What makes a great Shopify site and why?
To help e-commerce store owners we spoke with agencies and e-commerce experts and asked them this question to find out strategies you can use to create a standout website.
Experience, Branding, & Proofs
Experience: From basic functions to the checkout process, the customer's journey on the site should be easy to navigate to prevent loss of leads due to issues such as confusing navigation and influxes of pop-up ads and chat boxes.
Branding: From the logo, color palette, to other displays on the site, everything should be consistent with the brand identity crafted from the strategic planning stage to effectively reach and deliver the right message to the target market.
Proofs: There are a gazillion of suppliers in the market, so it's important to highlight social proof on the site to establish trust and authority in the audience's mind.
Tim Sutton, CoffeeGeek TV
Include Search Functionality
One that offers the best shopping experience for users in order to increase your company's income. Include search functionality on your Shopify website as a key element that will help with this. Not everyone enjoys sifting through a long list of links to discover the items they seek.
The ability to search for a keyword for a product and quickly locate what they are searching for will save time and keep the consumer engaged.
Adam Pearce, Blend Commerce
SEO Friendly
To be considered a top Shopify, a website must be extremely SEO friendly, in all aspects, including the very, very important technical SEO side.
First thing first, a light and fast theme is mandatory, exactly how it is needed when building websites on WordPress or Wix.
The UX plays a crucial role in building a top Shopify website since the most important search engines consider the user experience a ranking factor.
Plus, if nobody can find your website for specific keywords, then you can't consider your website a top one. This also means, of course, a mobile super-friendly website.
Also, each product page must have an SEO friendly and localized title, metatags, and description, with HD images (properly compressed for page speed performances), and at least one video that keeps the customers closer to what they must be tempted to buy.
Last, but not least, to have a Shopify website stand out, content is the best tool, along with micro-influencers, ideal for SMEs, and guest posts for backlinks and Off-Page SEO purposes.
Andre Chiesa, Huppyz
Promote Your Unique Selling Points
There are several key factors to creating a successful Shopify site:
- Makes use of Shopify's themes to promote their unique selling points.
- Efficient customer service.
- Offers affordable products.
- Uses effective marketing tools to expand its business.
GymShark, a trendy fitness apparel brand, exemplifies these key elements of successful Shopify stores. They were founded in 2012 and are one of the most popular Shopify sites. In 2020, their company was valued at a whopping £1 billion. They have a significant social media presence (approximately 5 million followers on Instagram). And even better than all of this, their fitness apparel is both trendy and affordable.
Robert Brandl, ToolTester
A Great Customer Experience
- They provide the best customer experience.
- The checkout process is very easy as there is an option for risk-free payment.
- Social proof contributes a lot in terms of revenue when you display them on your homepage.
- Product description is very important like size charts, etc. It's a must for any top Shopify store.
- Providing the best customer service which includes customer support and the right assistance.
- Make sure your Shopify site is SEO friendly and loads up fast to make the best customer experience.
Jack Altman, Think Orion
Recovering Abandoned Carts
Almost all successful Shopify stores make use of cart abandonment solutions like email remarketing and online push alerts. Capturing details from abandoned carts and re-engaging with potential consumers has shown to be quite effective in recouping lost income.
Sumit Bansal, TrumpExcel
An Easy Checkout Process
A top Shopify store's checkout process is simple and stress-free. Every major online retail shop strives to make the payment procedure as simple as possible.
It takes a lot more than tying a call to action at the bottom of the page to a payment site to create a seamless checkout procedure. Every aspect of the checkout process, from the shopping cart to the methods of payment and payment procedure, must be trouble-free.
Difficulties throughout the checkout process may cause the buyer to leave your site and abandon the purchase.
As a result of several proactive initiatives, top stores possess low cart abandonment rates:
- They do not require site registration prior to shopping.
- With fewer than 15 form components, the checkout procedure is quick and easy.
- All of the total fees related to the purchase, including shipping and taxes, are clarified.
- They accept a variety of payment methods, including credit cards, debit cards, and PayPal.
Steve Scott, Spreadsheet Planet
Excellent Customer Service
For successful online stores, the phrase "the customer is king" holds true. Nothing is more vital for product sales than this factor. Any online retail store's main concept should be this.
Without a nice client experience, a brilliant website and gorgeous products are worthless. It's the most important factor in a company's success.
One approach for your eCommerce store to compete in the market is to provide an excellent customer experience. It's the most cost-effective and efficient marketing tool available. It's also a recurring topic in most business improvement plans.
The customer's total experience will determine if they will make a repeat purchase from the store based on the online web experience, product availability, checkout process, customer service, and order fulfillment.
As a result, client service is necessary. Your response to a customer's problem and how you fix it goes a long way toward creating a great customer experience.
Customers will talk about their positive experiences with others. These interactions can make or break an internet business, depending on whether the experience was pleasant or bad.
Darshan Somashekar, Solitaired
Customer Reviews and Social Proof
People prefer to purchase goods and services from a brand that has a track record of happy customers. This is why, before making a purchasing choice, many people read user reviews of the goods online.
Customer reviews are commonly used by leading Shopify stores to demonstrate their customer base. It's a great opportunity for store owners to interact with their customers while also reinforcing their brand's idea.
Other people's experiences can also help potential purchasers determine if the store's merchandise will solve their problem. I believe almost three out of every four online consumers rely on user reviews to make their purchasing decisions.
It's essential to promoting your consumers to submit reviews by making it simple for them to do so, or even compensating them for doing so.
Tyler Martin, ThinkTyler
Well-Written Web Copy
Web copy that isn't good enough or produced in an unprofessional manner will hurt your dropshipping business. Top Shopify stores invest not only in product photography but also in web copy. They ensure that they are well-designed and capable of converting visitors into clients.
You can outsource this process to more experienced freelancers if you don't have the copywriting talents to create attractive page content and product descriptions. Don't make the mistake of writing your own copy if you don't know how to do it correctly; it will do more harm than good to your store.
Andrew Helling, Rethority
High-Quality Product Photography
The best Shopify stores all have high-resolution photos of their products as one of their common features. Customers will respond to your pictures, product descriptions, and product reviews because they will not be able to see your products before purchasing them. As a result, you must guarantee that the quality of your dropshipping products is reflected in your product images. Whether you do your own product photography or employ a professional, make sure the images are professional and of high quality.
Eric Carrell, Surfshark
Excellent Products
A successful Shopify store sells items in a specific niche that they are familiar with. You must be knowledgeable about your products, which will show on your website.
Your items should strive to achieve a larger goal than simply selling, such as a mission statement and a theme. Many successful Shopify entrepreneurs use their products to benefit an underserved population, fulfill a social purpose, or satisfy a need.
These shops sell things that are unique in comparison to others on the market. This feature enhances the customer experience, encourages repeat purchases, and ensures a high conversion rate.
David Janssen, VPNoverview
Mobile-Friendly Store
In eCommerce, mobile devices such as phones and tablets are becoming more common. Mobile eCommerce already accounts for more than half of all online transactions, and it continues to expand year after year.
The finest Shopify stores make their sites mobile-friendly. They also provide mobile apps, allowing them to reach a larger audience.
For mobile devices, eCommerce retailers must do more than just minimize the size of their homepage. The mobile web has its own qualities, such as a mobile responsive design that must be incorporated into the site to guarantee that it displays correctly on phones and tablets.
A Shopify store that does not optimize its site for mobile customers may lose up to 66 percent of its potential sales.
Herbert Riggs, UnscrambleX