Ecommerce website design – why one size does not fit all

There are certain key features that effective and successful ecommerce website design should have and, at TJS Online Ltd, we believe that only a bespoke site can deliver all of them. Here, we look at what these features are and how bespoke development can create them to meet your exact needs.

Requirements of an ecommerce website for customers and business owners

• In today’s world where everyone uses their smartphones for everything from banking to paying for goods in shops, an ecommerce website must be mobile-friendly.
• To keep users on your site, it has to be easy to navigate – if people cannot find what they want quickly and easily, they will find another website where they can.
• Following on from the above, imagery must be attractive and of the highest quality.
• For customers to have the confidence to give you their repeat business, they need to be reassured that their details and transactions with your business are safe. It is vital for a website to have multiple security features.
• Once customers have decided to buy, the shopping cart and checkout process must be easy to access and use, and they should have a choice of payment options.
• An easy to use CMS is a must – so many of our clients come to us because their off the peg content management system is difficult to use, leaving them frustrated and unable to update their content.

How bespoke web design from TJS delivers

• Our ecommerce website development is based on responsive web design, as this ensures your website will display accurately on all devices, contributing to an enhanced user experience. Responsive sites are also returned in higher positions in search engines that prioritise mobile-friendly sites. Read What’s the difference between responsive and adaptive web design layouts? to find out more.
• Intuitive navigation is key to excellent UX. Menus should be clear and easy to follow with pages that load quickly so that users don’t bounce away from the site. The template design of off the peg platforms does not allow for much variation, if any. This means that a site with a multi-layer menu will be restricted in the functionality it has for users. A bespoke site will guarantee that your menus is easy to navigate for users.
• While off the peg platforms offer a wide choice of design templates, the increasing number of businesses coming online means these designs are less and less unique. The ability to customise them beyond a range of colours and images means that your site will soon look like many others. A bespoke design will give you the exact look and feel you want for your business – using professional images and unique designs unrestricted by prescriptive templates.
• Security can be compromised by plug-ins and off the peg sites are an easy target for hackers as they often share common database locations, codebases and admin login areas. Customers need to know the financial and private details they share when making a purchase are safe and at TJS all our sites that we build have HTTPS, regardless of whether a site processes card details or any kind of personal details, as Google downranks any site not using it. This level of encryption, as standard, ensures that any data sent between a web server and a web browser are secure.
• Given the diverse range of ecommerce sites there are (retail, wholesale, products, services), it’s easy to see that an off the peg site cannot possibly be all things to all sites. So now let’s take a closer look to see how bespoke website development rom TJS takes each of these areas and makes them an exact fit for your requirements!
• Your shopping cart and checkout should be easy to use with prominent ‘add to cart’ and ‘checkout’ buttons to support conversion. Cart contents should be detailed (name, price, quantity etc.) and it should be easy to add to and remove from. Customers should be given a choice of payment method. At TJS, we offer full, secure integration with payment gateways including PayPal and Opayo.  
• As bespoke website developers, we provide clients with a bespoke CMS, giving them complete control over their own content. Your CMS will be individual to your business needs and will be tailored to the elements that you need to update regularly.

With no two businesses ever being identical in every way, it makes sense that a website platform that is used by tens of thousands of businesses, with very little customisation available, will be able to deliver everything you need for your ecommerce site. To discuss ecommerce website design from TJS, give us a call on 01507 525500.