5 Essential Pages for Ecommerce Websites

by Josh Biggs in Digital Marketing, Ecommerce on 19th January 2021

If you could only display five pages on your ecommerce website, which would they be? A website can have any number of pages, and there are no hard and fast rules here. However, when it comes to ecommerce websites, certain pages are essential, some of them must-haves.

In this post, we’ll cover five essential pages for ecommerce websites as page experience is important. This resource will be handy if you’re planning to open an online store or looking to optimize your store to improve conversion rates.

But before we delve into the details, 

What is an Ecommerce Website?

Broadly speaking, an ecommerce website or online store is any website set up with the primary intention of selling physical goods or services.

Most retailers are online only, e.g. Amazon. Others adopt online commerce as part of a larger multichannel or omni-channel strategy. In each case, an ecommerce website can facilitate buying and selling online.

This is made possible by  incorporating certain pages, the most important of which we will cover in this post as follows:

5 Key Pages to Include in Your Ecommerce Website

  1. Home Page

By far the most popular website page, the home page is the first port of call for many online shoppers who visit your store. Most of these shoppers are already in the consideration stage of their buyer’s journey.

Source: Amazon

Things to include:

  1. Hot selling products
  2. Promotions
  3. Discounts
  4. Coupons
  5. Search bar

By displaying the above, you can help indecisive visitors quickly make up their mind and possibly increase their basket size.

For instance, by displaying a free shipping banner, you can capture the attention of over 93% of buyers who will buy more if offered free shipping.

Similarly, by including a search bar with autosuggest feature, you make it easier for visitors to be able to type exactly what products they’re looking for. The autosuggest feature will predict what they’re trying to type or spell, making it easier to find what they’re looking for.

You can also include a how-to-place-an-order video or slide, showing new visitors exactly how to place an order on your website. This can drastically improve your conversion rates.

2. Product Pages

This is one of the most critical pages every ecommerce website must have. This is where you convince visitors to commit and make the purchase.

Things to include:

  1. Product photos or videos
  2. Product description
  3. Price
  4. Payment options
  5. Similar or complimentary products

Source: Jumia

By displaying the above, you help visitors gain more information about the product and how it works. Here you list the benefits of the product, what pain point(s) it solves, it’s sizes and dimensions, colors, texture, etc.

Some shoppers are mostly concerned about the color of the product, some are about the sizes, and others texture. By capturing each of these informations, you can appeal to a broader customer base, irrespective of their little idiosyncrasies. No detail is too minute to be left out.

By including up to five product photos, you help customers to get a better visual experience of the product and enhance your chances of making a sale. Most new platforms like Shopify Plus now offer augmented reality which lets shoppers virtually try on products before buying.

If you sell products that require assembling, a product video can help shoppers understand exactly how to couple the product together. This can help you to facilitate the sale.

3. Shipping, Fulfillment, and Order Tracking

Shipping, fulfillment and order tracking information also adds to an enjoyable shopping experience for online shoppers. In fact, Narvar reports that 53% of US online shoppers won’t purchase a product if they don’t know when it is arriving. You can dedicate a page to address these key areas of online shopping.

Things to include:

  1. Shipping carriers
  2. Shipping costs
  3. Shipping time
  4. Fulfillment rate
  5. Order tracking

Once orders are placed and payment made, shoppers need to know how and when to expect their items. In this page, you can detail the shipping carriers you support.

You should also display relevant shipping costs as hidden shipping costs can cause shoppers to abandon a purchase. You should include different shipping options and how much each costs.

Another key information shoppers want to know is the average or expected shipping time. Same day and next day delivery are now a thing. If you offer these, you should state it already.

You should also include order tracking information. For instance, SpeedPak tracking allows shoppers to keep track of their orders from China to any part of the world. Order tracking is important to over 97% of shoppers, according to reports by ProShip.

4. Return Policy

Things can go wrong when shopping online. This is the truth behind what-you-ordered-vs-what-you-got fails. Some shoppers accept it as their fate, never protest and never return for another purchase. Others who know your refund policy will try to use it to seek redress.

But what if you don’t have a return policy on your ecommerce website?

Things to include:

  1. Summary of return policy
  2. What qualifies as a return and what qualifies for a return
  3. Return period
  4. Who pays for return shipping and handling
  5. Refund or replacement procedure

Ecommerce websites with a return policy guarantee shoppers that they can either get their money back or their money’s worth back if things go wrong with their orders.

Returns or reverse logistics is a big deal in ecommerce fulfillment. According to reports by Statista, returns would cost companies a whopping $550 billion in 2020 alone. It will be foolhardy to ignore such an important aspect of running an ecommerce business.

You should clearly state what qualifies as and for a return, plus how long shoppers have to request a return. This will also protect you against unruly shoppers who will try to hijack your return policy.

Who pays for return shipping? How long and by what means do you offer a refund or replacement? If a replacement, who pays for shipping? These are key information to include in this page.

5. Contact Us

How do customers contact you if they have questions or an issue they need to resolve? What if they need help placing an order, how can they reach you? Are you available to help right when they need it, or will it take 48 business hours for you to respond?

Things to include:

  1. Contact number
  2. Email address or contact form
  3. Live Chat
  4. Social media handles
  5. Other channels

When it comes to online shopping, time is of the essence. If a shopper needs help with making a payment, and can’t get help in time, they’re likely to abandon purchase and go elsewhere where they can get help instantly.

You can make it easier for your customers to contact you by including a functional phone number, email address, or contact form. You should state whether you’re available 24/7 or not.

Live Chat is one of the most customer-friendly ways of contacting support. It reassures shoppers that you’re both present and responsive, key elements in building trust.

If you use social media, you should also indicate how you can be contacted, and if a chatbot will be doing the chatting. You should include any other channels or means by which you can be contacted.

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