No matter your industry, you undoubtedly contend with a lot of competition. It is vital for business owners to find ways to stand out from their competitors. Having a very user-friendly website is just one surefire way to lure customers away from other brands.
How inviting is your company site? Needless to say, online shopping only continues to grow in popularity. But you can’t take that for granted. It’s important to find ways to make your online shop more user-friendly. So how do you do that?
Here are three keys to creating a user-friendly online store:
1. Simple navigation.
Just how easy or hard is it for your website’s visitors to find exactly what they’re looking for? Do you have a search bar at the top of your homepage? Are there visible links to your product pages? Try not to get so caught up in creating a unique and eye-catching design that you make it confusing for your online visitors. Quite often, in the world of e-commerce, keeping things simple is the best bet.
“Your users need to be able to find what they’re looking for as quickly as possible,” stresses ZenBusiness, “Include categories and simple menus. You should also include a search function that allows users to search for items they are interested in. Users are likely to get frustrated and give up if it’s difficult for them to find the items they’re searching for.”
2. An easy sign in process.
Don’t make it mandatory for your online shoppers to become “members” of your e-commerce store. However, it’s a good idea to display a super simple sign up option. With a quick and easy-to-do sign in process, online customers won’t just be encouraged to make purchases. They’ll also want to keep coming back.
Vishal Sharma of LoginRadius suggests that you offer a social login option. “Social login is a seamless authentication process that allows users to sign in to an e-commerce site using their existing social media credentials, such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, and LinkedIn,” he explains, “By offering social login options, e-commerce sites can offer customers a more personalized, streamlined, and engaging shopping experience.”
3. Flexible payment options.
Most people will quickly punch in their credit card numbers in order to complete their purchases. Although credit cards are the most popular choice, are they your only payment option? Do you offer gift cards as well? How else can your customers pay? Make your checkout process easy. Not only should it be click-of-a-button quick, but it should also clearly display the various payment options you have available.
“Not everyone likes to use their credit card to make payments,” says ZenBusiness, “Some people prefer to make payments through PayPal or Bitcoin. It’s important to provide your customers with flexible options for making payments on your website. Enterprise ecommerce software, such as Shopify Plus, offers multiple payment options so you can cast the biggest payment net to accommodate potential customers.”
Is your company website in need of a safe and secure e-commerce solution?
Enhance your customers’ checkout experiences with Unity Payments’ e-commerce payment solutions! We provide a direct connection to our powerful and reliable processing network, which can help eliminate the costs and complexities of dealing with a third-party gateway provider. To learn more, call us at 1-800-661-3761 or email us at info@unitypayments.ca.
