Why Maintaining Your
eCommerce Website is NOT Optional

I’m going to start this blog post off with something that I repeat constantly, and I think it will set the tone for the rest of the information that follows.  Have you ever shopped online? I’m 100 percent positive that you just answered ‘yes’ to that question.  Now think about your experiences shopping online, what you liked, what you aren’t so fond of and ways that you could make the process better.  You see, these very thoughts occur constantly inside our minds, yet for some reason they often don’t ever reach the surface for our own websites, and in this case eCommerce or online stores.  For some reason we as human beings think we’re immune to the same issues or drawbacks on our own website that we don’t like elsewhere as if your customer base isn’t thinking the exact same things you are.  I’ll admit, it’s hard to sit there and be judgmental about something you own or created, but it is imperative that you do this or else you are without a doubt losing new customers and likely repeat customers.

Maintaining an eCommerce website is not an option, it is a requirement to owning one.  More trust and reassurance is necessary in order to increase sales conversions online.  Why do so many people tend to shop at Amazon, or eBay?  It’s because there is constant updates to stock quantities, products and user experiences, and the most important reason; because they carry a reputation for being trustworthy places to shop online.  Trust is hard to achieve overnight, but there are lots of ways you can increase trust within the first few seconds of a visitor entering your eCommerce store.  Some are subtle, while others are blatant ways that will help increase your professionalism in the minds of a new visitor that has not purchased something from you before.  It is also important to not forget about repeat buyers either, because if a competitor is offering a better environment on ship times, product quantities or other factors, you could easily lose a previously loyal customer.

eCommerce Areas that Require Maintenance

There are certain areas that will require ongoing maintenance for eCommerce stores in order to be successful.  You cannot expect to setup a store and then not have to maintain it, an online store should be treated the same as a physical store.  Physical stores need to rotate stock, place certain products in the front of aisles to push their sales and change pricing, descriptions and displays.  The following areas should be continually maintained:

• Product Photos (new and existing products)
• Titles and Descriptions (titles, descriptions and sales copy help conversions)
• Trust Factors (clear return policies, warranties and guarantees)
• Quantity Updates (updating quantities; limiting out of stock or backorders)
• Marketing (SEO for eCommerce, PPC, banners, sales & promotions)
• Emails (promptly respond to inquiries and concerns)
• Live Chat (live chats instantly connect with a buyer)
• Pricing (changes to prices, or limited time pricing sales)
• Newsletter (capture buyers into a newsletter subscription)
• Support (professional and prompt customer service)
• Policies (always update store policies immediately)
• Returns (returns should be completed as quickly as possible)
• Payments (payments through PayPal and major credit cards)
• Analysis (eCommerce analysis for website traffic, sales and more)
• A/B Tests (testing new products, titles, descriptions and offers)

There are likely many other areas that require ongoing maintenance and monitoring for specific eCommerce stores and solutions as well.  These are the common and top areas however that result in a successful online store versus those that become stale and lose sales and customers over time because of inactivity and lack of attention.  You need to answer the question, why should a potential buyer shop with you? What’s in it for them, and why should they not go to your competition or other major online store?

The Right Maintenance Approach for Online Stores

If you can prove this and answer a new customer’s subconscious questions, you will likely receive a lot more revenue and conversions.  Maintaining an online store and offering incentives and rewards is a recipe for success that many small businesses have a problem understanding.  If they do understand it, they think it is too much work and fail to coordinate it, or hire a website maintenance company (like =) Webdigia) to take care of the odds and ends in a hands free approach.  Online eCommerce stores don’t have to be stressful with the right approach.  Opening up an additional stream of revenue, customers, and maintaining it, can prove to be extremely rewarding both financially and in exposure of your brand.

Take a moment if you own or are responsible for an eCommerce store and list what areas would be the most important to be maintained on an ongoing basis.  Brainstorm the ways you are going to instill trust in the visitor, and even have an outsider visit the store and provide feedback on the sales process and overall professionalism of the store.  Then, armed with this information start to implement changes to improve the user experience and provide ongoing maintenance to areas that are crucial to the store’s success.

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