With the increasing use of the internet, it is no surprise that most merchants and sellers have started moving to the online space for selling products and services. The case of B2B commerce is no difference, with companies looking for more web-based solutions to improve themselves, and simultaneously decrease their costs. The only way that your ecommerce website stands a chance of being recognized in this throng is if you put up one that is exceptionally good for the user. This means high levels of user-friendly content, and good visuals, among other things. Below, we list a few things for you to keep in mind as you begin working on your ecommerce website.
Mobile friendly
It is common knowledge that with the increase in web traffic from mobiles and tablets, instead of the earlier trends of computers, some websites and search engines have started to focus primarily on being more mobile friendly. Even Google is aiming to be mobile-first which means that your site will have better chances of showing up in searches if it is more user-friendly for mobiles. Moreover, it will also improve the experience of the customers and form a better impression upon your potential customers. Some might go to the extent of saying that making your site mobile friendly is a complete necessity and not simply an additional value point. This is one sure-fire way that you can improve how your website looks and functions.
SSL
An SSL certificate is an assurance that the customer’s information is private and that all sensitive information will be protected and secured. When you go to a website, and their URL says “https://” instead of “http://” that means SSL secures it. There are often instances where customers receive big blaring messages if they attempt to access sites which lack these specifications. This decreases the chances that they will proceed past the warning and try to access the website which significantly reduces your audience. Moreover, Google is very particular about the safety of your site and hence your chances of being seen are much higher if you submit the required sitemaps to Google Webmaster Tools, which establish that your site is secure for all visitors.
Open source
Going open source is one simple way to gain maximum control over your B2B ecommerce business and make it a customizable platform. You can change and develop it as you wish, and have a large number of resources at your disposal.
Image loading speed
This may seem a fairly logical thing to look into, but is very often overlooked. Viewers are getting busier, and demand faster loading times. There are some sites they can turn to for the same information, which means they will abandon yours in the blink of an eye if they feel it is too slow. Moreover, search engines like sites which load fasts, and if your is image heavy, that depends a lot on how fast the images load. Smaller images will load faster.
Shipping
Shipping is often a key element of most ecommerce businesses, and any errors in this can cause you dearly. Most customers will be apprehensive of high charges for delivery or shipping, any shipping that takes too long, checkout processes that are too complicated, or shipping that seems fishy in any way. It is ideal for you to make the entire process easily trackable, and as fast as possible. Also, make sure your shipping practices are near perfect since any broken or wrong deliveries will leave a bad impact upon the customers and affect long-term prospects of the entire business. It is ideal to make sure this particular part of your business is smooth, automated, and error-free, even if there is a certain amount of additional expenditure involved.
Hopefully, these pointers are sufficient to get you started on a your B2B ecommerce website. There are numerous other things you will learn along the way, but the best thing you can do is make sure you remain on your toes and open to constant change. Good luck!