may encounter along the way to foster a sense of security.
A Continue Shopping Option
When an order is created, you can redirect customers to a page with specials. This will keep customers engage and create another selling opportunity. You can also present customers clicking away from your site with a continue shopping pop-up to reel them back in.
eCommerce Website Features Summary
Your products will drive seals, but your website features will provide an optimal experience for your customers that will bring them back time and time again.
Of course, not all features will be user-friendly or applicable to your target market. Speak to EpiProdux to determine whether your ecommerce store features are adequate for your products, brands, and target market.
EpiProdux can help you analyze and optimize your eCommerce Website Features for the best revenue and customer experience results.