Things to consider for ecommerce web development in Singapore

There is no such thing as a perfect roadmap for the development of ecommerce websites in Singapore (or anywhere for that matter) because a lot depends on what you need and what you don’t require as a user. Starting with the domain registration, preferably with a .com (top-level domain) or country-code top-level domains like .sg for your ecommerce business, the domain name can be a keyword-rich one or a short memorable brand name, both of which is copyright infringement-free.

Choosing a reliable Hosting Provider that caters to your business needs is the next step. Selecting a suitable platform for your e-Commerce needs or personalising your platform depends upon your website’s feature’s set, how much you can actually spend, and customisable features. Remember whatever be the ecommerce platform you go for, it should spell convenience and ease of use while adding and updating website content. Look if the platform offers functionalities such as product presentation, shipping, checkout, payment, order management, daily deals & coupon codes, e-mail marketing, and so on.

Responsive design:

If you like your website content to be viewed uniformly across all devices of various form factors, you are provided with two options: going either for an adaptive design that serves the same content without changing the URL structure or going for a separate m(Dot) design that dishes out a different, optimized mobile content for mobile users. In a mobile-friendly ecommerce site, the key features to be integrated include product pages, checkout page and shipment tracking.

Going into the aesthetics of the website, an impactful design should have pleasing colours, solid layout and design. The importance of UI/UX of a website has been increasingly felt in recent years and plays a significant role in increased web traffic and conversions.

As for the best practises of an ecommerce website, it is important to define the information architecture, content structure and layout first. Whether it is a web-or mobile based website, shoppers should find it easy to move around with user-friendly hyperlinks. A minimalist design is the right approach with proper prototype testing of the website pre-launch. Go with a mobile-first mindset as there will be less hassle later on during the design process.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), also called Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificate is almost mandatory for an ecommerce website as the https: assigned to your domain name shows up a special icon in the browser address bar that conveys that all information which is passing through a particular domain is actually safe and secure. It is important to have a secure configuration or at least a firewall enabled to protect the system against attacks.

When it comes to self-hosted vs. managed hosted solutions, in hosted solutions the provider takes care of SSL certificate updates/configuration/renewal, security maintenance and platform updates. In the case of self-hosted solutions, you may have to take care of SSL certificates, and monitor software update patches and server downtimes experienced at times. All plugins must be kept up-to-date either manually or self-updated through explicit permission. And there are security plugins that can scan for malware remotely, ascertain and prevent intrusion, and lot more.

It is important to know the market’s popular third-party CMS, CRM, Payment and Analytics integrations as each serves a unique purpose.

Adding SEO Meta tags, Alt tags, Mark-up tags basically can improve your website’s search engine visibility. But for increased website rankings you need to understand search engine ranking algorithms and updates and optimize your site accordingly with the help of an SEO professional. It is even more important to structure your website into category pages, product listing pages, product detailed pages, and help your buyers with authentic customer reviews and product ratings. Integrating Google Analytics tag helps you understand your website traffic metrics and conversion trends easily.

We are more than glad to help you design and develop your ecommerce website, either web-or mobile-based; if you’re looking for a reliable e-commerce website development firm in Singapore, we’re just a shout away.