In today’s modern world, it is absolutely necessary to have a user-friendly eCommerce platform on which to sell your products or services.  If visitors find your website difficult to navigate or your shopping cart hard to use, they might opt to use competing sites.  Here are five easy and intuitive steps to increase sales by using eCommerce:

1. Have a simple call to action.

Give the user a reason to buy products from your site.  Make it easy for them to search and purchase products; don’t distract them with unnecessary content when they are ready to buy.

2.  Make suggestions based on previous searches.

Keep a record of search history and past purchases made by the customer.  Based on this information, you can personalize their selections and recommend similar products.  If you make suggestions close to what the user might actually purchase, you’re likely to get the sale.

3.  Use an existing eCommerce platform for your business.

Don’t build your own eCommerce website.  There are dozens of financial and technical complications in building your own site for electronic commerce, not to mention red tape and regulations.  Commercial eCommerce platforms are built to ensure a safe experience for the user, and they can reduce the chance of financial information getting compromised or hacked.  These platforms have existing partnerships with major credit processing companies that will provide various rates and choices according to your business needs.

4.  Ensure customers that you’re in the business of keeping information private.

Privacy is a big concern for online users, especially if they have to supply credit card information.  Use a payment processing seal to show that your website is legitimate.  SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) can be easily implemented from day one. By using “https” as internet protocol, the data transferred between your customers and your website is encrypted which keeps the website secure.  Make sure that users know what you’re going to do with archived data, and include a privacy policy on your website that is easily accessible.

5.  Make your site mobile friendly.

This tip may be the most important takeaway for business practices in 2016.  Today, more than 60% of online users are viewing their products on mobile devices.  If your website is not mobile friendly, you may lose a chunk of existing or untapped customers.  For any design or interface-related plans, make sure you test them before making the website live.

These are just a few tips to help get started bringing eCommerce to your business.  Be sure to do your homework before launch, and make sure your customers feel comfortable going online.  If you use WordPress, check out plugins like Shopify or WooCommerce.  Most importantly, test out the ordering forms on mobile devices and practice the shopping flow from start to finish.  Put yourself in the shoes of the buyer, and you’ll increase sales in no time.