Ecommerce sites come in all shapes and sizes, and getting customers to yours is half the battle. Once they are there, you want to ensure that they are buying your products, and having the right features can help with this endeavor. 

You may already have a lot of items included on your site, but as customer needs change, you’ll need to change with them. Below are the features you must have to keep customers engaged with your eCommerce site.

Optimized for Mobile

More people are using their phones and other mobile devices to buy products online—and this trend will probably continue to rise. 

Thus, you need to make sure that your site is easy for customers to access, read and buy things from. 

Customers like it when buying is simple, only takes a few clicks and can be done on the go. Optimizing your site for mobile devices benefits you and your customers.

Interactive Elements

Another must-have feature that you might consider adding to your eCommerce site is an interactive element. 

This might include things such as maps, which they can use for navigation while on the go, or a calculator, which can be useful in helping them know how much they are spending on your site.

If you are selling apparel, you might consider adding an element that lets people “try on” the clothes. Many sites that sell glasses allow people to upload a photo of themselves so that they can see how glasses will look. 

Allowing customers to upload a full-body photo so that they can get an idea of how an outfit might look is a great way to get people to your site. 

They’ll be able to browse your selections and have fun finding the clothes that will look good on them.

Another great example of an ecommerce sector using interactive feature to provide a better visitor experience is in the online concert and sports tickets industry. 

Concert and sports sites like ClickitTicket offer interactive seating charts where you can hover over the seating section and even the particular available seats that make a photo pop up of the exact view you’ll get sitting there. It is a very cool interactive feature that takes you right into the arena or stadium.

Easy to Use

Whether your customers are accessing your site from a mobile device, laptop or desktop, it should be easy to navigate and use. Navigation and site structure plays an important part in search engine optimization and site traffic generation.

There’s nothing more frustrating for a buyer than having to go through multiple screens or steps to check out, and they may abandon the process before they make a purchase.

To prevent this from happening, only ask for the necessary information to get their order to them.

It’s also a good idea not to have popups during the checkout process, as this could distract people from completing their order. 

You might also consider allowing people to checkout as a guest. The faster they can buy their products, the more likely they are to come back to your site to buy more things.

Not only should it be easy for customers to buy products from your site, but it should also be easy for them to find what they’re looking for. Try not to add too many product listings to your page, and minimize the amount of text as much as possible. 

Having a search button that is easy to find and use can also be beneficial in helping your customers find exactly what they are looking for. This will allow them to quickly add it to their cart and get on with their day.

Security

No one wants to have their personal information compromised or stolen, so if you don’t have security features on your eCommerce website, you may not be making as many sales as you could. 

Give customers peace of mind by adding security features that will reduce the chances of having their data hacked. If a customer knows they can trust you with their personal information and credit card numbers, they may be more willing to buy products from you.

Various Payment Options

In addition to security, you also want to offer your customers a variety of different ways to pay for their products. If you only offer one or two, then you may be missing out on a lot of sales. 

Of course, it’s not possible to offer every single payment type that exists in the world, but having some of the most popular options on your site ensures that people from all walks of life will be able to buy your products.

Should you decide you don’t want to offer a certain payment type (and you have that right), make sure to let people know. They shouldn’t get all the way to the checkout step only to realize that they can’t pay the way they had hoped.

Contact Form and FAQ

Customers will have questions about your products, and they want these answered before they buy. Thus, it’s a good idea to have contact form and FAQ features on your site—and they should be easy to find and access. 

You might also consider adding a phone number so that people who like to talk to a live person have someone they can call.

Many people throughout the world use eCommerce sites to buy products. To ensure they are coming to yours and buying what you have to offer, make sure your site has the current must have features.