Have you ever visited a website and were primed to do some online shopping when something, somewhere went amiss? We’ve all been there. Maybe the page takes too long to load, the navigation of the site is hurtful and not helpful, and the search bar is nowhere to be seen. Whatever the reason, you’ve already bolted off the site and sworn never to return (unless there’s a huge promo, then maybe you’ll tolerate it).
Here are 5 Ecommerce Launch Mistakes Many Brands Make:
1. Delay Website Launch Until Site is 100% Perfect
Newsflash: your site may never be perfect. I know that’s a scary thing. But if you delay the launch until your site is 100% perfect, you may never launch. Take solace in the fact that most sites launch at 80% or 90% of what they would deem “perfect.” Now, there are some obvious things you want upon launch: Ensure you can capture payments; make sure your site is secure; make sure your site is optimized for SEO. But what we’re talking about here is nice-to-haves. Never delay a site launch for a nice-to-have, like the ability to purchase gift cards. Gift cards are a great characteristic for any site (that at least sells products), but it should not prevent a site launch.
The solution: create a list of must-haves, the items that you won’t launch until they are completely coded and tested and work fine. Now, create a list of nice-to-haves. These are features you ideally would love to launch with, but they can wait for phase 2 if need be.