How to take your business online with an eCommerce website during lockdown

Should you focus getting your business online during lockdown?
Whether you run a brick-and-mortar shop or you’re looking to sell your leftover supplies. An eCommerce website is a great way to keep your business running online during the lockdown.
The UK boasts the third largest eCommerce market in the world and, with many people now working from home or furloughed from work, it’s no surprise that there’s been a boom in online shopping.

It’s not just supermarkets that are seeing an increase in online trade, as many small and medium businesses turn to their website to drive sales while their shop doors are closed.

Before transitioning your business to an online shop, there’s a lot to consider. From choosing the right platform to navigating the highly competitive Google Search rankings and enabling safe and secure payment systems, you have your work cut out.

Taking your business online with an eCommerce website
When it comes to launching an eCommerce website, it’s paramount that your website is set up in a safe and secure manner. Even the most beautiful eCommerce site will fall flat without a valid SSL certificate, safe checkout and secure payment method for customers.

It only takes a few technical hiccups for customers to completely lose trust in your online store and, inevitably, your brand. So, choose a website provider you can trust. And, if you don’t feel confident to go-it-alone, bring on-board the industry-leading expertise of a web design agency with a proven track record of building fantastic eCommerce websites.

With a trusted web partner by your side, you can guarantee your customers the best possible buying experience. Meanwhile, you can focus on the day-to-day operations of your business. For instance, keeping your store fully stocked and providing first-class customer service.

We work with businesses all over the country to create beautiful, functional and fully-responsive websites, so you can thrive online – even during the lockdown. Email us at info@urbanriver.com for more info.

Managing customer service on an eCommerce website
In a world of online reviews and angry Twitter rants, it’s more important than ever to keep your customers happy. When you sell products online, you can take advantage of a number of tools to manage customer relations.

With Live Chat, customers can ask questions directly to you or your sales teams. This saves customers the time and energy of emailing you or going to Twitter to ask a simple query about delivery or stock levels.

We also recommend using an automated stock management system. This is particularly useful if your products are likely to go out-of-stock while customers are shopping on the website. Avoid disappointment with a stock management strategy that keeps customers in-the-loop.

Using social media to grow eCommerce sales
In recent years, social media platforms have upped their eCommerce game. Now, you can easily link your website to your Facebook page and list products or services in a dedicated section, giving visitors an insight into what you sell. From here, you can either encourage customers to send Messenger enquiries or take traffic direct to your site. Either way, if your customers are actively using Facebook, we highly recommend making use of this tool as part of your social media strategy.

When it comes to selling products on Instagram, it’s never been that straightforward. Previously, the platform only allowed one link per account – the one in your bio. However, the launch of IGTV saw an influx of brands and influencers start to include clickable links in the video descriptions.

While this function only works on IGTV and not in the traditional image or video posts. It is still a great way to increase social signals to your website and encourage interested parties to venture to your website and browse your wares.

If you need help transforming your current website into an eCommerce powerhouse or you want to start from scratch with an online shop, get in touch with the Urban River today.