How can you create an e-commerce website that works on all devices?

Usually, the first thing to consider is if you are going with SaaS solution or CMS. While SaaS options don't require technical skills and are more easy to start, CMS can be more flexible and could be a great long term solution.

Choosing a right platform is one of the most critical and vital part of seting up an eCommerce website that works on all devices and for all audiences. Each business has their own requirements, gaols, and resource limitations hence selecting an appropriate model (SaaS/CMS or custom-built) is critical. Once the platform is selected, then comes the time to choose an appropriate design/layout. Because design plays an essential role in attracting, retaining, and converting visitors into paying customers, it is critical to do proper research and analysis on what type of layout will work best for your online store. You can choose from ready-to-use templates/themes or can go for your custom design template that matches your needs.

Choosing the right e-commerce platform is a critical decision for your online business and requires consideration of different factors. I recommend getting a consultation on platform selection as later change will be much more expensive. Today customers expect to have Omni-Channel experience, they want to interact with your store through different channels seamlessly. They can start a journey on mobile application, continue on site and finish in physical store if you have it. And you need to recognize and track them, collect all the data that can be used to provide tailored experience and give you the data to future optimizations in all the areas from products that you sell in the store to an image that can bring more sales.

A common mistake people make is to pick a site design, and then try to shove navigation items into the header. The header navigation is a key gateway for visitors. It helps prospective customers discover products and learn about the brand. Build out a navigation structure, prioritizing key links that customers will seek out. Give it enough depth to be helpful, but not so much depth customers can get lost in the navigation. AFTER figuring out a navigation hierarchy, then design a header and navigation that works with the site’s goals. An intentional navigation can do wonders to conversion and visitor retention.

Designing an e-commerce site starts from understanding of your target audience. Who are you selling to? What kind of language do they speak? What is considered a cool design in that segment? Once you understand your target audience, you can start to design a website that appeals to them. Make sure your website is easy to use. Visitors should be able to find what they're looking for quickly and easily. The navigation should be clear and concise, and site should load quickly. Use high-quality images and videos. Quality and resolution should be good enough to support all of your targeted devices and channels. Offer multiple payment options. Make it easy to pay. Use SSL, today browsers show sites without it as untrustworthy.

One thing I've found useful is using your own content from Day 1 (unique content) which is not only SEO friendly but also more engaging for users. Even that high-quality images are a must, their size should be well-considered in advance to avoid slow page loading.

Most of the popular payment gateways provide similar features. Key factors to consider when selecting a payment gateway: Accepted payment methods: Some payment gateways only accept credit cards, while others also accept PayPal, Venmo, and other digital wallets. Customers location: Some payment gateways only work in certain countries or regions. Transaction volume: Consider the volume of transactions it can sustain vs. its cost. Fees: Payment gateways have different fee structures and agreements.

Invest in the creation of a good testing strategy: Use a risk-based approach: Prioritize the testing areas based on the risk to the business/cost of a defect. Automate where makes sense: Automating testing can decrease time to market (TTM) and save money but the testing pyramid should be used to understand how much of which type of testing you need to get maximum ROI on the efforts/cost. Consider crowd testing: Crowd testing can reduce cost of exploratory testing and can be a good addition to your testing pyramid to improve ROI on efforts/cost. Use CI/CD pipeline: Integrate testing process in your software delivery process to ensure you can deliver fast and with the required level of quality.

Invest and manage the importance of SEO , content marketing and paid social media from the first day . It is hard after one year (or two) to do big changes because the cost is high and the time is short ..

The most important thing before even building your own ecommerce website is to check what legal requirements your website needs to follow, so that your business is authorized and you haven't missed any mandatory modules or terms for your website. Based on your region, market and business, this could include Terms of sales, Return policy, GDPR, Omnibus regulations, etc.

It’s interesting that we’re still using terminology like “e-commerce” and “websites” in 2023. Basically restricting the customer experience to one channel when customers today expect brands to facilitate their desired shopping experience of a shopping experience anytime they want, any way they want, and anywhere they want. The commerce journey may overlap over many different devices and channels. If you define your commerce experience with the customer journey and desired experience in mind first then you’ll be successful. E.g. Have your mobile experience match what a user might do as part of this journey, whether it’s a complete end to end purchase or “research” pricing and reviews while you’re in store.