Seven Essentials for a Successful E-Commerce Website Launch

Suggested Pages

What are the most obvious pages that need to be on an E-Commerce website? Homepage, products page, shopping cart and some sort of checkout page, right? What else do you think is required? Over the years we have worked on a ton of E-Commerce sites and have come up with a list of pages that we feel are essential. We have identified 25 of these essential pages.

1. Home
   This is an essential page for not just E-Commerce websites but for any website on the internet. The home page can include all the products, services, imagery and really anything that you want the end user to be driven too. Once end users land on this page, it can act as the launching pad for really anything within the website. Remember this usually on the first page that end users come to so the first impression when people get here are vital in the sales process of whatever you may be selling.
2. Category Overview
   This is the top-level category (Men or Electronics), which will showcase a high-level overview the types of products within that category. If there is only one category than you can skip the Category Overview entirely and start with the Category Page.
3. Category Page
   The Category Page is usually a grid-like view of the products within a specific category. Usually, these pages offer a filtering function so end users have the ability to easily drill down to the products they desire to look more into or hopefully purchase.
4. Product Page
   This page is where the details of each product live. From product details to reviews to related products to social media sharing, these are just a few features that need to be on the product page which will hopefully entice end users to purchase.
   
5. Search
   Navigating through product categories and product pages is just one way for end users to get to the products they desire to see. Another very effective way and a bit of a shortcut is using Search. Providing a simple search feature on an E-Commerce site is a sure bet way to win over more customers.
   
6. Login Accounts
   E-Commerce sites that have accounts allow for customers to save their data such as transaction or payment history. It also lends itself to loyalty/reward programs.
   
7. Add to Cart
   This is more of a feature than a page, it is extremely important that when someone adds an item to their Shopping Cart the end user is visually notified along with the detail of everything else they added before hand.
   
8. Shopping Cart Page
   The Shopping Cart needs to have all items added from throughout the buying process listed on the Shopping Cart page where the end user will have the ability to delete products, make modifications or checkout.
   
9. Checkout Flow
   This is a multi-step process where the end user can abandon at any point up until the payment processing piece. The first step to checking out is either creating a new customer account or if the end user isn’t interested in that, a guest account can be leveraged. Once that is determined, shipping information needs to fill out so that cost is added to the checkout process along with the choice of delivery is determined. Now that the costs are all added up along with shipping that was just decided on, the payment process piece will need to complete as well. It is at this point that the end user can make a final decision on the products they are about to purchase, make changes to shipping, abandon the purchase altogether or provide their payment information to complete the order.
   
10. Confirmation
    The minute that the order is submitted, a simple thank you message should pop up letting the end user know that the order was successfully submitted along with the order details and hopefully an order number that can be used to track if there is an issue. Also, a similar email should be sent out for the end user’s records.
    
11. Account Page (Order History, Order Detail Review, Customer Profile)
    With the customer’s account, they should have the following pages for them to view and or modify at their leisure. A place for them to see their previous orders is a good way for them to feel comfortable that they have the ability to always come back and see what they bought before. Within that page, the ability for them to drill down into each order again gives customers that flexibility that they desire. Just like any other account, there needs to be a section that the end users can go in and modify their profile as circumstances for customers are constantly evolving. Providing them the access for modifying own information is a great way to built trust.
12.  Footer and Other Pages
    These don’t really add to the order process a whole lot, however, provide some value to the end users when visiting your E-Commerce website. An Email Sign Up feature is a great way to obtain potential clients interested in your products for future purchases. A simple page that outlines your return policy is never a bad thing since there will always be a percentage of people that want to know that they have an option of returning the products if they aren’t working properly or are what they are looking for. One of the big questions that online shoppers have in mind is the cost associated with shipping. Providing this information up front will create a sense of transparency that people are always looking for. Help and/or Contact Us is a staple page that many users look to when they have a very specific question to ask or look for. Having this page readily available in the navigation will make this process that much more seamless for your shoppers. Last but not least are the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy, these are not essential in the buying process at all but are more focused on ensuring that the end user knows what is allowed and not allowed when using the site or when you obtain their information.