Starting up any e-commerce business would be daunting during the best of times, but in a recession hit economy it appears all the more challenging.

The basics of any online business remain the same, you must appear trustworthy to get customers to part with their cash, you must have competitive prices and you must have a unique selling point for your business – and shout about it!

Here are a few tips to help any start up try and get the basics right, if there are any steps you think I’ve missed out please add them to the comments section…

In no particular order:

Site Navigation
The structure of the site needs to make sense. Well organised menu’s and sub menu’s should be easy to navigate and clear to follow. This is key to making the whole site believable. Products, prices and shopping cart should be easily accessible from the home page.

Secure Transaction
Make sure you display any secure transaction logo in a prominent place and display all of the ones that relate to your site. This helps with trustworthiness and guarantees a secure transaction.

Guarantees
Offer guarantees in a clear and prominent place. These should guarantee refund of faulty goods for example or shipping guarantees, and could go over and above statutory rights in order to add value to the customer.

About Us
It should be easy for the user to find out who it is they are purchasing from. A clear link to an about us page on the site is a good way of doing this.

Company Details
Following on from the about us page, it is vital users see you as a real business and reference to ‘bricks and mortar’ will really help with this. The company registered address and contact details should be clearly displayed throughout the site. This should include postal address, email and telephone number.

Customer Support
There must be a clear and quick way of contacting a sales advisor by contact form, email, or on the phone – and this number should be manned during office hours at least!

Copy
Copy must be well written, relevant, properly structured and include a call to action to customers.

Cross Selling & Up-Selling
Related products must be on display on product pages and they must be relevant. A section detailing other products that may be of interest or have been bought by previous customers is essential.

Discounts & Offers
Price is a serious consideration for online shoppers so offers and incentives should be well highlighted throughout the site.

Testimonials
Genuine customer testimonials or feedback for others to view is a key feature of successful e-commerce sites.

Reviews
Product reviews are both a great way of encouraging user interaction with the site and to show that the site is being used and is trustworthy.

Without trust and without a unique selling point anything else you do to get traffic to your site could be wasting money. It is essential to get the basics right first.

If you have any other suggestions for start up e-commerce sites, it would be great to hear from you!