Shopping Cart
A shopping cart displays important data about the product and overall order and really highlights the quality (or lack) of the client service provided by a company or online brand.
Cart is the last step before a customer completes a purchase – clarity and competence in the information displayed will help to define the Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate.
Essentials:
1- Display the product image or thumbnail.
2- Product name and price.
3- Options to remove and update.
4- Coupon field.
5- Complete order information (total, subtotal, discounts) including taxes and shipping.
6- Proceed to checkout CTA.
**Shopping cart page is the most convenient to introduce upsell attempts before user checkout.
,
Wishlist
Wishlist widget allows users to create a list of products they do not wish to purchase yet – But may, later on.
Instead of having to search for the desired products once more on return, this widget permits to save it to be reviewed later. This feature is especially essential for big catalogues. Wishlist widget can be added to any page or product for free on WooCommerce using the following plugin ->
The wishlist button can be placed on the product summary and product thumbnail. The free version is not easy to customize without coding. If you are using this plugin and need help get in touch.
Add To Cart / Checkout Buttons
Both can be implemented and placed on different pages with different behaviours.
1- User add to cart and remains on the product page. In this behaviour, a minecart box or side cart should be displayed as a pop up and remain temporarily (or always) open to encourage a prompted checkout.
2- User add to cart and is redirected to the cart page.
3- User multi-select products using checkboxes and add to cart various items at once.
4- Both add to cart and checkout button placed together. Increasingly popular since Amazon “Buy Now”.
Customer Account
It is optional.
Not all E-commerce websites request users to create a user account in order to purchase. Many store owners see that step as a barrier in the purchase process. In this scenario, anyone can purchase products and checkout without the need to log in.
Customer account feature is nonetheless important for most E-commerce stores – And especially for clients; they contain important information about orders.
Account creation can be also optional, rather than mandatory, leaving that choice to the customer discretion. However, in order to consolidate purchase flow and consistency one should opt to offer it or not.
In WooCommerce is very easy to implement: go to woocommerce -> settings-> accounts and privacy and enable the option.
This will automatically create all the customer account end-points.
The social login method (Which a large majority of users prefer for its ease) is offered for free here:
The free plugin will do the job https://en-gb.wordpress.org/plugins/yith-woocommerce-social-login/
It is very important to display a link for the user account. Adding a link to any navigation panel on the site usually placed on the navbar but depending on the design might be placed somewhere else. Following good practices, the link must be visible on all pages.
Product Widgets & Taxonomy
Product widgets should be introduced strategically in different pages and give the user a quick way to navigate through offers from the moment they land on the home/landing page.
Featured products, best selling, new arrivals, you name it. The important aspect is that products and services are being displayed and the user can scroll or slide through the offer.
These widgets are designed to enhance user conversion and lower bouncing rate. Amazon uses it for almost all categories. Customer can slide through most categories from the landing page itself.
Related products widget
Displays related products based on the current product category or attributes. Woocommerce offers a free plugin where control on how products will display can be configured. A number of products to display and slider feature and many other options are easy to change. The widget can also be added to posts and other pages.
Another important aspect is product taxonomy, meaning organizing the offer by categories and attributes. Grouping offer is essential for clarity and navigation and ultimately usability – use categories, subcategories etc; again Woocommerce + WordPress combo is the best solution to quickly organize an Ecommerce website.
Product Filtering And Sorting
Filtering products by categories, tags, taxonomies, price and any necessary attributes its an essential feature for any E-commerce store. Helps the users to narrow the offer available based on product characteristics such as colour, size, or category.
How these filters are implemented, what options they offer, and how to display it is a matter of choice/necessity. Online shoppers are getting used to how these features are incorporated on the big brands websites like Amazon, eBay which makes them highly intuitive.
For Woocomerce there are some free plugins. We recommend WOOF extension API.
Product Variables
Product variables or variations should be available in the product page either near the description or summary. This functionality lets the customer to choose between product variations available.
Breadcrumb Navigation
This type of navigation enhances usability allowing the user to track their location on the website and see the relation between page hierarchies. Breadcrumbs are also an essential element of an SEO friendly website.
Social Share Buttons
Social channels are undoubtedly a direct tool to customers and an organic marketing tool. A social media widget must be available throughout the Website and especially present on the product or service pages in order to make it easily shareable by any visitor or client.
There are even more attractive ways and functionalities available to social share plugins. One very powerful is the share for discounts:
Product Reviews
Reviews play a massive role in today’s marketplace. Most customers prefer to read reviews than the actual full product description. Therefore, this is a crucial theme for any company out there.
3 top challenges before starting an eCommerce website