Ecommerce Website Singapore | WebSell Solutions

Conducting commerce using modern day technology over the World Wide Web, Mobile networks and other online transaction processing methods has been a growing phenomenon over past two decades. The convenience, cost-effectiveness and sophistication it has brought about to the consumer and the merchant alike has led to its meteoric rise over the years. The huge success of E-commerce pioneers like Amazon, Alibaba and many others proved that Click & Brick and Click Only business models are not only viable but can be run on equal footing as any traditional brick and mortar business.

Proliferating the rapid adoption of E-commerce are the systems and technologies that quickly enable one to build virtual storefronts, online marketplaces, e-booking portals and so on. E-commerce websites are the gears and machinery that power the world of online commerce.

Key reasons for going the E-commerce route

While the advantages of transacting online are many, the keys one’s that can be enumerated are –

Popularity – Due to its convenience and ease of transacting, Online Shopping is growing at a faster rate than Offline
Availability – An online Store remains open for business 24 x 7, providing a global reach not limited by boundaries
Accessibility – Besides laptops/desktops, Mobile and Tablet based traffic is increasing
Cost Savings – With lesser or no physical space and staffing requirements, both buyer & seller benefit
Information – Comparing and researching on the web influences a large portion of offline purchases
Marketability – Options and ease of integrated online marketing efforts

Business aspects an E-commerce Website can cover

A typical E-commerce Website provides you with –

Online store with Product Showcase, Shopping Cart, Checkout and Payment processing
Sales & Promotion capabilities like Cross Selling, Offer Discounts with Coupons/Voucher Codes, etc
Market the business on Search Engines with SEO features and Social Media engagement
Back office Inventory management functions
Order Processing and Email Notifications
Basic CRM features such as Customer Profile & Segmentation, Sales History, etc
Analytics and Reporting

With such a wide scope of functions covered a business owner only has to focus on Warehousing & Logistics, Order Fulfilment and Customer Service tasks to run the business.

Not all E-commerce business are created equal though – One could even run a full-fledged end-to-end business by Drop Shipping products directly from manufactures or wholesalers to the end consumer, whereby an E-commerce site is all that’s needed. Or if you happen to be selling digital downloadable products then again your Website is all that you need to set up shop, transact and deliver your product offerings. Or it could be job portals, match-making sites, online auction systems and so on. The applications of transacting and trading with E-Commerce are far and many.

Design Considerations for E-commerce Sites

There are 2 ways to setup an E-Commerce Website –

Hosted E-commerce Solutions such as Shopify, Big Commerce, etc who manage the hosting platform and setup for you. They usually charge a monthly fee based on a percentage of sales or a flat rate. Ideal for those who are not technically savvy since the service provider manages all the technicalities of setup and running the software
Self-Hosted E-Commerce options which can range from Enterprise Class platforms like Oracle ATG, IBM Websphere to popular open-source solutions like Magento, Open Cart or Prestashop. They could also be in the form of E-Commerce extensions on popular CMS’s such as WordPress or Joomla. With self-hosted platforms you are responsible for installing, configuring and upgrading the setup. This option gives greater flexibility and control

Site structure should be planned during initiation so that it can cater to the current product taxonomy and also be able to accommodate future additions. An information architecture which embodies a flattened hierarchy of main product categories, sub categories and individual product pages not only helps in site navigation but also in SEO efforts.

Not being able to touch and feel is a major impediment in online shopping. It can be alleviated to some extent with elaborate write ups and high-res product images. Providing product literature such as specifications, size reference charts, usage guides, etc in user friendly formats is hence imperative. Image standardization, optimization for faster page loads, multi-angle shots for visual clarity are important design considerations.

Some design considerations for a user friendly interface that aid in more conversions –

Options to filter/search products by price, category and attributes
Streamlined checkout workflows, with options for Express Checkouts
Intuitive Menus and Site navigation
Comparison features, content with visual aids
Order Status notification, Shipment tracking and so onour list

The significant growth in sales done using mobile devices – phones and tablets, makes Responsive design for E-commerce sites a must nowadays. Being able to complete a purchase without pinching and excessive scrolling on a small screen is definitely a feature you’d want to have in your design.

Page Titles, URLs, Tags and meta description optimized for the targeted search keywords help Search Engines in appreciating your site content and rewarding it with higher rankings. Rich, informative content is also key in aiding SEO efforts besides helping in conversions on site. Besides on-page optimization aspects, socializing your E-store in the online community, gaining backlinks to product and category pages can help tremendously.

Stock management, Order processing, Shipping Options, Tax Rules, Price Rules, multi-currency support, product data bulk load, etc are some essential features that the back office of an online store should have. These help in quick online store configuration and order handling. Most of the leading E-commerce solutions will have these baked into their core product offering.

Make sure your site uses SSL encryption especially for securely processing online payments. Besides that, Security badges and Trust Symbols awarded from authoritative sources give customers the comfort feeling when handing over confidential information during checkout and reduces the instances of abandoned shopping carts.

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Marketing Strategies for E-commerce Sites

Every Online Store is launched with the hope of clocking in Sales and establishing a loyal following of customers. However, such wishful thinking can only be transformed to reality by bringing traffic and keeping customers engaged with concerted marketing efforts.

While brand awareness and promotion using traditional advertising on Paid Media can bring short term visibility it may drain out your marketing budget sooner. Marketing with Content, investing in automation and leveraging analytics gives you long term benefits and ROI. So –

Do Content Marketing on Search and Social Media channels with –

Unique and original product descriptions
Blog/Content strategy centred around your product value proposition
User Generate Content – product reviews, Q & A, feedback, etc

Invest in Marketing Automation to keep customers engaged with –

Automated Email Workflows
Drip feeding targeted Content and Offers tailored according to Buyer Persona’s
Personalization and so on

Use Analytics, test and refine to –

Analyse Customer behaviour
Track KPIs such as Page Visits, Average Time on site, Cart abandoned rate, etc

Our Value Proposition for E-commerce enablement

In fast paced Singapore with its high internet & mobile phone penetration, shopping online or transacting on-the-go thru mobile phones is gaining more and more prominence. Businesses seeking the patronage of this generation need to establish a commendable web presence that offers their products and services to a web savvy clientele.

At WebSell, each E-commerce project is more than building a fancy website with product images and checkout. Since many of our clients are first timers in online commerce, we work with them closely to classify their products aligning them with a keyword driven site architecture. After crafting out a site with UX & Conversion concepts in mind, we promote it using the right mix of online marketing channels. An E-commerce initiative should ultimately bring new customers, drive sales and deliver ROI.

Request a Case Study

Find out more on how WebSell enabled a Wholesale Apparel Business venture into retail by helping them launch their E-commerce online store. Request this Case Study that we’d be happy to email you.