The rise of the internet has brought a change in business ownership. Before, you would need to have a brick and mortar shop to be successful. Now, it’s possible for people to rake in millions of dollars by selling products exclusively online.
While online shopping has many benefits, it also has some downsides. Here’s how you can streamline your processes and provide a better customer experience through your website:
Hire Professionals
Unless you have experience as a web developer, it’s best to leave technical work to a dependable IT support company. They can help solve complex problems the fastest and easiest way. If you try to fix it yourself, you might make the problem worse than it actually is.
Besides repairing technical issues, IT companies can also help implement preventive measures. They can detect weak spots in your website so you can install patches and improvements. It’s best to address any potential problems before your site experience a cyberattack.
One of the best advantages of outsourcing IT services is the savings. If you hire a full-time IT specialist, you would have to provide a regular salary with benefits. On the other hand, if you hire a company for your tech needs, you would only pay a fixed fee every month. You can enjoy the same service from a group of experts while minimizing the cost of operations.
Secure Payments
There are many advantages in e-commerce. You don’t have to spend a lot on rent, utilities, and maintenance. You can operate your business from virtually anywhere in the planet. Plus, you can sell to customers from all over the world. While it has many benefits, it also has several downsides. Perhaps the biggest problem on the side of customers is the threat of fraud. This is especially true for small businesses. Most of the time, customers don’t know enough about your operations to determine if it’s safe or not. This, in turn, can discourage potential buyers.
For the peace of mind of your clients, you can require two-factor authentication (2FA). It adds a layer of protection for your clients because it requires clients to enter a PIN that’s typically sent via email or text message. Even if someone else got a hold of a customer’s password, they still wouldn’t be able to make purchases.
You can also help your customers feel secure by offering different payment methods. One option is cash on delivery. Instead of paying immediately online, clients pay when they receive the product. This can also help encourage higher sales. Since you’re not requiring customers to pay to confirm their order, they’re more inclined to buy. Another option is to work with trusted banks and payment services like PayPal. Doing so can help accommodate clients that use different banks and payment systems.
Reduce Loading Time
You’ve managed to attract potential customers to your site using ads, SEO, or social media. The problem is that it takes a while for your website to load so the client has lost patience and closed the tab. In fact, figures by Google has shown that 53% of internet users leave a page if it takes more than three seconds to load. Loading time is also a factor in determining your site’s position on Google ads and search results. The shorter the loading time, the higher the position.
There are a few things you can do to speed up the loading time. If it takes too long to load, it may have too many elements. While it may look nice, it won’t matter if it acts as a deterrent for your clients. Find a balance between aesthetics and performance. You don’t have to transform your page into a minimalist one if you don’t want to. Instead, you can combine and reduce design elements so it would reduce the loading time.
An alternative worth trying is focusing on images. High quality pictures often take up a lot of space. You can still display high resolution photos with lower sizes by optimizing it to the size of the page. Also, consider the type of traffic your site receives. If you get more visits on mobile than desktop, then you can get away with using smaller images. You can also use image and video hosting sites to lower the loading time. It would achieve the same look while reducing the reliance on your servers.
While you don’t have to prioritize ambiance and interior design in e-commerce, you can still provide quality shopping experience online. Make sure to check your site on mobile and desktop to optimize its performance.