What does eCommerce website development look like?

“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” and so neither would you expect your online store to be! And yet, having an eCommerce website that doesn’t work, is full of bugs, is too slow, or can’t be found by your customers is not something you would expect either. At WebDesignLab 4u, we build eCommerce websites that are responsive, clean, fast, and fully-functional from start to finish. This means we not only design and build them, but also, we ensure they truly set you up for success, be it through helping you work through the business model to improving SEO.

Here’s our process for any eCommerce website development project.

Aligned objectives
and goals!

Consultation

We start with a full service, wide-ranging consultation. An important part of this conversation will be a goal-orientated discussion: Where do you want to take your business? What are your aims for the next twelve months and three years? How does your new website fit into that vision?

WebDesignLab4U’s initial consultations are not billable. Be wary of any developer who wants to invoice you for this first stage. Following a successful consultation, we will provide you with a written proposal. This gives you a complete outline of costs should you proceed with the project.

Detailed Planning

Next, we’ll go into the finer details together and move on to the planning stage. We’ll hold a detailed planning session that will build on the initial consultation and allow the development team to consider the important ins and outs of the project.

This phase will include a closer look at your business model and likely a more detailed look at your products and services, as well as how they might be categorised. Beginning to think about how the new ecommerce platform will work with existing stock and warehouse systems will be a vital element for many retailers.

Your order system and warehouse stock software need not work around your website. WebDesignLab4U’s skilled development team, fluent in data integration and feeds, will customise your site to work in harmony with your existing systems.

In some cases where the technical risks in a project are significant then an early technical report is best practice. This report will address all of the risky areas of the project so that you have early visibility and a detailed solution proposed. It is important to fully understand the system interfaces, where data is being exchanged, to ensure that all of the your requirements can be met with the data and systems that are available.

Good results
require good
planning!

Visually attractive,
responsive
and practical

Visual design

Having done the hard work and laid a strong foundation for your eCommerce solution, now the fun stage can begin. It’s design time! WebDesignLab4U’s design team will work with you through this phase to help bring your brand and store to life.

Colour palettes, competitor research, and your own personal touches will come together with the design team’s experience and creative genius. This teamwork will give life to a creative, compelling, and unique front end for your eCommerce platform.

WebDesignLab4U’s design team will ensure that your ideas and our designs always have your target audience in mind. This means that your new site will not only look fantastic and be geared towards generating a quality, trustworthy feel, the site will also do what it’s intended to do, which is produce sales.

It’s important to remember that no design process or quality design team runs with a one track mind. WebDesignLab4U’s designers will work on multiple variations but present you with the final solution that best satisfies your requirements. Remaining open minded and considering various approaches will ultimately yield the best final product.

Development

Once the design phase has concluded, it’s time to build it. Using the latest technology and coding approach suitable for your platform, WedBedignLab4U’s development team will now bring visual design and back end systems together.

Despite this phase of the process being highly developer focussed, you will be kept in the loop with progress reports. Furthermore, you’ll also be provided with a timeline showing the creation timetable of various elements of the build. WebDesignLab4U’s development team will (within reason) provide previews and highlight experienced challenges throughout this process. Though it’s expected that you should be able to kick back during this phase, you shouldn’t ever feel you have been left in the dark.

eCommerce website development is more than just developing a website, it about understanding the data interfaces and customer journey to ensure we streamline the full “order to cash” process whilst improving you ability to “attract and retain” valued customers.

Let the magic
begin!!

Late nights
more coffee
and attention
to detail

Testing and debugging

One of the most important phases to a website build is the testing phase. Once an initial version of your website has been produced, WebDesignLab4U’s developers will now work through a vigorous testing process. This means checking the functionality and overall integrity of the build so that there are no surprises after the launch.

The modern day testing process also involves a heavy emphasis on multiple device performance. With over 50% of web traffic now coming from mobile devices, it’s essential that our developers are testing your website against all of these options. It’s painstaking work but this will ensure the site performs flawlessly on smaller screens and with technology such as touch screen interfaces.

For eCommerce sites particularly, it is of course prudent to fully test transactional success. This means setting up a number of testing transactions using different payment methods and different clusters of products to ensure payments and the transactional process go through flawlessly. In addition to providing assurances that customers can purchase easily, this part of the process will also ensure that your in-house systems are receiving orders correctly.

Set up and training

Unfortunately many developers don’t take this stage seriously enough. Before launching your eCommerce platform it’s essential that you understand it and are adequately trained on the day-to-day upkeep of the site. You will likely want autonomy to add or remove products, change pricing, and add promotional activity amongst other things, so training is vital.

Depending on the type of build produced, you should expect access to a Admin Console or Management System. The Admin Console will allow you to add and edit your Products, Categories and other website’s content in a safe environment that doesn’t allow major site changes which could produce errors. This is the preferred and recommended choice for most businesses unless they have significant in house developer capabilities.

Before your site launches, our development team will have guided you through all the sites features and how to control the elements you need access to. You can then launch your site with 100% confidence you have been prepared and are able to manage your new online store.

Ignored and
not included
by most!

Full speed
ahead and
capture new
business

Launch

Congratulations! It’s time to push the button and set your new eCommerce website live. To allow you to enjoy the moment and admire your new site in all its glory, our developers will be close and monitoring the site’s performance.

The first 24 hours post launch and the week that follows this is a crucial period. Expect our developers to report back on how your site is performing. We will also be monitoring your tracking solutions and confirm that all systems are working as they should. You and our developers should be more in touch this week than any other.

Ongoing servicing

Running any business, particularly in the online space, is about constantly adapting and growing with the market and adapting to the changing needs of your consumers. Quality web developers aren’t siloed in a coding-only niche, they need to understand what it means to successfully run an online business after your site has been built.

No successful business remains static. After launch you should be looking to continually develop based on the evidence that your provider will supply. Of the many diverse digital marketing channels available to online business owners for driving traffic, organic search (SEO) and content marketing are two of the most popular. Our development team will work hand in hand with you to deliver traffic while adding to the strength of your site.

As you grow, your needs will too and you will want to invest in marketing techniques to attract new customers to your site – and retain your existing client base. As time goes on, you’ll also want to expand your site with new pages, new content and likely new functionality. WebDesignLab4U offers expansive ongoing services meaning you will always be working with a trusted partner who understands your website inside and out. Of course, there are also cost efficiencies associated with working with a single dedicated partner.

Monitor,
analyse,
refine and
improve!!

Schedule your free consultation