Creating an online business requires you to pay attention to many different things. Failure to do so could result in your site going under. Therefore, it is essential that you carefully plan out every aspect of your site before it goes live.
Many new online business owners make the enormous mistake of rushing the design of their site because they are so anxious for it to go live so they can start making money. However, this will most likely create a large number of problems that will need to be dealt with down the road. You must be totally certain that your site functions perfectly before the general public is allowed to use it.
Here are some of the reasons why the way your site functions is important.
1. Avoid Customer Frustration
Many people are very short on patience as a general rule. This is especially true when they are shopping for something online. They want to find what they want quickly and buy it without any hassles. You will be making a lot of money if you enable your customers to be able to do this.
Many people have a very limited amount of time to do their shopping. Therefore, they do not want it to be wasted by a site that does not function the way it should. People will quickly become frustrated if they click on a button to open a new page or perform a function and it does not work correctly. They will inevitably give up and go to a different store if your site will not let them do what they want to do. This is obviously very bad for business.
However, the results of something like this happening could actually be much worse. The customer is unlikely to shop on your site again in the future. He or she might also tell their friends to avoid your site. A tiny glitch can have devastating consequences for your business.
2. Problems With Your Online Shopping Cart
The online shopping cart for your site is definitely something you want to have ironed out before you let any customers loose on your site.
You need to make sure that you have installed the latest online shopping cart software to enable your customers to make purchases correctly. Many new sites that have just gone live report problems with their online shopping carts. Needless to say, it is a big problem if customers can’t put items into their cart in order to buy them. Your site will not be around very long if that problem persists. This is why you should thoroughly test your site and do many dry runs to find any existing flaws.
3. Search Engine Difficulties
Many people will come to your site looking for specific items. A malfunction to your search engine will be a huge problem because it will make it much more difficult for your customers to find what they want. You should test your search engine periodically even after you go live to ensure there are no problems.