Ecommerce websites are built to sell and earn revenue. If your online store isn’t fulfilling this objective, this can be due to several different reasons but in most cases, it is because of your choice of ecommerce website templates. Studies show that less than 3% of website visits actually convert to a sale and how a website looks can influence a customer’s decision to complete a purchase. If a user doesn’t like what he sees on your site, you could end up losing a potential customer.
Building an ecommerce web site requires careful planning and research. You need to have a good understanding of your target market and what your customers’ expectations are. And it is also important to design your site accordingly. WIth the best free ecommerce website builder, it is possible to create a profitable ecommerce website even with little to no technical knowledge in web development. The only thing left for you to do is to choose the right ecommerce website template. Having said that, here are a few tips to keep in mind when choosing a site template for your online store.
1. Identify your goals
Before you start building an ecommerce web site, you need to determine your goals for your online store. Your website design should be aligned with these goals, with every detail - from color scheme and site icons to features and fonts - selected to fulfill these objectives. Create SMART goals when you create ecommerce website design. They should be actionable objectives. Examples include reducing cart abandonment by x%, increasing conversion rates by x% or increasing orders by x%. Tweak your design to fulfill your site’s KPIs.
2. Decide on template features
When you build an ecommerce web site with Strikingly, you get a good level of freedom to choose the features you want to have for your site. Exploring the internal app store will give you numerous options for plugins and third-party apps that you can use to improve the usability of your site. To start, your ecommerce website should have these basic features:
- Product pages and Categories (for large inventory stores)
- Image gallery
- Header and footer
- Navigation bar
Your selected color scheme should also coincide with your branding. When you have a good idea of the kind of features you want, choosing the right ecommerce website template is easier.
3. Choose a template that is compatible with most platforms
Your ecommerce website should look great on all platforms and screen sizes. Compatibility matters in user experience. You don’t want to turn away customers because your website failed to load properly on their selected browser or device. As a leading ecommerce store builder, Strikingly understands this completely so all website templates in its library are designed to render well on most platforms. All templates are also mobile-responsive so there’s no need for you to do any additional steps to make sure your website is viewable on mobile devices.
4. Check for customization options
To make your website stand out, you must be able to personalize your design even when you’re starting with a website template. Your website should be able to reflect your brand’s image and not look like a cookie-cutter website. Most templates allow you to customize colors, fonts and other features. You might also want to check out templates that allow you to explore different layout options as well.
5. SEO-friendly design
Your selected website template should be optimized for SEO. A good template has a proper hierarchy and smooth navigation features. Fortunately, Strikingly already got this covered with its SEO-friendly website design.
6. Reliable support
Finally, your ecommerce website template should come with excellent customer support. Glitches happen and you can get stuck in the midst of developing your website. You want to get all the help you need in a timely manner.
