Date: 14th January, 2013
2013 is the year to launch your ecommerce website and we’d love to be a part of it. Our platform of choice for hosting ecommerce websites is Magento, and we want to share with you our reasons why. We’ve divided them into two categories: ‘Good for you’ and ‘Good for your customers’, but what’s good for you is good for your customers, if you see what we’re trying to say…
Good for you
1. Magento Integrated Management System – This gives you the ability to control every aspect of the selling of your products at the click of a mouse. It also allows you to customise the presentation of your products and brand as you desire, enabling your website to be as bespoke as you are.
2. Integrated with Google Analytics – Google Analytics is a comprehensive and valuable web application which allows you to track all actions of the visitors to your site, from how long people spend viewing your site, to which adverts are driving them there. This is advantageous as it should give you the information you need to understand the behaviour and preferences of your consumers.
3. Search engine friendly – Ranking highly in natural search engine results is vital to success as most internet users do not venture further than the first page. Magento incorporates search engine friendly URLs as well as a Google sitemap, to ensure that visibility of your website is optimised.
4. Revolutionary evaluation techniques – Magento helps you to understand your customers, as it neatly tracks useful information such as Best Viewed Products, Best Purchased Products and at what stage people ‘abandon’ their shopping basket. This provides a valuable resource so that you can ensure that you are providing the best service possible by adhering to your customers’ needs.
5. Cross-sell on product pages – This action allows you to potentially increase income as you can choose products to be selected to appear as suggestions to people who are already in the process of purchasing from you. One way that you can use this to your greatest advantage is to use product evaluation (mentioned above) to ensure that you are suggesting products that buyers regularly buy together.
6. Discount code system- Setting up occasional discounts and offers is a great way to encourage sales during quieter periods. It’s easy to implement a special offer with Magento, as you can manage them entirely with the Magento management system.
7. Stock availability and stock control options – You will never be caught short when customers purchase products that are unavailable, again! This handy control allows you to manage availability of your products, allowing you to stock up in time before the levels get too low.
Good for your customers
8. One-page checkout – Anything to make shopping on your website easy for customers, is a good thing. The words ‘registration’ can strike fear into the heart of new customers, when appearing immediately before a purchase. By making sales simpler, you can ensure that your sales are completed where they may otherwise have been abandoned. Not only will one-page checkout allow for a simpler transaction, it will also encourage consumers to come back for more and to spread the good word about your ecommerce site.
9. Customer accounts with address book facility, order status and history – A database for you; a handy tracker for your customers. By offering a ‘My account’ option, returning to your website will be easier for customers, and provides a platform for both consumer and seller to track orders and history of purchases.
10. Multiple images per product and product image zoom-in capability – This allows customers to view products at all different angles and therefore to make a more informed decision about their purchases, reducing the likelihood of returns. For you, it provides a fantastic opportunity to show off products, which also can increase sales.
We’re not alone in thinking that Magento is fab, as 20% of ecommerce sites today run using the platform. We believe that our team has the perfect combination of skills to design, build and market your ecommerce website. If this post has made you wonder what Magento could do for you, get in touch with us.
