10 eCommerce Website Best Practices

Online shopping has never been more exciting, and eCommerce has continued to grow in popularity.

But to succeed in eCommerce, you must quickly gain peoples’ trust. Whether you’re starting a new eCommerce business, taking your retail business online, or trying to grow an established business, your goal is to create long-lasting relationships with your potential customers through your eCommerce website.

But this is not easy to do.

People’s perceptions of trust are constantly changing. So, you have to create an eCommerce website that can outlast trends, be trustworthy, and stands out.

Here are ten ways to make your eCommerce website more credible and trustworthy:

1. Create a good first impression

First impressions are lasting and significant. A first impression can make or break your relationship with a prospective customer, especially in eCommerce.

Make an excellent first impression through your eCommerce website design. Determine first which design style suits your website best: minimalism, maximalism, trendy, etc.

Then use your brand colors, creative illustrations, crisp imagery, appropriate and precise copy, etc., to create a good lasting impression. This is your opportunity to showcase your brand identity and extend your brand strategy to your online audience.

Next, ensure that your website looks good across all devices, from mobile phones to computers. Many business owners forget to test their websites on mobile phones. As a result, the customer experience on mobile is inferior. This poor experience can impact sales.

Finally, optimize your website. Ensure that your pages load fast, there are no broken links, and all necessary information is easy to access.

2. Build trust with your target audience

Many small business eCommerce websites struggle to gain customers. So, make it easier for people to trust you. Use trust signals such as:

• Third-party reviews on sites like Zomato and Yelp
• Credibility icons like a small checkmark for verification
• Offering free returns or a “money-back guarantee”
• Showing security seals in your site footer
• An “About Us” page showcasing your team
• Your physical address if you also operate a retail store

These trust signals help reassure people that your business is credible.

And don’t forget social proof. People are social and often rely on other peoples’ opinions. So, social proof such as comments or reviews can increase trust and help to convince people to buy from you.

3. Showcase your products with stunning visuals

Customers can’t touch or try products online, so high-quality photos are the best way to let them experience these products. Good photos attract attention, increase trustworthiness, and convince people to buy.

Show off your site’s products with stunning visuals. Ensure that the products are the center of attention by using a white background to avoid distractions. Upload three or more photos of a product from various angles to fully encapsulate what it looks like in real life.

For example, Etsy is known for its arts and crafts by small business owners. You will immediately see creative and beautiful photos on the site’s home page to showcase various products. It’s an effective eye candy for customers to stay and browse through the site.

4. Build a community for your customers

You must provide your customers with a space to grow and network through a site community. Although this isn’t critical for all businesses, many small businesses would benefit from building a community around their products and services.

Create a space where people can share the same interests or network. Building a public space for discussion can also help drive site traffic and engagement. You can do this on your site or an existing social network.

A good example is Shopify Community. The community allows shop owners, marketers, etc., to connect through various groups and report issues and comments about Shopify’s website performance.

5. Make your website user-friendly and accessible

An easy-to-navigate website is a good website. And strong website design helps you convert visitors into customers. A click or two to find what a customer needs, and they’re happy.

This is the secret to success for most social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Your eCommerce site should follow the same principle.

Make your website easy to navigate by displaying your main navigation menu on every page. And because people don’t like complicated menus, include only what’s necessary to keep it simple.

Finally, don’t include more than one (and at most, two) call-to-action on any page. This becomes paralyzing when people see too many choices, and they’re more likely to leave the page.

6. Share valuable resources

Be more than just an eCommerce site and gain your customers’ trust by offering valuable content.

Many resources such as tutorials, blogs, podcasts, and more that can add value to your customers’ lives help establish trust and nurture relationships.

Show off your expertise to site visitors through educational resources and be relatable by sharing stories. Make sure these resources don’t only apply to your site but are also shareable to reach new audiences.

You can see this in our footer below. We show lots of valuable resources for small business owners, including how to start a business, how to write a business plan, a guide to marketing psychology, and more.

7. Be transparent

Appear human to your audience and show vulnerability.

But how do you do this?

By showing people that you’re constantly trying to be better as an eCommerce website.

Don’t be satisfied with just getting good traffic or sales. Always strive to grow and make your audience a part of this growth. You can start by launching beta projects involving new trends or technology that can make online shopping easier. For example, look at virtual store tours and virtual fitting rooms to differentiate your site from others.

8. Acknowledge customers’ experiences

It’s essential to create the best customer experience. But, it’s a mistake to focus only on customers with good feedback. Pay attention to customers with negative experiences. Make it a goal to make every customer feel heard.

Ignoring customer complaints will make them feel invalidated and lose trust in your service. So, make sure to invest time in communicating with these customers. Train your support team to handle these concerns professionally.

Customer feedback can help your eCommerce website be better and serve as your benchmark. Make it a goal to solve these issues as satisfied customers are happy customers.

9. Nurture long-term relationships

It’s very easy to ruin your reputation as a business. So, never be satisfied with just appearing trustworthy – embody that value as a company.

Having a well-designed website is essential, but rarely enough. Marketers know that it’s vital to nurture long-term relationships with customers to build a sustainable business.

Good customer support is essential. So, invest in the areas that customers find important. Be consistent in your daily interactions with people. Offer 24/7 customer service. Converse in a friendly and professional manner, and always address customer concerns quickly.

You can also add personal touches such as customizing the shopping experience by sending discounts, offering recommendations, and providing educational content.

10. Leverage social media to promote your eCommerce website

Many people go to social media to discover new products and services. It’s one of the most effective ways to help your eCommerce site reach new people.

Take advantage of positive comments and share them on social media to gain more social proof.

When promoting new products, always share on social media. You can also host giveaways or contests to increase traffic to your social media accounts and website.

Your eCommerce website runs on three critical things: good design, credibility, and effective communication to nurture trust. Stay consistent in maintaining all three, and you will have a successful eCommerce website people love.