

Why Your Johannesburg Business Needs E-Commerce Web Development
All businesses are based on the same principle: To provide a service or a product to customers who pay money for it. The one constant across most business platforms is that money must change hands in order for the business to exist. Traditionally, cash was passed from customer to business owner. Later, cheques arrived, then electronic payments, and now we have e-commerce. Smart e-commerce web design is critical, because it provides the ability to connect with a previously unimaginable, vast consumer base all over the world. Yet it can be difficult to know where to find the best e-commerce web development in Johannesburg to make the most of the financial opportunities that e-commerce websites provide.
What is E-Commerce?
E-commerce, in its most basic form, refers to the payment for goods and services through electronic media. E-commerce has been around for a lot longer than most people realise – it was first introduced in the late sixties but was not viable at the time, as Internet connectivity was not readily available. As the Internet grew, and connections became faster, businesses jumped on the bandwagon and started using e-commerce to sell their services and products. One of the first successful e-commerce-based companies was Amazon, and many companies followed suit. E-commerce has grown exponentially, and it is almost inconceivable for a business to operate effectively nowadays without some kind of e-commerce facility.
However, there are concerns when it comes to e-commerce web development. Security is crucial, as there will always be thieves and hackers online. Different platforms, such as mobile technology, also have to be integrated, and it is therefore essential to find a partner with a good reputation when it comes to e-commerce web development in Johannesburg. Mobile e-commerce has practically become its own market, and it provides most businesses with a client-centric way of expanding into more markets. E-commerce now makes up a large percentage of retail sales all over the world and the technologies that govern payments and security keep on evolving. This means that, even if you have an excellent e-commerce website today, you still need to invest in ongoing e-commerce web development that includes new software, better security, new ways of operating, and more innovative tools.
How You Can Leverage E-Commerce Through Your Website
The first and most important thing to remember is that your website has to be expertly built, and it should have certain features and functions that encourage potential consumer to interact with the product, which ultimately leads to a successful secure payment. These features should include some or all of the following:
- Easy content management: Your e-commerce web development budget should include features that allow you to easily update the website’s content, like updates, catering for changes in the market, business news, SEO articles, product changes, new and updated products, and price lists. If you need to employ e-commerce web development experts every time you need to update a product list on your website, it will cost you a bundle!
- Fast and easy checkout: Many e-commerce sites lose customers between checking in and checking out. This is usually due to complicated payment or checkout processes that take too long to complete or require too much information. Good e-commerce web development gets your customer to pick up a product and check out with it in record time to boost sales. Your customers must actually make it to the payment point!
- Integrated articles or blog section: Constantly adding news, articles, or blogs to your website not only allows you to communicate better with your customer, but it also provides information about the product or service you sell, and helps with SEO ratings. These posts must be of high quality to organically grow your rankings.
- Insightful reporting facilities: If you want to know how effective your e-commerce web development team has been, you do need to get the numbers right. An accurate reporting facility allows you to query a variety of data from the website and gain insights from these. Great e-commerce web development in Johannesburg should include a reporting facility that provides you with all the information you need to gauge the success of the business.
If you are looking for e-commerce web development in Johannesburg, give our team at Softillion a call. We employ highly experienced and creative individuals who are passionate about improving your business using e-commerce technologies! Contact us today for more information.