Checklist for E-Commerce Rookies [2019]

You have decided to expand your business by building an e-commerce site or a mobile app. You’ve done the research and collected millions of different advice. There is a lot of tips & tricks online but by now they are probably out of date. That’s why we are writing a fresh and simple checklist for e-commerce rookies!

What Should Go into the Checklist Before Starting an E-Commerce App?

Firstly, you need a business/app name. This sound really basic but a lot of companies make mistakes on this basic step. Keep in mind not to pick something too generic because it will be quickly forgotten. But also choose wisely! You want the name to reflect the core of your business.

Got the perfect name!? Now we can start our checklist!

On What Platform Are You Going to Build an E-Commerce Store?

When searching for products, customers often go on web but finish the purchase on their phone. So make sure to have both platforms covered, even though we recommend to put the focus on mobile. Check out how Thouqi built his empire through e-commerce!

Choosing a platform is one of the most important questions on the checklist. Once you make your pick, there is no turning back. Well, there is, but it’s going to cost you. There are more than one option: Magento, Shopify, Big Commerce, Weebly, Volusion, Paperform for eCommerce, etc.

Every platform is different and unique in their own way. So, make sure the chosen platform matches your needs. Furthermore, take into account the availability of developers for each platform, their pricing, and level of knowledge. Also, you will be working with these people for a long time, since the work on e-commerce is a never-ending job. Particularly because of yearly updates and the emergence of new trends in e-commerce, like AR and VR. Remember, there is always room for improvement in the e-commerce world!

We recommend choosing a platform based on your business size and what features the platform offers. A detailed comparison of platforms specification can be found here.

The next step is to create a simple spreadsheet where you will list two or three possible platforms. In this way, you can compare them and make the right decision.

Find the Right Agency for Android and iOS Development of Your E-Commerce App/Website

It is important to find the right partner. As said before, the process of building e-commerce never ends and you need to be sure about which agency you pick. You will need a good team with experience and a great portfolio of mobile and web applications. Very often an experienced agency will have a higher price but their knowledge will save you money down the road. You will have fewer corrections and bugs as well as guidance from an expert in the waters of e-commerce.

Companies often underestimate how many things need to be done to create a successful e-commerce app that stands out in today’s competitive e-commerce market.

Your Top Priority Should Be E-Commerce Shop Performance

After you choose the right platform and the right people, it’s important to make sure these run perfectly. Every 0.1 seconds your app lags, you lose 1% of your revenue, and that a lot of money on an e-commerce scale.

To make this happen we recommend choosing a team that builds both native apps on iOS and Android platform. They will make sure everything runs smoothly and is integrated seamlessly with your chosen platform (Magento, Shopify…)

Do Market Research!

In order to build successful e-commerce, you need to know for whom are you exactly building it for. So, do the market research and find people that are going to shop in your e-commerce. Often these people are not the same as the ones shopping in your brick store. Thus, by identifying the personas of your customers, you can focus on their needs and habits and build a great user experience.

There are a lot of companies skipping the market research part and investing a lot of time and money in building e-commerce that users don’t want. To avoid this, we suggest following a growth-driven design methodology when developing projects like building e-commerce. GDD is an excellent way for you to create a minimum viable product, restate to product-market fit and scale big!

Decide on the Look and Feel

UI/UX is one of the most important parts of your e-commerce app or website. Thus, make sure your UI/UX designer knows how to design great e-commerce that will enable a hassle-free shopping for the customer and prevent shopping cart abandonment.

For example, you need a designer that knows what colors to use. If you are developing a fashion e-commerce app or website, you won’t use the color red. This is because red is associated with hunger. To avoid any mistakes, we made a list of essential features in designing an e-commerce app!

• Enable easy navigation with a minimalistic looking design
• Include categories on each page and filtering option
• Provide a link to Legal information
• Provide a link to your Privacy policy
• Provide a link to your Contact page
• Provide a link to the FAQ page
• Use links to return and exchange policies
• Use links to supplier information pages
• Include sharing buttons
• Instead of using the hamburger menu, use tab layout in your app
• Provide a visible shopping cart at the top or bottom (or both)
• Always show payment options and security measures
• Show tabs leading to your support pages
• Make the checkout button clearly on each page, and include an instant checkout button

Now comes the two most important section of e-commerce: checkout process and product page.

Checkout and Product Page – What Not to Forget?

These days customers are shopping online more than ever, but at the same time, they are leaving cart faster than ever. To stop this from happening, you can read our latest blog about how to stop shopping cart abandonment. To make the checkout process successful make sure to provide easy navigation without too many input forms that could scare away potential customers.

Keys features to incorporate in your checkout process:

• You shouldn’t force a user to create an account before placing an order
• Incorporate multiple payment options
• It is desirable to offer low shipping costs
• Incorporate a timeline on the checkout screen
• It is good to display security and payment seals in the checkout process
• Give an option to continue shopping after the users complete the checkout process
• Enable your users to create and save a wish list
• Hold back from survey questions but here are the 5 ways to get more leads on mobile
• It is desirable to offer free shipping after a certain amount
• You can also offer a same day shipping
• Include coupons
• Make notable the amount saved during checkout
• Show the closest date the delivery will be made
• If the product has a high price, offer funding options (payment installments, payment in rates)

Moving on to the product page. Some argue the most important part of e-commerce. Well, it is certainly a big part and that is why we incorporated a list of essential features!

Keys features to look out on your product page:

• Bring down the clutter and make the purchasing process simpler
• Incorporate a CTA (call to action) button
• Encourage users to leave reviews
• Show products that are related
• Highlight free shipping or incorporate a time clock with a price cut if they buy now
• Incorporate a wishlist button
• Your images should have a zoom-in option
• It is great if you can include a 360-degree view
• Make item information specific and visible
• Provide an easy way to alter the purchasing quantities
• Place the add-to-cart button on every product page
• Inform your customers about the upcoming sales
• Make sure your customers know the availability of a product
• Make sizes visible
• You can provide a currency converter
• Highlight a recent sales Popup
• Include buttons to social share
• Have a special deal for customers with multiple associated items
• You can build a special message sticker to show when the product is unavailable
•  Also, incorporate an option to turn on a notification to when a product becomes available

If you are still unsure about how great mobile e-commerce should look like, check out the biggest Kuwait Webshop, Taw9eel! Or if you want a really flexible webshop that has everyday deals, see Sheeel e-commerce app!

Provide Excellent Service with Customer Service

The base of good e-commerce lies in customer service, exactly in providing a 24/7 service. You want to make sure your customers are satisfied with the service and have a feeling of safety and insurance while shopping in your e-commerce. Also, these days, one comment or tweet can destroy the entire company by destroying its reputation. Thus, ensuring a great customer service center, you’re making sure this doesn’t happen to you. Furthermore, many online stores have built their business on excellent return policies. This is one way to get close to customers and induce a positive word of mouth. So, be sure to include a very customer-centric return policy.

Incorporating Augmented Reality Is an Option

More and more online stores are incorporating augmented reality into their e-commerce apps. In this way, they are lowering the number of returns, since people have a better look at products. This is not a necessity but 61% of customers prefer augmented reality shops over shops that do not provide this feature.

If you do decide to incorporate AR into your e-commerce app or website, be careful when choosing a platform. Since augmented reality is still fresh, and so are the building platforms.

Last but Not Least – It’s All About the Products

You can do all the things listed above and do them excellent, but it won’t matter if you are selling a bad product! The product is a core for every business and before setting on a journey of building e-commerce, make sure your product is good. This will reduce the return percentage, bad reviews and save you money!

The End!

You are all set to start building your e-commerce app or website! If you have additional questions or suggestions, let us know on hello@factory.hr