The success and profitability of any online store largely depend on the overall experience of a prospective buyer on the site. A great shopping experience is a net result of many aspects of your store working optimally with each other. Today, we will explore ways in which you can improve your WordPress Online Store.
Some basic tips
- Product images should be of high quality and allow the users to zoom in. Also, try to upload photographs taken from different angles.
- If possible, upload a video of each product
- Pay close attention to product descriptions – they should be informative and to the point.
- Ensure that the content on your site is SEO-friendly.
- Keep the registration and checkout processes secure and easy.
- Buyers should be able to contact you before, during, or after placing the order.
- Try to reply to any concerns/queries as soon as possible.
Tools for improving your WordPress Online Store
Next, let’s take a look at some tools and tips to improve the overall performance of your WP store.
1. An Online store MUST be fast
Kissmetrics conducted a study of online shoppers and made the following observations:
- Online stores can lose up to 7% in conversions if their loading time decreases by 1 second.
- 47% of online shoppers want a site to load less than 2 seconds
- 47% of online shoppers will abandon a site which takes more than 3 seconds to load
- 79% of online shoppers never buy from an online store again if they are dissatisfied with the site’s performance
You can take different measures to improve the speed of your online store, like optimizing images and the HTML code and compressing CSS files and scripts.
Another excellent way of ensuring a fast loading site is by opting for a WordPress Hosting plan. Most providers include WP-database optimization, automatic updates, and integrate a Content Delivery Network (CDN) and caching servers to offer supersonic site speeds.
2. Simple and Effective Payment options
The payment options offered to buyers need to be highly secure. Apart from security, you can add features like loyalty points, digital currencies, gift cards, etc. and make the payments process easier and more effective. You can use a plugin like Micro Payments which allows you to create your own virtual currencies, reward points, and loyalty programs.
3. It’s what you do after the sale that matters
Customers tend to remember a great shopping experience and visit the store again. However, what truly makes a long-lasting impression is exceptional service after the sale. If a customer has a problem with delayed delivery or issues while returning the goods and contacts you, look at it as an opportunity to earn the trust of the customer. Be prompt in assisting him/her and solving his/her concerns. If you succeed, you would win a loyal customer for a very long time and some positive word of mouth publicity.
We hope these tips help you develop and improve your online store. Do drop a comment, let us know your thoughts and share the things that you do to keep your store efficient.