When you start an e-commerce website, you realize that there are tons of items that need to be checked, cross-checked, and tested to ensure your customers have a great user experience . From website design to sleek, fast checkout modules, you have to set all these elements , to create the most efficient online store. Other wise, you may run the risk of customers encountering broken links, unfinished product page content, or staying away from a user-friendly checkout. That's why we've put together an exhaustive ecommerce startup checklist to guide you through the initial stages of running an online store.
Think of this ecommerce checklist as your roadmap to success before making a single sale. It allows you to create the ideal interface, a beautiful website without any problems, all before launching an e-commerce store and building a big show of business.
Check out the ecommerce startup checklist below, and feel free to bookmark this page in your browser for future reference.
Read through the list and mark each item as you complete it to ensure your ecommerce site is ready to sell.
Step 1: Design what your customers see first – the home page
Ecommerce Startup Checklist
When someone visits your website, they can choose to leave or keep looking around. If the home page interface and navigation aren't appealing to e-commerce shoppers, they'll hit the road right away, but with a few additions and tweaks to the first few pages, you can guide those customers through your site.
Here's what you should include and double-check:
Includes a beautifully designed logo.
Make sure the site works on all browsers and devices.
Promotional images and links on the home page.
Links to the most popular products.
Calls to action push people to important sales pages.
Have a clear search field at the top of your website.
Display any specials, promotions or free shipping options.
An area that provides the latest company/industry news.
Links to recent purchases and popular products.
Search areas for popular brands.
Store finder if necessary.
Language options if required for your e-commerce site.
Step 2 on the Ecommerce Startup Checklist: Prepare All Standard Website Pages
The homepage is the most visited page on your website, but that doesn't mean you've finished designing and adding content to your entire website. Outside of product pages, your customers may want to learn more about your business, find a way to contact customer support, or even read about your shipping policy.
Before linking to these types of email list pages from the main and footer menus, you must create actual pages and populate them with content!
Contact Us Page - Ecommerce Startup Checklist
Below is a list of standard web pages to consider adding to your online store, along with instructions to guide you on adding specific content:
Homepage: We covered this in the previous step, but it's still worth mentioning here. To recap, the homepage has to show new visitors what your company is all about right away. What makes your brand unique? Are you ready for menu buttons, banners and links for your categories, product pages and collections?
About Page: This page highlights your brand story, the people behind it, and the history that brought you to your current state. About pages are important for branding, but also because some customers want to know that they are buying from certain types of companies. About pages are a great place to expand on your unique value proposition, such as explaining how your product materials are sustainably sourced or how you became a women-owned business.
Contact us page: You can definitely have a more detailed customer support page, but you must also provide a quick, easy-to-find contact page with a simple list of contact information such as phone numbers, email addresses, contact forms, and addresses. Depending on your type of business, you may not want to include all of them, but you should at least have an option or two for customers to connect directly with someone at your company.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page: Customers want to know as much as possible about your product before clicking the "Buy" button. This is especially true if your online store offers alternative shipping, payment, or product options, such as subscription boxes or custom merchandise. Summarize the questions your customers are bound to ask throughout the process and fill them out with simple, transparent answers. And always avoid trying to sidestep the question or provide answers that are still overly complicated.
Terms of Service: This is a page that covers all the legal aspects of your operation, what services are included when someone buys from your store, and what they may receive on your website. It is wise to consult a lawyer when developing terms of service.
Privacy Policy Page: Much like the Terms of Service page, you should speak to a lawyer to develop a legal privacy policy to avoid any legal action against you, while also being as transparent as possible about data usage. Consumers are increasingly concerned about their online privacy, so they want to know what happens when they enter their name, email address, address and payment information into your website.
Shipping Details Page: Shipping pages are useful for customers who want to know exactly when a product will arrive. It's not uncommon for the average customer to check the shipping detail page during the holidays, or when they need something for a wedding, birthday, or just because they want to start using the item this weekend. Therefore, this page should cover everything from shipping times, regions, costs, and multiple shipping methods offered.
Return Policy and Refunds Pages: You can split them into two pages or combine them into one, but the goal is to provide the details and process needed for returns, exchanges, and returns. How much time do they have to return? Can they print shipping labels from your website or will customers have to pay for it themselves? Is it possible to do an exchange instead of opting for a full refund? What happens when the product is returned? Lastly, you should talk about your returns partner, such as whether your customers must bring all returns to a UPS store, or if they have the option of a post office.
There are more specific pages - such as blog pages for content marketing, educational pages, and photo gallery pages - but we'll cover these further in the list because they're not always appropriate or necessary, depending on Your marketing strategy or the type of business you plan to start.