1. Poor or outdated design

It is important for your website to reflect a modern clean cut look and feel. If your website looks like it was designed in the nineties then it is important to consider a redesign. A professional design is crucial and the task is best left to experts.

2. Not having detailed information on products

Another common problem with e-commerce websites is the lack of detailed information on products being sold on the website. Although you might have a large product list it is nevertheless important that you have an independent product detail page for each and every product. Avoid only one line descriptions for your products. Information on products can easily be found on manufacturer’s website and in most cases they are happy for you to use it on your website.

3. Don’t hide contact details.

Another common mistake with many e-commerce websites is the lack of visibility of the company’s contact details i.e. telephone number and address on the website. Customers often look for this information as it helps build trust knowing that someone will be there to answer questions should a problem arise with the purchase or the product.

It is a often a good idea to include telephone and address on all pages either ion the header or footer. An easily accessible email inquiry form or request call back forms on the website also help build customer confidence.

4. The benefits of buying from your company not clearly evident to the customer.

Another common mistake businesses make is failing to convey clearly via the website the advantages or benefits of purchasing form them. Customers usually research competitors before making a decision.

5. Not having an ongoing search engine optimisation strategy.

Many ecommerce businesses make the mistake of thinking that if their website is there it will automatically attract new customers. No matter how professionally designed your website is or if you website has been created with search engine optimisation in mind; appearing on the first page of Google is not something that will be achieved on its own.

Thousands of businesses compete for first page ranking for any given keyword however only 10 can appear o the first page. In order receive targeted traffic to your website and generate increasing leads and sales you will need to have an ongoing search engine strategy and commission an ongoing search optimisation campaign. Although it is not something that will be achieved overnight, the benefits far outweigh the costs involved.

Above we have discussed some common mistakes made by E-Commerce websites and hopefully it will help you avoid these mistakes yourself. Below is a video that identifies some positive points for an E-commerce website.

The video above identifies the the 6 key pages any E-commerce website must have.