The eCommerce industry, for the past few years, has grown remarkably and shows no sign of stopping yet. With such high competition, proper eCommerce website development can help merchants stand out and make an impact on their online business.
Not to worry! In this article, LitExtension – #1 The World Shopping Cart Migration Expert will give you a comprehensive eCommerce website development guide covering:
- Ecommerce Website Development 101
- The Definite Guide To eCommerce Website Development
- Types Of eCommerce Website Development
Without further ado, let’s dive right in!
Ecommerce Website Development 101
#1. What is eCommerce website development?
As its name might suggest, eCommerce website development refers to the process of developing an eCommerce website – from both frontend and backend.
No matter what eCommerce website you are planning to go with, a well-developed e-site will help store owners attract organic traffic, get qualified leads. And more importantly, it will help convert visitors into sales.
Therefore, whether you decide to go for a hosted solution (like Shopify or BigCommerce) or an open-source platform (for example, WooCommerce), eCommerce website development is always important.
But what does it take to build such a highly functional website? Let’s start building a solid foundation first, which we’ll show you right in the next section!
#2. What to consider when developing an eCommerce website?
While several platforms out there (like Shopify) are packed with thousands of powerful eCommerce features, you are not limited to those functions only. So, feel free to develop your eCommerce websites beyond borders.
Different businesses have different needs and want, so it is up to you to decide what features your website must and should have. This is where a ‘Guide for Outsourcing Companies’ becomes invaluable, helping you identify which aspects of your website development can be efficiently managed by outsourced professionals.
For instance, if you want to go global with your e-store, an automatic language translator and currency converter are necessary. Or, suppose that you have a sophisticated product catalog, an advanced filter should be your top priority.
Though there is no fixed formula, here are three steps to help you decide on which features to add to your e-store:
- Jot down all the must-have features. These are the features that your website cannot function properly without (e.g: payment gateways)
- Follow with the nice-to-have features. Keep listing down all the features you might think would help run your business more efficiently (for example, a point-of-sale system)
- Prioritize the extra features. Sometimes too many good things can be bad. So after brainstorming all the features, prioritize the ones that make an impact first.
#3. Why do you need eCommerce website development?
When your eCommerce website design and development is performed properly, the fully optimized e-store will help you run your business like a well-oiled machine.
Here are some viable benefits of custom eCommerce website development:
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Improve UX-UI
A well-thought-out eCommerce website development not only helps impress your customers with the website’s visual appeal but also eases up their buying journey with a user-friendly interface.
This decreases your bounce rate, improves the time your customers spend browsing your site, and increases your chances of converting them into sales.
Want to make some UX-UI enhancements to your e-site? Here are some insightful resources you might find helpful:
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Achieve higher ranking on search engines
Given that there are only 10 organic results appearing on the first page per search query, and most people don’t click on the second page, SEO is of utmost importance. Thus, an efficient eCommerce website will help you rank higher, improving your visibility & conversions.
Let’s discover 8 Effective eCommerce SEO Strategies to improve your website’s SEO.
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Smoothen check out flow
Did you know that an unnecessarily long and complicated checkout process is one of the top five reasons customers abandon their carts? So, with a well-optimized eCommerce website, you can improve your customer checkout process and reduce your cart abandonment rate.
#4. Ecommerce website development cost breakdown
The average cost to develop an eCommerce website is between $5,000 and $50,000. Particularly, the cost will depend on the complexity of your project, the platform you choose to host your website (e.g: Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce), the features you require, and the eCommerce website development agency you select, etc.
Check out our article on Cost Breakdown: How Much Does an eCommerce Website Cost? for more details.
The Definitive Guide to eCommerce Website Development
Now that you know what eCommerce website development is and how important it is to develop a functional website, let’s discover the ultimate guide to eCommerce website development!
#1. Establish your brand
Portray your customer persona first and then tailor your website to meet your target audience’s expectations and preferences. This includes editing the homepage, product description, product photo, etc., and everything else. And lastly, give your business a name that is memorable and communicates your brand style.
#2. Choose an eCommerce platform
After having a custom domain name, let’s choose a platform to host your eCommerce website.
In case you are getting lost, here are our recommendations!
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#3. Hire an eCommerce website development service
Developing an eCommerce website is not a piece of cake. It requires lots of time and effort to build one successfully.
Therefore, if you want to minimize manual effort, hiring an eCommerce website development service, like Litos, is the best option.
So the important question is, why should you choose Litos to be your trusted partner in developing your eCommerce website?
- Certified Experts: Litos has a team of experts with years of experience in this field. So you can rest assured that your eCommerce website will be developed and handled by professionals.
- Fast Turnaround: With years of experience in eCommerce website development, especially Shopify, Litos can help you build and launch your e-store in weeks.
- Individualized Approach: Based on your request, your niche, and your business scope, the Litos team will develop a website with all the features specifically tailored to you.
- 24/7 Support: If you don’t have a lot of technical skills, Litos should be your top choice since they provide round-the-clock support to help solve any issues you may encounter.
#4. Test and launch your website
Now that your eCommerce website is ready, it’s time you publish and introduce it to the world. But don’t rush, it’s better to test your e-store before launching.
Make sure that all components, including inventory management, payment gateways, checkout process, and shipping, work smoothly and frictionlessly.
#5. Integrate with marketplaces
If you want to scale up your business, your stand-alone website is hard enough. Therefore, consider integrating your website with other marketplaces (e.g: Amazon, eBay, Etsy, etc.) and social commerce channels (e.g: Facebook Shops, TikTok Shop, etc.). Proper integrations will help diversify your sales channels, drive more sales, and empower you to be more resilient during tough times.
#6. Maintain your website
You can’t just set aside your eCommerce website and let it do its own job. This means you have to regularly check up on your website to spot issues and keep improving it based on your customer feedback.
Types of eCommerce Website Development Services
eCommerce website development can take a lot of your time and resources if you don’t have much technical knowledge and UX-UI design best practices. Therefore, an eCommerce website development service may come in handy.
Here are some notable eCommerce website development service types and when you need them:
- Theme development service – When you want a custom theme with unique functionalities only your store has.
- Migration service – When you want to migrate from an eCommerce hosting platform to another.
- Integration service – When you want to integrate your e-site to other marketplaces to expand your sales channels.
- App development service – When you need a tailor-made application that has unique features that make your selling journey easier.
- Marketing services – When you need an expert to help improve your website ranking, run more optimized ads, etc.
If you host your website with Shopify, Litos offers all the services mentioned above. With 10+ years of experience helping thousands of Shopify merchants achieve 6-figure stores, Litos is one of the best eCommerce website development companies you can trust.
Ecommerce Website Development: FAQs
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Final Words
In conclusion, eCommerce website development can be a lifesaver if you wish to earn more profit with your online business. And for that, we hope this article can help you have a better understanding of how to develop an e-store properly on your own.
However, developing a functional website has never been an easy task. So if you’re a Shopify merchant, it would be wise to hire Shopify eCommerce developers to build your website.
Consider Litos’s Shopify experts to bring magic to your eCommerce website. Schedule a free 1-on-1 consult with us and let us see what we can do to help.
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