There are various approaches you can take when designing a online store. However, you might notice that effective e-commerce websites have certain features that are absolutely critical to the shopper’s online experience.
We will look at these common features that you will find in almost all e-commerce websites.
Product Navigation
Perhaps the most important component of an e-commerce website is its navigation system.
Good website navigation is essential for any site, but much more so for e-commerce websites. Users need to have the ability to browse through different categories and products quickly through an intuitive navigation system. Investing in the information architecture of an e-commerce website is paramount in the site’s success.
Search Box
Having a clear and well-positioned search box is crucial to an e-commerce web site. The ability to search an e-commerce website is very important because many online buyers have a specific item that they are looking for. A search box is a powerful site feature that will improve findability and navigability.
Often, search boxes in e-commerce stores are in very prominent positions, high up in the layout, enticing the user to search the site for the product they want to buy.
Shopping Cart
A shopping cart is almost always present in e-commerce stores. The shopping cart is usually the first screen in a checkout process. Products in the user’s shopping cart are typically displayed in a table/matrix format.
Its purpose is to display the items that the user has decided to purchase. It’s a highly functional feature that gives you a summary of the things you’re buying.
Common elements of shopping cart pages are:
· Product name
· Short product description (if the product name needs further explanation)
· Product’s price
· Total cost of products in the shopping cart
· Product image thumbnail that displays a preview of the item
· Quantity box that allows users to modify the number of items they want to purchase
Featured Products
Often, e-commerce stores have certain products they want to highlight. These products are often found on the front page of the site. These products are usually items that are on sale/clearance or new items that have recently been added to the inventory.
There are many ways to put featured products on center stage. A popular method is to have an image slideshow at the top of the home page’s layout.
Product View Filtering and Sorting
When displaying a category of products or a list of search query results, having the ability to filter or sort products can greatly enhance the ability of the user to find exactly what he or she is looking for.
Product Images
The main disadvantage of e-commerce websites when compared to traditional physical retail stores is that websites can’t give shoppers the ability to touch and see products.
Thus, images of the products being sold must be included and displayed in an enticing way. Images must be big enough to see details and features of a product.
These are the most important features in an e-commerce website. If you feel anything has been missed out please leave your comments.
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