2020’s Top Tools: E-commerce Website Building

If you’re going to sell online, you’ll need the right tools. Maybe you’re just starting off: The sole proprietor of a small business starting off on the right foot via an e-commerce launch campaign. Or, maybe you’re already established—and you’re moving into the online world of selling.In either case, a simple website goes a long way where proactive approaches to consumerism are considered. Not only are website builders easier than start-from-scratch solutions, but they’re also backed by external teams dedicated to a constantly improving customer experience.There are tons of e-commerce platforms out there, but which one is the best? Depending on your industry, budget needs and digital marketing direction, you have several options to choose from. Some even feature powerful SEO tools to help bolster your e-commerce platform’s base.Even if you’re focused on crafting optimized selling portals, product pages, and landing pages, keyword optimization can enhance your entire website’s visibility—and website visibility is vital to lead generation and sales.

2020’s E-Commerce Solutions

Before covering the soon-to-be resources decking out your e-commerce toolkit, let’s take a closer look at the necessities of today’s online selling world. If you’ve already started a social media marketing campaign, you know how satisfying it is to have your brand appreciated by Tweets, likes, shares, and page follows.Brand engagement via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn is a great goal to have—one which provides a solid model for website interaction. It is, however, just a model. Looking at the facts, the average website visitor leaves in just 10 to 20 seconds. If you want to get the most out of your e-commerce website tools, there are three qualities your platform needs to prioritize.

Fast Loading Speeds

Online consumers care about speed—even if they don’t realize it. Approximately 47 percent of website visitors expect pages to load in under two seconds. 40 percent of online visitors will clock out if a page’s loading speed takes more than three. What’s with the rush?Several things, really. Primarily, though, it’s the average buyer’s want of purchasing experiences that avoid delay times. Considering that many websites can take fractions of a second to load, most consumers will jump back to Google if a landing page isn’t up to par. From their perspective, a single loading time delay suggests a slog throughout the entire website.It’s suggested that three important time limits exist during any given website delay as users click through the pages. The first is the 0.1-second delay.If one of your website’s applications responds instantaneously, it suggests direct user manipulation. Website-goers will be more likely to feel that results were generated by their own actions—rather than those of a computer. Needless to say, customer empowerment goes a long way when sales are on the line.The second time limit is the one-second delay. If a website page’s response interval time is one second or less, a user will perceive the small delay. More often than not, they’ll feel that the system, rather than themselves, are generating results. Even so, they’ll still be more inclined to focus on their own thoughts. They’ll retain a sense of control, yes, but it’ll be less than the control felt by a satisfying 0.1-click reaction.Finally, there’s the 10-second delay. If a website is sluggish—if it takes over 10 seconds to complete a response—users will feel like they’ve lost control completely. Sometimes, a website needs to be a little more optimized—and that’s understandable. It’s just part of the process. If you’re still getting your e-commerce portal off the ground, though, it’s a good idea to provide a process bar to let them know how long the wait time will take.

A Solid Core Design

The second most important website feature is its inherent design. While an e-commerce portal’s components under the hood directly impact loading speeds, they tend to drive other features more. Microsoft Research conducted by Chao Liu and colleagues covers the art of well-designed web browser plug-ins, underscoring the importance of core designs capable of resisting digital aging.They’ve found that websites suffer from negative aging, or a wear-out effect, the more they’re used. In human-computer interaction, a lot of variables stress a website’s page behavior—especially if said website has inherent design flaws.The core design should be considered often, as design flaws can masquerade as surface-level layout issues manifesting as slow load times. Even if you’re able to keep a visitor on the page for over two minutes, they’ll leave if an aspect of the user interface is buggy.

A Good Layout

Speaking of website layout, a lack of quality boosts bounce rates. Here’s an unfortunate but healthy pill to swallow: A lot of users won’t read your content. They’ll scan it.Shoppers are on a mission, and a layout lacking swift-browse qualities will turn off the average visitor. Un-optimized layouts, more or less, are communication breakdown errors. Your brand’s audience needs to retain your website’s key elements, and they need to be able to quickly organize them as they switch between computing tasks.We’ll dive into website-builders, next. First, though, take a look at Visual Website Optimizer—a top-tier A/B website testing tool. It measures the visual hierarchy of a website’s layout, suggesting improvements capable of reducing bounce rates over time. Visual Website Optimizer has been a core utility of many brands in recent years, making the layout factor much easier to handle.

The Best Website Builders of 2020

Creating a full-featured, mobile compatible e-commerce platform might seem daunting, at first, but it’s an easy hurdle to hop when you have the right resources.The best website builders sidestep the coding problems barring new businesses from entry. They’re also budget-friendly for established businesses expanding their selling options. With over 50 popular website builders on the market, finding the perfect fit can be tough.Your website’s inherent needs should come first, of course. And you should pick a provider capable of meeting those needs. Nonetheless, here are three great website building platforms renowned for their flexibility, accessibility, affordability, and utility.

SquareSpace

Up first, there’s Squarespace: The website builder famed for its inventory of over 100 well-designed, highly responsive themes. Every option is optimized for mobile and tablet response, and every option features great template customizability.If you’re standing with Squarespace, you’ll benefit from the opportunity to switch between templates without losing any design choices. You can implement multiple templates for your website, too, with a number of handy features at your side, such as:-Multi-author functionality-Content post scheduling-AMP support-Podcast hosting

BigCommerce

Up next, we have BigCommerce: A leading e-commerce website builder which prioritizes online store scalability. Packed with more built-in customizable sales options than leading competitors, it features a wide spread of advanced SEO toolkits and multi-channel integration support.It’s a little more complicated than other leading platforms, but no detail is wasted. It helps you control every aspect of your only store’s build, assisting with product placement and lead generation utilities as well. What further sets BigCommerce apart is its nifty set of data analytics tools—some of which are used by big-name brands like Kodak, Toyota and Ben & Jerry’s.Even if you’re a fledgling business, you’re in luck: BigCommerce boasts an average small business growth rate of 28 percent. By taking the wheel of BigCommerce, you’ll get:-Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest selling tools-URL optimization assistance-Macrodata management-Redirect and rewrite support

Volusion

Finally, we have Volusion. It’s one of the oldest e-commerce portal builders around—helping businesses grow big and tall since 1999. As the chosen platform by over 30,000 stores, Volusion is responsible for supplying over 185 million e-commerce orders since it first launched.Now known as V2, Volusion packs an extensive but accessible inventory system. The system supplies useful data tools, analytics tools and payment options alike—keeping pace with similar providers, such as Shopify, by combining its site-creation toolkit with a number of business solution utilities.Craft elegant product videos, edit every text box, sell products via mobile and customize your store with the support of over 1,000 apps. Volusion holds website customization near and dear—and it has zero transaction fees. If you’re using Volusion, rest assured you’ll benefit from these great options:-Full Apple Pay, PayPal, and Stripe integration-Both manual and bulk order processing-Diverse information gathering tools-Enhanced shopping cart utilities

Maximizing Your Website’s Selling Potential

Regardless of the platform you choose, your customers will appreciate a streamlined experience compiled from slick layouts, low loading speeds, and a rock-solid core design. Don’t let your creative touch go to waste, and get the help of a website builder which prioritizes client customization.From invoice personalization to logo creation, 2020’s top-contending website builders aren’t only built for bulky requirements—but brand scaling options. Your business might still be growing, but it’ll outpace its environment, sooner or later.Once it’s gathered steam, fuel it further with the power of optimization, reliability and full-force customer engagement solutions.