If you are planning on building a website for ecommerce purposes you need to know that doing so is a very different experience than any other type of website design will be. Because the focus is on generating revenue the elements that you need to consider and incorporate will be very different than a website design that is aimed at educating the public about goods or services.

If you have decided that you want to try and sell products online here are a few things to consider when including ecommerce elements in your company’s web design.

Does the website design match the products?

This may seem obvious but for many people this is something that they overlook. It is not just about making sure that the site features the products you are trying to sell. The entire feel of the website design also needs to support the impression you are trying to give potential customers. In a way, it’s a little like creating an overall brand except that in this case, it is focused more on the products that you are trying to sell.

Think about how you want customers to feel when they look at your site and the kind of customers that you want to attract. A fun and modern website design may be great for cutting edge products whereas if you are selling more traditional products or services you may need a more traditional site design. The wrong website design may confuse customers and they may end up going elsewhere to purchase their goods.

A simple design may be best

Remember that you want your website design to showcase your products. You want the products to stand out in your customer’s mind and not the site itself (although you do want them to remember your site enough to return to it more than once). A site that is overly flashy may detract from the items or make it difficult for them to even find the products that they are looking for.

If you do have an ornate website design already you may want to find a way to link it to a simpler, cleaner virtual storefront that incorporates some common website design elements but which may be less flashy and more straightforward.

Make it easy for customers to choose and pay for products

A shopping cart is essential to selling products online. Unfortunately the best shopping cart may be useless if customers cannot find it. Therefore it needs to be possible for them to find the shopping cart. It also needs to work consistently and mesh well with the payment system. If someone is unable to complete a transaction they will likely go to the competition and make their purchases there. This loss of revenue can be devastating for ecommerce website design.

By putting a lot of thought into your website design you can create a powerful tool to raise online revenue. The look of the site, combined with the overall feel and the functionality can make or break your site so consider each choice carefully in order to make the best decision for your company.