eCommerce Application Development Tips
Did you know that 85 percent of smartphone users prefer to use mobile apps over mobile websites these days?
Only a few retailers offer a mobile app, despite the fact that mobile apps account for a major share of revenues.
Given such a market opportunity, every eCommerce business looking to grow sales should seriously consider developing a mobile app.
When it comes to eCommerce, creating a positive customer experience for your customers is vital to your business. Because user experience is one of the most crucial aspects of any mobile app, keep up with the newest UX industry trends and statistics.
There are several crucial criteria that mobile users enforce when establishing an eCommerce mobile app.
DESIGN THAT IS EASY TO UNDERSTAND
When consumers activate an eCommerce app, the first thing they see is the user interface (UI), which allows them to enter the app, navigate and explore the categories, and conduct searches.
Always bear in mind that a mobile device’s screen is significantly smaller, so you’re limited on space – the home screen should focus on having a clean layout with a simple navigation system and search features, with each button, menu, or piece of information being well organized and neat.
Users should be able to move through your programmer without thinking – your UI shouldn’t make them think:
- Avoid too complex designs with a lot of text or motion;
- Avoid UI clutter because your users want to discover the product they want as quickly as possible;
- Simple color schemes, such as monochromatic or similar schemes, should be used;
- Pay attention to space – lines and dividers are effective tools for emphasizing distinct portions on a screen, but shadows and colors can also be used to accomplish the same effect.
- Use only one typeface, or go with the platform’s default font, such as San Francisco for iOS or Roboto/Noto for Android. It’s sometimes best to play around with the typeface’s size, style, and weight rather than sticking with it.
Just remember to keep it short and sweet — the fewer clicks the better.
Consider that each mobile OS has its own set of style rules, such as Android’s Material Design or iOS’s Human Interface Guidelines.
A mobile app’s user interface is a true attention grabber, so make it the best it can be.
CHECKOUT AND QUICK LOGIN
Nothing irritates me more than having to fill in the same information, such as my email address, name, surname, address, security questions, and so on, over and over again.
Don’t irritate people while they’re signing in or checking out — because touch-screens lack a physical keyboard, they’re more irritating for writing. You will lose clients if you make your login/checkout process too long.
As previously stated, making social media login via Gmail, Facebook, or any other preferred social network is a smart idea so that users can effortlessly login without having to enter a lot of information. If you include a ‘Share’ button to your social media page, your consumers may share what they’ve bought on social media while also promoting your brand.
To prevent such tedious steps, you should offer to save user information and use auto-complete.
When it comes to checkout, the same rule applies: don’t ask people for personal information unless it’s really required. Keep in mind that it must fit without scrolling on a smartphone screen.
Here are a few instances of how you can assure streamlined service:
- The ‘PAY’ and ‘CHECKOUT’ buttons must be placed in a thumb-friendly zone.
- Allow users to make changes to their orders.
- Use auto fill fields.
- Implement error messaging to avoid orders from being rejected due to typos or incomplete fields. Users will abandon carts and lose money if you don’t make it short and sweet for them.
SIMPLE NAVIGATION AND CONSISTENCY
One of the most important design concepts is to keep your mobile app consistent, which implies that related items should function and appear the same.
Consistency can take the form of:
- Visual Consistency – buttons, typefaces, and color schemes should all look the same on multiple screens.
- Functional Consistency – interactive components (such as navigation elements) should all work the same on all screens.
- External consistency – all of your products (for example, a website and Android and iOS apps) should follow the same design patterns.
If your ‘Pay Now’ button is green on one page, it should be green on all subsequent pages as well.
Consistency has numerous advantages, including making your app more predictable so that users don’t have to learn new ways to use it; it minimizes uncertainty, aids in content prioritization, and elicits a favorable emotional response from users.
You must make sure that your menu is visible throughout the app, that just the most significant sections are listed, and that each menu item can be understood with just one word.
BUTTON FOR CART IN VISIBLE PLACE
Because every consumer will utilize the basket to purchase things from you, it should always be visible.
It should display properly and allow customers to add products without going to the cart page, allowing them to continue shopping.
- Make every effort to reduce the number of processes and provide a better purchasing experience.
- The buttons ‘Add to Cart’ or ‘Buy Now’ should always be visible and prominent on product screens; this will make the customer’s buying experience easier and increase your sales.
- Make sure consumers can quickly add and remove products from their shopping cart.
INPUT WITH ONE HAND
You must place items that will urge consumers to do a specific action in the world of smartphones and touch displays.
Thumb-friendly zone refers to a portion of the screen that a user may readily access with his thumb while holding a phone in the other hand.
Check that all of your elements are in the thumb-friendly zone, as consumers will not make an effort if anything is difficult to reach.
In the thumb-friendly zone, where buttons should be placed?
- Add to cart
- Proceed to checkout button
- Pay button on the payment screen
The ‘Three-Tap Rule,’ which states that it should take no more than three taps for a user to access any of the products they wish to buy, is another technique to keep things easy.
This need can be met by categorizing and arranging your merchandise. You can organize your products in the following way:
- Products
- Categories
- Sub-categories
Tags can also be used to group products into campaigns such as ‘Christmas Sale’ or ‘Valentine Gifts,’ for example.
Regardless of how you choose to proceed, the search bar is critical since it allows customers to quickly find the things they’re looking for.
If you want to go the extra mile, use Smart Search: as soon as a user puts in the first few letters, a list of possible choices should appear for them to select from. You will not only save users’ time, but you will also have the ability to display some hot product options.
The Three Tap Rule is nothing more than a guideline for reducing the number of steps involved in various activities such as exploring products, adding items to cart, and paying for them.
IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD
Users no longer want loading delays or failure to load in a timely manner. If the loading circle lasts longer than 4-5 seconds, the user will exit the app.
A single second delay in page loading can result in an 11 percent drop in views or a 16 percent drop in customer satisfaction, so make sure to speed it up.
If you want to keep ahead of the competition in the e-commerce sector, make sure your app loads as quickly as possible. The attention span of online visitors is 4-5 seconds; thus, each element, image, or page should load in under that time.
You can use a progress bar to alleviate irritation by letting your consumers know how much longer they have to wait until the procedure is finished.
FEATURE OF FAVORITE OR WISH LIST
Customers prefer to browse or select the greatest goods before making a purchase of a specific item.
The solution is a feature called ‘add to favorite’ or ‘add to wish list,’ which allows consumers to assemble all of their options in one place before deciding which one to buy – similar to how shoppers explore before buying anything in a physical store.
Customers can go back to their collected lists once they’ve decided which item they want to buy and pick which one is best for them.
FIRST AND FOREMOST, SECURITY
When you have an e-commerce app, you ask your clients for a lot of information, such as bank account information, credit card information, and address.
As the use of mobile phones grows in popularity, hackers and attacks are increasingly targeting them. A weakly secured app can be readily hacked, exposing personal information and financial data.
This is why you should always provide a high level of security in an app and encrypt each transaction using the greatest security features available. The most crucial thing for users is that their personal and financial information is secure.
Even if it appears to be prohibitively expensive, the implications of not having a high level of security range from prohibitively expensive to impossible, as your business and reputation are dependent on your secure app.
Users will never return to your app if they lose faith in it.
Keep an eye on your app’s security and make sure there aren’t any flaws. Another key consideration is to offer the most widely used payment methods. For example, a consumer who primarily shops online discover after reviewing his ‘cart’ that you do not offer the payment method he chooses. As a result, you’ve lost a customer.
If you want to play smarter, make sure your payment option includes credit cards, debit cards, net banking, and e-Wallets, which are at the top of the list.
Throughout the process, keep in mind the new GDPR for mobile apps, which requires every app to disclose which user data is gathered, why, and how it will be used. Fines may be imposed if your app does not adhere to the rules.
The best method is to request permission of the app’s privacy and security policy as soon as the user downloads it.
AUTOMATIC RECOMMENDATION
This functionality is always useful for users: as they browse an app and go from one page to the next, the action can generate data logs that can subsequently be utilized to understand specific user behavior.
Auto suggestion is used in apps to make it easier and faster for users to fill out forms. Auto recommendation anticipates popular search terms, making it easier for customers to find products.
Furthermore, address lookup and validation speed up the checkout process; several APIs, such as Google Places, make this feature simple to integrate.
Because e-commerce apps should generate income, it’s critical to provide an amazing user experience.
If you employ app analytics, you’ll get insights on user behavior and trends including session time, click-through rate, and accessing custom fields, among other things.
The data gathered will assist you in better understanding user purchasing patterns and allowing you to make better recommendations based on their preferences, all of which will result in increased revenue streams
IMMEDIATE CUSTOMER SERVICE
Despite your best efforts to make the app as simple as possible, clients frequently have questions for which they would like answers. Any eCommerce mobile app should make it easier for customers and agents to communicate.
Providing online consumers with live chat support, or experimenting with alternative choices such as messaging, phone, or email assistance to find which ones your customers prefer.
Customers will be able to simply contact the store if they have any problems regarding the products, shipping, payments, or anything else.
Tell your engineers to add this functionality to your eCommerce software since it will make it more appealing to customers and result in more downloads, which means more income.
CONCLUSION
There are a lot of important features for eCommerce apps, and I’ve compiled a list of the greatest ones to keep in mind while creating one.
Let’s go over the primary points that will help you boost your “mobile” sales:
- Use minimal approach – simple colors, default font, and appropriate space
- Make the signup and checkout procedure quick and straightforward
- Be consistent (visually, externally, and functionally) and ensure that users can do key tasks without any prior instructions.
- Make sure the CART button is prominent and immediately apparent.
- Provide users with the option to choose and complete their purchase at their own pace with an editable wishlist.
- Provide comfortable interaction in a thumb-friendly zone with gesture for product image zooming
Provide fast loading of app pages. - Provide users with the option to choose and complete their purchase at their own pace with an editable wishlist.
- Display badges and testimonials to create a sense of security and confidence.
- Include a quick product search and easy filtering with an auto recommendation box.
Provide quick customer service in order to provide the greatest services to your users.
These are some fundamental vital qualities that will assist you in obtaining an app that will make a significant difference in the retailing industry and help you succeed in your eCommerce endeavors.
