Unlocking Growth: How to Add eCommerce to Existing Websites

BiziBusiness

Oct 23, 2024

7 - min read

The global economy is steadily moving towards the stage where many transactions are done online. eCommerce has drastically changed how consumers make their purchases, with online sales rising each consecutive year.

If your business has an already active website but has no thoughts about venturing into the eCommerce frontier, doing so opens up a plethora of opportunities for increased sales and reinvigoration of your business.

But where do you start? This step-by-step guide will help you add eCommerce to existing website so that the changes aren’t disruptive to your business while also not make your customers feel lost.

Assessing Your Foundation

Before you can successfully add ecommerce to your website, it is crucial to start by assessing your foundation to ensure your site is ready to support online sales and provide a seamless shopping experience for your customers. Follow these steps:

Evaluating the Current Infrastructure

Now, before further exploring the world of shopping carts and product listings, you should take a closer look at your website. Here’s what to consider:

  • Website platform: The first step is assessing the existing structure you are bound to work with. Are you using popular website builders like WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace to make your website? Is it an off-the-shelf package or an application developed for your specific needs? It has to be noted that the platform that you’re using will define what eCommerce integration options are feasible. Some common website builders come with in-built eCommerce features or have integrations readily available.
  • Website traffic and engagement: Website analytics gives you a vibrant picture of your traffic and the users you already have. High visitors and good time spent on the site mean that the readers can be potential buyers for the online store. To find these insights, look for such options within your website platform or use special analysis services such as Google Analytics.

Next, let’s get clear on the specifics of your online store:

Identifying Your eCommerce Needs

  • Products and services: What types of goods or services will you offer and to whom? Physical goods, digital goods, downloadable content, or even subscriptions? It is important for you to define your product type so that you can identify which eCommerce software has the appropriate features to support your business.
  • Target audience and market analysis: This is where the understanding of your target clients or consumers comes in. To whom are you targeting your products? Specifically, knowledge about their buying habits and online behavior would be invaluable. Understanding the competition in your area of interest also helps you better position your online store for success.

Choosing the Right eCommerce Platform to add eCommerce to Existing Website

After you’re aware of your site’s architecture and eCommerce objectives, you are ready to consider the solutions most suited to your needs. Here is a list of popular contenders that exist to add eCommerce to existing websites, all of which have their own strengths:

Shopify

Being friendly and easy to use for even new businesses, Shopify provides a great number of themes and plugins to create and develop your online store. There are some fine integration features to enable you to add a complete online store feature to your current website.

Due to its visually appealing design and drag-and-drop structure, utilizing Shopify as your new online business venture platform does not necessarily require sophisticated coding skills.

WooCommerce

This fantastic, free plugin allows you to add eCommerce to WordPress. WooCommerce has amazing extensions that can be used to customize the shopping experience fully, thus aligning well with the brand.

Nevertheless, it is crucial to note that WooCommerce can be a little harder to use than Shopify. Overall, WooCommerce can be a cost-effective option if you are comfortable with WordPress or have a developer on your staff.

BigCommerce

This excellent platform aligns well with growth-oriented companies due to its ability to handle the rapid growth of businesses. BigCommerce provides a high level of control and is easily compatible with most website platforms. It comes equipped with integrated marketing and search engine optimization features, thereby making it a complete package for companies seeking to expand their online operations.

Adobe Commerce

Well-known for the stability and flexibility it provides, Adobe Commerce (formerly known as Magento) is perfect for companies with extensive and diverse offerings. It is one of the most flexible and customizable platforms for building an eCommerce store but it’s not without its drawbacks.

Adobe Commerce is highly technical when it comes to installation and management, so it is not suitable for small businesses or businesses that are new to website creation.

Add eCommerce to an Existing Website: Key Considerations

Once you’ve chosen your platform, several key considerations come into play:

Testing Payment Processing

Reliable and smooth payment management has a significant impact on customers and their chances of getting converted into sales. Make sure that the selected platform supports connection to the payment gateway you prefer and has strong measures against fraud.

Ensuring Mobile and Cross-Browser Compatibility

Today’s consumers are dynamic and demand a perfect shopping experience both online and offline. The platform you’re using should be able to carry the design seamlessly on the web, tablets, and mobiles to enhance a smooth shopping experience.

Also, ensure that the site functions properly in the most used web browsers, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari.

Monitoring Performance Pre- and Post-Integration

Website speed is important to a business when it comes to conversion. Conduct performance tests on your selected platform before uploading your products and content. Check the speed and find out areas that may be experiencing congestion.

It is also important to carry out similar tests after the launch to confirm the behavior of the site under realistic traffic conditions.

SEO Considerations

  • Optimizing product pages for search engines: Your platform must be equipped with tools to improve product pages’ keyword optimization, title, and meta Description for organic search. Look for features that let you set up distinctive URLs and internal linking systems to enhance search engine usability and user experience.
  • Implementing schema markup: Schema markup enriches the data that search engines need to help them understand your content better. Select a platform that would allow for easy implementation of schema markups to improve the search result snippets and increase the click-through rate.

Ongoing Maintenance

Running an online store is not easy, as it requires constant changes and updates. Choose a platform that provides good customer service and will support you in case you have any technical issues or changes in the features and security updates.

Also, the platform should be well documented, have several lessons created, and have active forums for people to turn to when stuck or in need of assistance.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that add eCommerce to existing website presents great potential. Thus, if you adhere to the steps mentioned above and assess your requirements diligently, you will be able to thrive in the modern eCommerce environment.

Successfully integrating eCommerce into a business model requires the assistance of a competent IT company such as BiziBusiness, which supports the integration procedure and helps the business understand the issues that may arise in eCommerce.

And there you have it—it’s time to dive right in and start your bright and promising eCommerce adventure!

Read more: Pros & Cons of Ecommerce/

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