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Running an online business is no simple task. Any entrepreneur can tell you that building a profitable business isn’t just setting it up well; in fact, that’s just the beginning. Scaling an online business requires meticulous attention to every detail on your website, contributing to your main objective: CONVERSIONS. Conversion rates can lead a company either to profitability or its demise. It involves everything your customers see: design layout, photographs, product descriptions to name a few.  Furthermore, it is also made up of how each of these subconsciously affects your customer.
We know it can get difficult, that’s why we’re here to help!
To ensure this doesn’t happen to you, we’ve compiled a checklist of steps you can take to increase your eCommerce conversion rate.
Have a Simple, Effective Layout
It only takes two-tenths of a second for a customer to form a first impression of your website. Your homepage should grab their attention with quality images and content (but don’t overwhelm them). It’s imperative to have an easy-to-navigate layout. You’re trying to convince customers to stay. Make sure your products are easy to find. Search tabs, drop-down menus are all great options to clean up a cluttered site.  Remember to keep these all in mind for your mobile display as well.  Online shopping through mobile devices is as high as it’s ever been.  These have small screens so make use of this limited real estate accordingly.
Since your customers cannot physically touch your products, pictures will be the means for them to decide whether to purchase your product or not.  The quality of these images will also influence how much they are willing to pay.  Customers like to see exactly what they’re getting, so make sure to provide good quality images of all angles of your product.
A great product description is one that truthfully and accurately promotes what you’re selling. You should give enough information to answer any questions your customers may have. If your description is too lengthy, provide a short snippet with a ‘show more’ option to reveal the rest of the text so the description is not overwhelming to the reader.
In the off-chance that your description didn’t answer all of your customer’s questions, live chat is a great tool to bridge the gap between uncertainty and a sale. This feature also adds a personal touch that many websites don’t offer. Customers will feel more connected to you/your company, and subsequently more likely to purchase from you.
Offer Free Shipping (or some other service)
Who doesn’t love getting something for FREE? Customers love to feel like they’re getting a deal.  If they know they are receiving something for free, shoppers are more likely to purchase more products.  If  your business can’t afford to give a free service, consider increasing the cost of the products to cover the fees, or have a minimum amount that the customer must spend to qualify.  If this amount isn’t too high, customers will more than likely add the item, or an additional item, to their cart to meet the minimum amount.
Simplify your Shopping Cart
Make sure your customers can find the shopping cart! This sounds super basic, but this is often overlooked.  If your shopping cart icon is hard to find, your customers will not look for it.  Ensure each step of the checkout process is collected on one page so your customer doesn’t need to fill out several pages of information.  This also decreases the likelihood of more technical errors. This is the final step before the sale so make sure it is smooth and simple.
Also think about providing your shopper with a “Checkout as a guest” option.  This is less information they need to fill out and you’ll already have their name, email, and mailing address from the sale for future marketing purposes.
Follow up on abandoned carts
There are countless reasons why someone abandons their shopping cart.  These customers were interested enough to add this product to their cart - don’t let the possibility of a sale slip by.  A simple email reminder can be the difference between a shopper browsing your products for the first time and a lifetime customer.
Optimize your email capabilities
Emails are one of the most effective ways to get traffic directly to your site. Great email content can include: a welcome newsletter, order confirmations and thank yous, personalized promotions for repeat shoppers, seasonal promotions, general discounts… Try a simple promotional email with timely savings and deals to create urgency.  No one likes to feel that they’re missing out on something.  The options are endless.  Take advantage of this simple yet effective 1:1 marketing tactic that can boost your sales and longevity.
Allow customers to leave reviews
Don’t just allow it, encourage it! Product reviews can help an on-the-fence customer make that purchase.  It’s also an additional level of authenticity to your brand. People like to know they’re getting a quality product in return for their hard-earned money.  Good reviews can boost morale and poor reviews boost performance and better your business.
The only way to ensure success with any of these methods is to test, test, test. If one method doesn’t work for you, move on to the next one. Tweak one thing at a time so you know exactly what boosts your bottom line. User testing is a great example of this. Hiring someone to objectively view your website is something that needs to be done at least once every few months. This will ensure your website is user-friendly and will also help tailor your site to the needs of your customers.
Since each business is unique, each one should be treated this way. What works for one is not guaranteed to work for the others. By testing and tweaking one thing at a time, you will soon find what works for you and your business.