Ecommerce website owners often ask "what does it take for a web site to succeed?" There are many factors to look into but here is a list of 10 most important areas to concentrate on to make an effective e-commerce website.

1. 10 Really Important Tips for Your Ecommerce Store to Succeed in 2009 and Beyond
The Ecommerce world is one of the most lucrative industries to be involved in and lot of people
endeavor into starting up their own online store or business. Ecommerce website
owners often ask "what does it take for a web site to succeed?" There are many
factors but here is a list of 10 most important areas to concentrate on.
1. Clear Storefront Layout and Navigation - Design cannot be overlooked. A user
should instantly feel like he or she knows what to do and what is being asked of him or her to get to a
preferred destination. An ecommerce web site should home page almost always must include a search
bar, a navigation bar with browse by category, special offers via a colorful rotation banner such as deal
of the day, merchandising boxes that work together to offer popular items, security and confidence
building purchase icons such as contact phone numbers with customer service links, SSL and secure
experience icons, shipping and credit card/payment option logos, and a clearance or discount section.
2. Significant, Useable, Filterable, and Actionable Product Information - First, provide an easy to filter
navigation and the option to compare items. This puts a user in charge of his or her own shopping
destiny and encourages buying by increasing participation in the selection process. A good amount of
content in each section and about each product allows users to learn more about your categories,
products, your company, and the experience one can expect, building the consumer confidence needed
to make a purchase and be happy about his or her decision.
3. Product Photos - Product photos are a big deal! Many users need to see, in good detail, the quality of
the product he or she will receive. Include zoom tools so users can see the detail, even if you think this is
not important. If your product warrants multiple angles or light shots, show them. Your users will
reward you with a confident purchase, one less likeley to be returned. Best practice would be to find the
best competitor out there and make sure your site has better or "as good" pictures as that site.
4. Calls to Action - Invest in features that will help customers interact with your site and understand your
products better. Investment ideas are to go with some leading trends such as expandable interactive
images, flash, interactive tours, videos, live chat with customer service, professional looking slideshows
that show high level technical prowess, and the list goes on. The idea here is to provide a user an
experience eh or she cannot find elsewhere.

2. 5. In Your Face Product Promotion - When you go to a store are all products set up the same? Most
likeley, no. A store's objective is to push viewers to see many items in a way that is fashionable and
exiting to the customer. Many stores forget that cross selling suggestions, product reviews, featured
products sections, clearance areas, coupons, and any interactive presentation is seen. Push viewers to
more interaction, and to buy today! Additionally, merchants that now provide advanced, exceedingly
fast shopping experience tools such as AJAX can now gain a competitive advantage via site speed
increase, earning customer loyalty and additional revenues.
6. Pricing - Low prices will attract customers. No matter how your products are sold (online or off) your
price point matters, especially on the web where the next store is only a couple clicks or search queries
away. Research your competitors to make sure you have a chance.
7. Customer Service and Shipping – Be Sure to help customers through the checkout process and offer a
progress indicator. Show a receipt before an order is placed and let the customer change anything in the
order. Action buttons should be clearly labeled. Often "place my order" is more clear than "submit" and
"search" is more clear than "go."
Keep your shipping and return policies at the forefront. Free shipping does work, but is not necessarily a
problem solver since not every product has fat margins to subsidize UPS or USPS. One can handle
shipping in a very impressive way by offering free shipping but also up-selling "rush processing" which
does not offset UPS rates, but at least you can recoup something. Customers will take this up-sell,
pleased that the order would be given priority. Do not forget to provide all order confirmation emails,
shipping emails, and timely delivery. Try to lower your shipping prices as best as you can and offer free
shipping as much as possible. Free Shipping does work!
8. Search Engine Optimization - Ecommerce search engine optimization, the art of moving your web site
to the top of search engines, is more advanced than ever and now a "must have" for an ecommerce web
site to compete online. One's web site must come up on Google and other engines for search keywords
and key terms related to your web site. Keys to SEO success are search engine friendly web design and
development using searchable text and code, usable action reports and statistics to prove the work is
paying off, buying web site traffic via pay per click management or alternates such as blog links or
affiliate marketing ads, social bookmarking (Twitter, Face Book, Linked In, Etc.) and html rewrite for all
cart/product detail pages generated dynamically via database applications (also called HTML mod
rewrite).

3. 9. Marketing and Public Relations – The art of managing your business reputation through media
engagement is often overlooked and extremely important in ecommerce marketing communications.
Map out a plan and make the time to execute. The aim here is to build relationships with conventional
outlets with wide audiences such as conventional TV and Print, but also turning online to bloggers and
other unique, targeted online distribution, equally as effective with more measurability than ever
before. Whether your products are tied to a charity or are organic, let them know! Further, in the event
that something negative should be reported, a strong public relations team with good relationships can
mitigate any damage to your company's reputation.
10. Elevate A Brand Via User Experience Tracking and Strategy Evolution; Get an Edge with Advanced
Customer Service! - The idea is to beat the competition, right? Google Analytics (free) to track your user
experiences and search engine placement. Review all of your competitors site’s to make sure your
features are better, your content is better, your photos are better, your customer service is better, your
shipping strategy is faster and cheaper, your PR campaign is stronger, your newsletters and coupons are
easier to read and find, and more. A web site cannot be left alone for 6 months. A good web site is one
that is always changing with the market and with the times. Read online blogs and trade magazines to
stay on top, incorporating all of the features user's expect so a store keeps its edge.
If you follow these e-commerce programming and website design standards, you can make an effective
online presence of your business in Ecommerce world.
Source: E-commerce Web Design