1. Creating your own content management system (CMS)(online business)
To put it another way: (online business)
It’ll be near-impossible to build your own CMS from start if you’re not a highly trained web developer. Even if you are a seasoned developer, doing so might be a nightmare.
As we’ll see later in this post, there’s a lot that goes into running an eCommerce business, and you don’t want to add to it by building your own content management system. Aside from the fact that doing so necessitates extensive technical skills, you might not even know what features your CMS should include in the first place.
That said, for the time being, your best chance is to go with an open-source or proprietary platform that will not only meet your immediate demands, but will also set the bar for what you’ll need from a CMS in the future.
2. Selecting the incorrect platform (online business)
Of course, not all open-source and proprietary content management systems are the same.
As previously stated, you may not know exactly what you want from a CMS or how your demands will alter as your business grows. Still, you don’t want to just pick one and go with it, assuming that the distinctions between your options aren’t significant.
The last thing you want is to get your site up and running on a CMS only to discover that it lacks a feature that’s critical to your business. If this happens, you’ll have to spend a significant amount of time, money, and effort moving to a new platform.
(Of course, if you’ve already signed a contract or something similar, you won’t be able to make this modification immediately away.)
Having said that, before you commit to a content management system, read Core dna’s guide to selecting the best CMS for your business. While there is a lot that goes into making the right decision, choosing the wrong one can be disastrous for your business.
3. Ignoring security (online business)
You’re not only accountable for internal, company-facing data as an eCommerce business manager; you’re also liable for your customers’ personal information.
Needless to say, you’ll want to keep any and all information related to your company safe and secure at all times. And, while you never want to put security on the back burner entirely, you also don’t want to have to worry about keeping all of this data safe all of the time.
However, you should be certain that your CMS of choice provides security against security breaches and hacker attempts.
Make no doubt about it:
Failure to secure the security of your or your customers’ data can result in serious problems for your company, and can even result in the loss of your firm’s reputation.
4. There is no obvious value proposition
Here’s how it works:
If visitors to your site can’t figure out what you have to offer right away, they’ll swiftly click the “back” button and go somewhere to get it.
If you (somehow) have no idea what Uber is or what services it provides, a brief visit to their website will teach you everything you need to know to get started as a passenger or a driver.
The main purpose of your homepage is to rapidly attract the attention of your visitors and persuade them to learn more about what you have to offer. Your competitors will do it if you don’t.
5. Bad copy and design
While design and copy are two distinct parts of a webpage, they surely complement one another.
That is, great site design combined with mediocre copy – or vice versa – will not be helpful in attracting and engaging people to your site.
Here’s what we mean when we say “coupling” design and copy:
The design is straightforward. It’s simple to copy.
Of course, if your product is more complicated, your homepage copy and design should reflect that:
But don’t confuse “complex” with “difficult.” We’ll go over this in more detail later, but for now, just remember how important it is to match your homepage language and appearance to your product.
6. Ineffective combination of text, images, and video
Similar to what we just discussed, you should make sure that the amount of text, images, and multimedia on your site is balanced.
When we say “balance,” we don’t necessarily imply that you should include equal amounts of text, graphics, and/or video; rather, we mean that you should supply the correct amount of each as your target audience expects.
7. Inadequate navigation
Because the purpose of your homepage is to entice visitors to explore the remainder of your site, you must make it simple for them to get there.
While the homepage may be a little busy, visitors looking for a specific product will have no trouble finding the appropriate category page.
The concept is that you want your visitors to “click around” your site, but only with a specific goal in mind. If they’re just browsing around on your site trying to figure out where they should go, they’ll probably give up very fast.
8. Ineffective lead generation attempts
Because of the nature of eCommerce, you won’t be able to engage directly with visitors to your website until they actively seek to convert.
(This is in contrast to physical stores, where personnel may quickly greet and engage with consumers as they enter.)
Of course, not everyone who views your website will purchase something.
But that doesn’t mean you should abandon them completely. Rather, you want to gather as much information as possible on your potential leads.
…it’s critical that you add a lead-capture form on your homepage so that individuals who aren’t ready to buy but want to learn more about what you have to offer can engage with your company further.
Having too many lead-capture forms on your homepage, on the other hand, might distract – and annoy – your visitors, and will certainly drive them to leave your site permanently.
9. Mistakes in technology
This should go without saying, but your homepage (and the rest of your site) should be free of technological problems.
This translates to:
- Ensure that every link on your homepage functions properly and leads users to the correct page.
- Increasing the loading speed of your website
- Ensure that your website is mobile-friendly.
If such issues arise, it won’t matter how well-designed your site is otherwise; your visitors will most likely leave before seeing anything else you have to offer.
Source: online business , online business ideas
