When it comes to building website functionality, one of the more common, delicate and difficult-to-perfect features a website or business can possess is ecommerce functionality.
On paper, it’s incredibly simple – especially in this day and age. It’s basically the ability to buy and sell goods through the Internet.
You need a system that tracks inventory, facilitates payment and starts the shipping process, all while displaying the correct number and value of items and storing (and safeguarding) client data.
Okay, perhaps it’s a little less simple than originally anticipated, but it’s only going to get more complicated – because when a technology comes out, once people get used to it, they want something faster. Better. And it’s the same with ecommerce. Ecommerce in America grew nearly 15 percent last year as per the Internet Retailer.
The standards for website speed and efficiency are relatively brutal – if you’re but a second too slow in getting your page to load, then you may already be losing a significant number of customers. As per KissMetric, this means your page loading speeds affect your bottom line directly.
With a website with ecommerce functionality, getting that second of speed can be quite tricky – which is where ecommerce website development experts like White Sunrise come in handy. So when looking to include ecommerce in your offerings, you need to make sure of a few things:
- Your capabilities and your hosting matches up.
You can host thousands and thousands of products on your website – provided you have the processing and memory power to keep it all up and running 24/7. Sometimes, it’s a good idea to keep your online offerings limited to ensure you don’t run into problems with the technological logistics.
- You’re working with a trusted developer.
Anyone can say they offer ecommerce website development services, but to actually produce quality results, you need someone who can prove they’ve been around the block a few times. Go through third parties, ask around in forums, and look at testimonials.
- You’re prioritizing speed over a feature-rich experience.
People like having choices, but too many choices are actually a bane to your sales. Not only that, but a feature-rich website will be harder to load on a small budget – meaning, you’ll be losing customers.
With these tips in mind, you’ll have no problem hosting and profiting off your new ecommerce functionality.
