Building trade websites is a trend that is here to stay. It is true that the Corona period gave this field a strong push forward, but it has already become tangible and is here to stay.
When you approach to receive price offers in the field of trading websites or in the language we all know, building a virtual store / setting up an online store, you can see that the price spectrum is very wide and there will be independent developers who will demand 1500 NIS compared to professional companies where the cost of building the website will rise to around several tens of thousands.
Before you go to get the cheapest quote for building a virtual store or building a trade website, it is important that you understand the consequences of each decision.
It is important to understand that when it comes to building a trade website / setting up an online store, there are two sides. The first side is the construction part and the second part is the promotion side and that these two sides come together. What does this mean? A good commercial website must be built correctly otherwise no matter how much you invest in promotion it will not convert your surfers into paying customers. Learn more about promoting commercial websites.
To date, quite a few customers have come to us who tried to save for the first time when they built their virtual store and spent most of their budget on the promotion, and then what happened is that they managed to bring very good traffic to the site, but the conversion of these visitors into paying customers was very low.
What are the main points to pay attention to when planning to build a trade website?
1. Technical characterization – the technical part of setting up an online store, which is actually the division of the store according to the categories, products, and additional features we want in it such as: a set of promotions, abandoned carts, a blog, interfaces to other systems, and the like.
2. Strategic characterization – In fact, the characterization of building a trading site / building virtual store sites is divided into two parts and in most sites the main emphasis is on the technical only. At the same time, in order to build recognized trading sites, one must also consider the strategic part that refers to the entire business as a whole. That is, you need to understand who the target audience of the business is, what characterizes it, what are the values that lead the business and accordingly tell the story of the business from the perspective of the surfer who will visit it.
4. Correct technical hierarchical construction – in the characterization process of building a virtual store or building commercial websites, we plan the technical characterization and division of the categories and products, it is important to note that all the products and categories on the site are structured in a correct hierarchical way and there are not too many things that overlap and are similar to each other, this May create an unpleasant experience for the surfers and then they may lose patience and abandon the site.
In addition, it is recommended to create a filter and search bar that will allow visitors to search for the products they want on the site or alternatively to filter it according to different parameters such as: dimensions, color, price, etc. If you have products that you know sell easily or you want to encourage a certain sale, then it is recommended to create an additional category that will attract visitors to it.
5. Building an attractive and inviting home page – In the past, we would go for a walk in street shops and if something we liked was displayed in the window and caught our attention we would enter the store. Today, since most of our purchases have gone online, it is important to take care of that “showcase”.
When it comes to building a virtual store, it is important to put a lot of emphasis on a home page that will be attractive and will make visitors want to keep visiting the site. It is important to emphasize that this does not mean that the other pages should be underestimated in any way! At the same time, you have a few seconds to make a first impression – so the home page must load quickly and transmit your values in those seconds and make the surfer want to continue browsing the site.
6. Personal registration page – It is desirable to add a personal registration option to your customers also to allow you to receive information and be in contact with them later. In addition, once they have a personal area they can go back and see what their previous orders were and if they want to “copy” the same order or change it, etc.
7. The security of the website – in general, every website must be secure, however, when it comes to building a trade website in particular, this is one of the most important issues since it is a question of a visitor having to leave his credit information on your website. In addition, keep in mind that there are also customers who like to pay with PayPal, although their clearing fee is usually higher than the clearing companies, but still, there are those who feel comfortable leaving details only with them.
8. Content- As they always say “content is king”. So remember to include content and explanations for your products and of course, it’s important to remember to provide content that is relevant and valuable content. Just as people don’t like being forced with marketing materials, Google doesn’t like it either, so think about how you explain the products in a pleasant and clear way and give the consumer as much information as possible that will be useful to him.
In conclusion
Building a successful virtual store website, as well as building a successful professional website, is not an easy task, therefore, in order to build a successful commercial website, it is important to examine all the things we mentioned and not to take it lightly at any stage, to put thought into every decision we make along the way before we put the website live. Simply put, finish the job on the computer first.
