50 E-commerce Features One Should Have In An E-commerce Website

E-commerce business sector is flourishing in the current digital times. Millions of people are focusing on increasing the reliability and convenience of their shopping experiences. So almost the majority of the population across the globe is making purchases through online shopping platforms and are getting the commodities delivered to their doorsteps. According to a survey, almost one in four people across the globe is an online shopper. This shows that the e-commerce business is reaching the highest level in the national as well as international markets. 

You can observe various e-commerce websites getting launched every day — do you think every website is getting success? Well, no, and the reason behind this is the development and refinement of the e-commerce website developing processes. If the businesses are not designing and developing the websites in the right way, they won’t be able to attract large traffic, generate leads, or even get conversion cycles. Every e-commerce website must have certain features in it to ensure long-term success and revenue generation. According to experts, there are around 50 features that are categorized as ‘Must have’ for e-commerce sites. So what are those 50 e-commerce features that every e-commerce website must include? 

#1 The Website Must Have Responsive Design: A responsive design in simple terms means that your website should be easy to view and use on all sorts of digital screens. Gone are the days when websites were mainly designed to be viewed on computer or laptop screens. In digital times, it is observed that almost 90 to 95% of people are making use of smartphones for some or other purposes. Thus they carry out all the shopping and planning through smartphones. So it is essential for an e-commerce website to have a responsive design. This would be helpful to improve the user experience and get more sales for the business. 

#2 Your E-commerce Business Must Have A Mobile Application: When your business is having a mobile application, then it becomes easier for the customers or users to view each product or service and gain a greater understanding of the description. It is convenient for the users because it makes the shopping experience wonderful — all they have to do is just swipe and click, and just within a few seconds, the product has been purchased. 

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#3 You Should Integrate Visually Appealing Templates: You definitely need to attract the attention of the target audience and for that, it is essential that you are having a visually appealing e-commerce website. The visually appealing e-commerce website will not just draw the attention of the users but also keep them engaged with the products, services, and other elements of the website.

#4 E-commerce Websites Must Have A FoollProof Payment System: This is one of the most vital requirements of an e-commerce website. Although customers are willing to make the purchase, they start having doubts if they find the security of the payment system not up to the mark. So for every e-commerce website, it is essential that you have a secure payment system. It will increase the reliability and trustworthiness of the business. 

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#5 Your E-Commerce Website Should Have Integrated SEO Plugins And Tools: If you are in the world of business and digital marketing, then you might be aware of the significance of the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) parameters. You may also know that it has a huge impact on the search visibility of the e-commerce website. This is essential to make sure that your website is getting maximum user sales and a huge proportion of organic traffic. With the right amount of in-built SEO tools, you can optimize on-page features, content parameters, and other important things.

#6 Your E-commerce Website Must Have A Testimonial Section: The testimonial section on the website is the best tool for increasing publicity. You can observe that the customers would definitely go through all the product reviews and testimonials before making the final purchase. It is also the best way to increase the trust in the customers. But make sure the testimonials and reviews you are getting published on the websites create a positive vibe and not a negative one. 

#7 The E-commerce Website Must Have The Provision Of Cash-On-Delivery For The Customers: The Cash-On-Delivery option would be very much necessary for customers who do not find the online payment methods secure enough or for those who are not able to use the online payment system for any reason. 

#8 Product Images Should Be Of High Resolution: When people are purchasing products online, the decision of buying the product is completely dependent on how the products appear. It needs to look attractive and give the consumers the option to zoom in to check details. So if the images are of high quality, it would be easier to attract the attention of the customers and encourage them to buy the products.

#9 Product Description Should Have Proper Details Of The Product: The description of the product should provide detailed information about the product. The customer should know everything about the product before buying it. 

#10 The Product Images Should Have A 3D Aspect: It is always better if you are having a 3D version of the product images. It will be helpful in allowing the customers to view the product from all the dimensions. 

#11 Show Proper Rating And Review For The Products: Reviews and ratings are quite essential for building trust in your customers and thus should be included for every product. It also shows that other people have purchased these products. These other buyers have liked them and also recommend them to others.  

#12 Your E-commerce Website Must Support CRM System: With the help of the Customer Relationship ManagementCRM system (CRM), you would be able to generate leads, and manage all the prospective as well as potential customers along with their sales. You can track or monitor the entire technical process from start to end and improve the sales of the business.  

#13 Display The Coupons And Discount At Right Place: Your business must be providing a lot of discounts and coupons for various types of products to encourage the customers to spend more. However, they should be placed at the appropriate location on the site. It is of no use if the discounts and coupons are displayed in a section of the website where the customers are unable to find them. 

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#14 Have A Provision For Comparing The Related Products: When related products can be compared, it gives a clear picture to the customers which would be most suitable for them or which product would meet all their requirements. This tends to encourage sales.

#15 E-commerce Websites Must Possess A Set Of Social Media Buttons: This goes without saying — there is a need to have social media buttons on the e-commerce website. It is one of the easiest and convenient ways to get in touch with the customers through social media platforms and also share information about the products/services/blogs. 

#16 There Should Be Flexibility Of Omni Channel Visibility: In today’s scenario, the customers can give a direct call to ensure real-time clarity, and for that, the e-commerce website should have the flexibility of an omnichannel model. 

#17 E-commerce Websites Must Have A Clear Logo And Tagline: The logo is the brand representation, and thus it is helpful in making branding and advertising more convenient. The logo shows that you are authentic, and the tagline describes the main aim of your business. It is an effective way to reach out and create an impact on the customers. 

#18 The Customers Should Have A Provision Of Free- Shipping: It is understood that free shipping cannot be viable for every product, but there should be a limit or threshold, where if the consumer spends more than a certain amount that will decide whether the customer would get free shipping or not. For instance, if you allow free shipping over Rs 1000 and the customer only wants to buy something of Rs 500, he/she would tend to add two or three more items to get free shipping. It will encourage more sales. 

#19 There Should Be A Section For Featuring The Most Popular Products: With the section of featured products you are prompting the customers to check out the amazing collections your site has to offer and encourage them to even make a purchase. The featured product section should be displayed on the homepage of the website.

#20 The Search Option Must Be Located At The Appropriate Location: The search feature is quite essential to increase the convenience of the customers. They should be able to search the products through the “Search Option” if they are unable to find them. But the important thing is the search bar must appear in the appropriate location for the visitors to find it easily. 

#21 The E-commerce Website Must Have Proper Contact Addresses: The email address or the actual address/physical address of the store must be available on the “Contact Us” page of the website. It will make it easier for your customers to reach out to you for any purpose. You can even display the toll-free business number on the website for the customers to call you. 

#22 The Shopping Cart And Wishlist Features Should Be Properly Distinguished: Usually, customers do face a problem understanding the difference between the shopping cart and wishlist. So make it clearly visible through the use of the right icons that the shopping cart is for final ordering of the products and the wishlist is for adding products that customers would buy later on. 

#23 Login and Signup Features For The Relevant Users: The login and signup features are essential if you want your customers to be with your business brand for a longer period. When the customer is new, lead them through the registration or signup process, and if they are an existing user, help them to log in to the website.

#24 The Login And SignUp Pages Must Be Secured By Security Features: The online shopping portals hold confidential details of the customers. So the login and signup pages must have multiple security factors to keep the customer credentials secure and safe in the system.

#25 Your E-commerce Website Must Have A Blog Section: A blog section is quite essential if you want your business brand to grow and help the customers through effective content sharing. Blogs are quite effective in attracting the attention of the customers in the most effective way. 

#26 Don’t Forget To Add The “FAQ” Section: The FAQ Section is one of the most important sections because it includes all the queries, which are fairly common, for the customers to face. When the customers get the answers to all their doubts, it increases the reliability of the business and develops trust. 

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#27 Display The Warranty And Guarantee Features Of The Product: If any product, whether digital, electrical or any other type is having a warranty or guarantee period then it must be displayed alongside the product images. It will increase the product’s authenticity and improve sales.  

#28 Display The Icons For Secure Payment System Used By The Business: E-commerce businesses make use of multiple payment options for increasing customer convenience and reliability. But these secure payment systems must be displayed in the form of icons so that the customers get to know whether the bank or card they would be using for the purchase is available or not. 

#29 Integrated Chatbot System In The E-commerce Website: In the digital era, customers can easily understand the difference between message templates and actual conversation. They don’t want the same template answers for their queries. Thus a live chatbot would be useful for them. The customers can type their query and the chatbot will come up with the relevant answers. 

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#30 A Page Must be Dedicated For Policy: For every business, it is essential to have a clearly mentioned policies page so that there is no problem in the later stages. The policies explain the ethical running of the business and are a necessary part of being authentic with the customers.  

#31 A Page Must Be Dedicated For Terms And Conditions: With the help of specified “Terms and Conditions” it becomes easy for the organization to carry on their business in an authentic manner as well as the customers would know about the conditions based on which they can carry out their online shopping. 

#32 Have Video For Promoting The Products: Although you are using high-resolution images for the products, it is a good idea to use videos along with that. Create a video of the product specifying its features and showing how it is used. When the customer can actually view the products in the video, it will be easier for them to trust the videos and buy the product.

#33 There Should Be An Option Of Flexibility Of EMI For The Expensive Products: In the e-commerce store, there are products that seem very affordable, but sometimes many of the products can be expensive (especially electronic gadgets and branded clothes, etc). So for such products, there should be an integrated EMI feature to help the customers to pay in installments. 

#34 Integration Of The Google Analytics Code For Tracking:

Google tracking code is essential for all websites, especially the ones that deal with online shopping. Because in these websites, the number of visitors visiting the websites and the number of conversion sales could be easily tracked. You can either use numerical data or graphical data to analyze the situation. 

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#35 The Website Should Have An “About Us” Section: The “About Us” section of the website is the page where you can get to know everything about the business. When it was established, when it started, what the vision and mission are, how it is progressing, what are the future goals, who are the core team members etc. This will increase the authenticity of the organization, the overall brand. 

#36 E-commerce Websites Should Have Proper Breadcrumbs: The e-commerce business websites usually consist of multiple web pages, and it is quite common for customers to lose track of the pages they have been browsing. The breadcrumbs are a secondary navigation system that helps the customers see their location on the site. So with the help of breadcrumbs, you are making it easier for the customers to navigate through the pages and finally reach their desired page at the end.

#37 Option For Subscription Of Regular Newsletters: If you want to generate leads through the huge traffic that is coming to your website, then you must have the provision of subscribing to the newsletters. In this way, you can keep the old as well as new customers in the loop and update them regularly about the new product arrivals and discounts. 

#38 Provision Of Getting Notification On The Smartphone: This is one of the important features that should be available on all e-commerce websites. With this, you would be keeping the customers informed even when they are not using the desktop or laptop for browsing the website. The customers would be kept in the business-product loop when the notifications are available directly on smartphones. 

#39 The E-commerce Website Should Have Browser Compatibility: For sure, different customers make use of different browsers for viewing the website and making searches. So your e-commerce website should be compatible with almost all the important and popular browsers.

#40 The Website Should Make The Navigation User-Friendly: The menu that is displayed on the top right/left section must provide all the useful links to the web pages. It will increase reliability and make the website navigation user-friendly.

#41 The E-commerce Website Should Have Highlighted UVP: In today’s scenario, e-commerce websites usually have to ensure that they are better than their competitors. With UVP — Unique Value Proposition, you would be able to compare your service/product with those of your competitors and show that yours are much better. It is a way to persuade the customers that you are the best in your category.

#42 The Product Section Must-Have Filter Option: Having filters in the product is an essential thing that will improve the online shopping experience of the customers and helpful in making searching the most suitable product that will meet the requirements. 

#43 The Blog Section Should Display The “Most Popular Section”: The “Most Popular Blogs” Or “Featured Blog” section on the blog page of the website will let the customers know what is trending and the information shared through the blogs will make their online shopping easy and convenient. 

#44 The Website Should Have Automatic Backup: This factor is important for all websites and especially for the e-commerce website. With automatic backup, you would not have to worry about regular manual backups. It will be helpful in keeping the progress of the e-commerce website and save the website information safe.

#45 Install Plugins That Help The Website To Load Faster: When the web pages are loaded with several high-quality products, images, and texts, it is normal that the website will take time to load properly. But your customer is not ready to wait for you. So you can make use of the plugins that help in the minimization of the files and make the website load faster. 

#46 Be Sure About The Placement Of CTA: Call-To-Action is one of the most effective and efficient marketing parameters that will help in encouraging user actions and promoting them to make a purchase, read a blog, sign up for something, or subscribe, etc. 

#47 Introduce Loyalty Programs Through The E-commerce Website: With the loyalty programs, you would be able to encourage one-time customers to become regular customers. It will not just increase the business sales but also the brand reputation in the market. 

#48 Always Have A Language Option: If your e-commerce business is targeting an international market, then it is essential to have multiple language features on the website. It will be convenient for customers across borders to browse through the website in their native language and follow up with the purchase. 

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#49 The Domain Must Be SSL Certified: When the websites have an SSL certificate, it shows that the website is secured, safe and reliable. It is protected from unethical attacks and keeps the credentials of the customer safe. 

#50 The Payment Process Must Not Be More Than Two Steps: Customers making online payments wish to make the process quick and convenient. If you are making it 4 to 5 steps long, the customer might abandon the cart and not complete the process. This is not desirable. So ensure that the payment process is secure and does not take more than two or three steps to complete. 

Summary:

These are some of the most important features that every e-commerce website must have to ensure they succeed and have a reputation in the market.

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