If you run an ecommerce business it can be difficult to break the online market. But you shouldn’t feel downtrodden. The complexities of creating, designing, launching and pushing a website can be overwhelming when you’re new to them and that’s why it is so easy to make mistakes. 

Whether you’re just getting online or are struggling to gain traction for your existing website, there are plenty of small fixes that can be applied to ensure you’re gaining the attention that your business deserves. 

That’s why Infoserve have collated some of the most common mistakes e-commerce websites make, and broken them down so that you can improve your online performance.

Lack of audience understanding

Take a moment to think about your favourite ecommerce brands online. The ones that really stick in your mind. The ones that you’d return to because they really understood who you are and what you need from them. 

Understanding your audience is a fundamental element of any business, whether you’re online or not. However, ecommerce is so highly saturated that you need something that will make you stand out to your audience. 

And you can’t know how to appeal to your audience if you don’t know who your audience is. 

This doesn’t mean that you need to create a controversial, loud personality for your brand. Simply start by breaking down the basics of what your customer needs relative to your product. 

Let’s take a look at an example to explain this better: 

The company Patch Plants nurses and delivers indoor and outdoor plants to homes across the UK. Their target audience is plant owners, plant lovers and even offices. 

What do plant owners/plant lovers need from a company that sells plants? 

• Plants themselves
• Plant care products
• Information on how to care for plants 

In response to this information, a plant retailer could create a tailored guide on how to care for houseplants. But, to resonate with their audience, Patch Plants has gone above and beyond. 

They have created dedicated Plant Doctors that you can access via their website that provide specific advice on individual plants, and can diagnose any issues that their customers might be struggling with. They also have care advice on their website for each plant that you can access through a QR code that is sent to your home with your new plant. 

This level of audience understanding and response to the needs of their customer has gained them a reputation as one of the top ecommerce businesses from which to buy indoor plants. 

This only scratches the surface of what ecommerce companies can do with their website when they truly understand their customer’s needs. 

Tips to better understand your audience: 

• Create customer personas of your target audience 
• Listen to customer feedback 
• Take a look and both positive and negative reviews of your competitors
• Use social media and online forums to discover pain points of customers who match the interests of your persona 
• Use chat boxes to answer questions 
• Use your own initiative

Choosing a poor hosting platform

There are so many options for website hosting in 2023 that it can feel overwhelming. It might seem tempting to go with the easiest option, or the first option that’s recommended to you. 

This would be a mistake. 

The hosting platform that you choose can have a huge impact on how your website performs, how it resonates with customers as well as the design features and functionalities that you have access to. 

In addition to this, certain platforms perform better for SMEs whilst others are more suited to multinational corporations with a higher volume of sales. 

Although we cannot recommend a specific platform suited to your company without first assessing the needs of your business, we can recommend that you do the appropriate research beforehand. 

Most ecommerce providers offer free trial periods before committing to their service, so you have the option of testing a few before settling. 

At Infoserve, we sort hosting and domain email setups for you so you can be freed from the hassle. Our bespoke Website Manager gives you the freedom to edit and access your website, giving you control when you need it. 

Having a complex check out process 

You might think that once a customer reaches the check out cart, that you’re guaranteed a sale. This is a common fallacy. 

In fact, according to Baymard Institute, nearly 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned. 

This could be for any number of reasons. They could be window shopping, saving items for later, or maybe they were put off by the price of shipping. It’s natural, and it happens. 

However, one of the most typical reasons people will abandon a cart is that the check out process is too complex. Luckily, this is an easy fix. 

To increase purchase completion rates on your website, try: 

• Allowing customers to check out without creating an account 
• Only asking for relevant, necessary information 
• Use automated address shortcuts
• Use a single page checkout system 
• Show shipping costs early in the process
• Have a clear returns policy available before check out
• Prioritise mobile friendly design

It is worth noting that certain website hosting platforms won’t allow you to customise the checkout page, so keep this in mind when selecting the right host for you. 

Top tip: Ensure your website has a verified SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Badge 

Poor web design

One of the most common misconceptions amongst small businesses is that getting yourself online is enough - the ‘build a website and they will come’ mentality. 

But Web Designers don’t spend years honing their craft and studying user psychology for no reason. Because although a poorly designed website might bring visitors to your website, it is likely they’ll bounce quickly if the design is unappealing or outdated. 

This doesn’t mean that your website needs to be revolutionary, but it does need to be sleek, modern and optimised for user experience.

For an in-depth guide on how to create a customer-first, results driven website, download our FREE Web Design White Paper.

Skipping SEO optimisation

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the technique of creating a website that works with Google’s algorithms to boost your position in search engine results. This is how you get found online. 

Although many ecommerce businesses do grow their business through excellent social media presence, 68% of online experiences begin with a search engine (Ahrefs), even in 2023. 

In the same study, Ahrefs found that less than 10% of pages on Google receive any traffic at all. 

Why is this? 

Ask yourself the following question - how often do you scroll past the first page on Google when looking for a product, service or answer to a question? 

Would it surprise you to know that only 5.7% of web pages ever end up on page one of any search engine? That’s less than 10%.

User psychology suggests that people are looking for a quick fix to their problems when they type a search query into Google, and this means they’re unlikely to scroll past the first page. Not to mention that Google is constantly providing adapted ways to supply users with exactly that. 

If you neglect SEO on your website, you’re never going to compete with the top 10 results on Google. Therefore, you need to implement SEO strategies in your ecommerce business as soon as you get online. 

Download our FREE SEO White Paper for easy to implement SEO strategies that will get you started. 

Not Sure Where to Start? 

Here at Infoserve, our web design experts are on hand to help you create and build a unique, functional and responsive website, and our PPC and SEO team help your website get found.

Take a look at our Web Design Process for more information on what to expect when you trust us with your ecommerce website.