Building E-Commerce Apps: What to Know Before You Start
Building E-Commerce Apps: What to Know Before You Start
Blog Article
In today’s mobile-first world, an e-commerce app is no longer a choice; it’s a must-have. With over 70% of online shopping occurring on mobile devices, companies are spending a lot of time and money on mobile e-commerce apps to attract customers, increase sales, and develop seamless shopping journeys.
If you are thinking about developing an e-commerce app, here is all you need to know before jumping in.
1. Have a clear understanding of your business goals.
Before you begin developing an app, have a clear definition of what you want the app to accomplish:
Are you planning B2B or B2C sales?
Are you aiming to improve customer loyalty?
Are you looking to go global, or are you trying to target a local audience?
Having clarity on your goals will help you decide on the structure of your app, what features to develop, and how the user experience will work.
2. Know your target audience.
It is very important to know your target users. Ask the following questions:
Who are your target customers?
What kinds of devices and platforms do they use?
What are their shopping habits and pain points?
Use this information to develop user personas and make design and functionality decisions.
3. Choose the Right Platform
Once you decide to launch a mobile shopping app, you have three ways forward
Native app (iOS/Android) — Best overall performance and user experience, but is the most expensive to develop.
Cross-platform (i.e., Flutter/React Native) — Faster, but does not feel as 'native.'
Progressive web app (PWA) — Less performance, but lightweight and fast.
Decide based on your budget, timeline, and users.
4. Decide on Key Features
The focus of an e-commerce app is to provide a seamless and intuitive shopping experience for users. Key features include:
Registration/Login for users
Product listings and searchable ability with filters
Integrate with secure payment gateways
Shopping cart, payment, and checkout
Order tracking via notifications
Wishlist and product reviews
Admin dashboard for managing orders and inventory
When starting out, you can start with a minimum viable product (MVP) to see what works, and then build out from user feedback.
5. Security and Compliance
E-commerce apps cover sensitive user data, so security should be at the top of mind. Consider adding the following levels of security:
Consider SSL and encryption
Use secure payment gateways, like Stripe, PayPal, etc.
Be compliant with GDPR and your local data privacy regulation
Consider two-factor authentication and/or password protecting it.
Trust is an important part of user retention.
6.Build an Intuitive UI/UX (User Interface/User Experience):
Your app must be fast, simple, useful, and attractive:
Clean navigation
Fast loading pictures of products
Lowest number of steps to checkout
Layouts and interactions that are mobile-friendly
If the user experience is good, the chance of increased conversion and decreased bounce rate is higher.
7. Plan Backend Infrastructure
The backend should support:
Real-time inventory updates
Scalable product databases
User and order management
Integration with CRMs and analytics tools.
Using a good CMS or e-commerce platform like Magento, WooCommerce (APIs), or a headless CMS can simplify the process.
8. Add Analytics and Feedback Loops
Track and analyze user behavior to improve app performance, and implement the following:
Google Analytics for Firebase
Heatmaps, A/B testing, etc.
In-app survey and ratings.
These simple analytics tools will help optimize your product pages, checkout flow, and UX for your app.
9. Test, Launch, and Iterate
Just prior to launching your app:
Test on different devices and screen sizes
Ensure there are no bugs and optimize performance.
Beta test your app to collect early feedback
After launching, continue to iterate – be sure to roll out ongoing updates, fix bugs, and add new features to meet evolving
10. Consider the right development partner
Unless your app is being developed in-house, finding the right mobile app development company for your needs is essential. Look for a company that offers:
End-to-end services (UI/UX, development, QA, deployment)
Experience with e-commerce solutions
Ongoing support and maintenance
Conclusion
A powerful way to grow your business and remain competitive is to develop an e-commerce app. The key to success is effective planning, understanding your users, and finding the right development partner with the expertise required. Making decisions related to performance, security, and customer experience will help you develop an app that works and wins. Report this page