Building An Online Auto Parts Store: An Overview of Essential Features
Now that almost most manners of trade and business can and should be done online as much as possible, auto parts owners should start weighing their options and planning the development of their digital properties. Building an online auto parts store doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have to completely discard your brick-and-mortar store. It’s just that present circumstances necessitate the construction of safer, stabler, and even more convenient ways to continue your business.
It’s also well worth mentioning the myriad advantages of having automotive ecommerce platforms online through which thousands of potential customers can quickly reach you. With a commercial website, you can easily begin catering to leads that conduct online searches for specific auto parts they need — all the better if you practice good digital marketing for eCommerce websites, E-commerce SEO for auto parts store and start ranking high for specific search terms in your area. That often means high-quality traffic that converts most of the time.
Should you be interested in having your own digital store and app developed, we have provided an overview of its basic elements below.
The Essential Factors Involved in the Creation of E-commerce Website for Auto Parts
I. Backend
This is where plenty of the actual building happens as backend development involves writing the code that basically serves as the bricks that will determine your automotive ecommerce websites or web application’s structure. The following are the usual factors that fall under the backend umbrella of developing an online auto parts store as they are directly related to your website’s database.
For this, we usually rely on content management systems like WordPress, Magento, etc, but we can also build it from scratch or make it more attuned to your specific requirements. An online store needs to have a sturdy and efficient database architecture characterized by the following details:
A.) Product and Customer Details
Any app or web app with commerce in mind needs to have a complete database that compiles all the present and future details of products and customers. Normally, every product (whether they’re tires, bumpers, hubcaps, suspension parts, spare parts ecommerce, etc.) will be included in the database, and any future inclusions can be done from the front-end side.
We will be building dedicated modules that would provide an overview of each product based brand or make. In turn, every product would be expounded on through its own module, which would include high-definition pictures and videos of it, technical information, a brief description of its features, Q&A, etc.
Along with this, we will also be including separate fields for when the customer needs to input his or her zip code to calculate shipping cost quickly or when searching for specific products or answers in the Q&A.
And all customers you have transacted with will be taken into account. That said, you only need to provide us a comprehensive list of all your present products, and we will take it from there.
B.) Price and Discount Details
Pricing and discounts are no different from relaying product details. We understand that they are subject to change so we will build a database that will aid you in immediately letting users know of the current prices and discounts you are offering.
We understand that you offer different types of discounts at the same time. For this, we will be able to construct split sections that would be intended for product-based discounts and order-based discounts (especially if you are currently offering coupons and OTP).
Using the dynamic modular development in the auto parts warehouse website we have mastered, we will make the product page update in real-time and display the discounted price for the customer’s ready reference. This kind of price and discount module setup saves time for the customer and definitely aids in boosting conversions.
C.) Orders/Import History and Shipping Details
With a dynamic database in our custom website development, you will be able to smoothly keep a record of all orders and imports done by users and also provide precise shipping information. These will and should be made accessible to the user for ready reference.
Below is an overview of how we usually render the details of different types of shipping methods:
- Fast Shipping – We can efficiently customize this according to ZIP code.
- Free Shipping – We can use certain customized price modules to immediately set the information that a product is available for free shipping next to the total price displayed on the product page.
- International Shipping
- Tax Details – The required tax information will automatically be set and shared according to the state the customer is from.
D.) Securing Credit Card and Password Details
Backend developers’ roles extend to encrypting sensitive information like credit card details and passwords. Oftentimes, we do this through the standard way of hashing the said data.
II. Auto Parts Store Website
The automotive parts ecommerce website is what greets your customers and gives them the information fetched in the backend, so you have to make it as presentable and detailed as possible.
A.) Parts Categorized Based on Model Name, Make, and Year Manufactured
This provides an overview of each product you sell. Each one can be displayed with its name, make, and year. We can design the website in such a way that the user can refine his search based on the said categories so that he can get to the specific product he wants quicker. Anything less would automatically lead to a poor user experience, which is often the root cause of visitors’ departure.
We’ll always lean toward making the entire website SEO-centric and user-friendly by implementing an optimized URL structure and CRO-based structure along with a sticky section.
Sticky elements, as long as they contain tools customers need, almost always give an immense boost to UX. We can design the website with the help of the best E-commerce website development company in such a way that the user will always be able to search for a specific part based on year, model, and make, for example, regardless of where he is on the website.
By the same token, we’ll be using our digital marketing team to help improve your website’s URL structure to make it ideal for search engines. This shall be complemented by the conversion rate optimization (CRO) structure strategies we have used to great effect with our past clients.
B.) Merchandise Banner and Discount Banner
Visual banners that either display featured products or discounts can immediately catch the attention of visitors, so we advise that you make good use of them. You don’t need to be wordy when it comes to this. Oftentimes, being direct with your message works best.
C.) Customer Support
We’ll use a nifty customer support automation module in automobile e-commerce india to take care of all your customer service needs. This guarantees 24/7 support without relying on human agents.
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III. Product Page
The product page requires nothing less than thorough and accurate information. Here are the factors that, more or less, play an integral role in this aspect.
A.) Auto Part Details
When the user clicks on a certain product, he should be able to learn more about it. This is where being precise and truthful comes in. Only trusted and complete information should be displayed about each product — “complete” in such a way that the customer will be provided all the necessary information about it (i.e. all its basic features), besides, of course, the price and shipping cost.
We can dive even further with a product code change module. With it, we can display the other part numbers that the specific part can be interchanged with, so your customer will not have to search for them separately, which obviously takes a lot more time.
B.) Q&A
The product page should also include a FAQ section where all the fundamental queries (and their respective answers) will be compiled and easily accessible to users. Make a list of these questions and be sure to provide succinct but complete answers to them.
C.) Reviews
Encouraging users to leave either ratings or reviews in the online auto parts store will only be good for building your reputation and customer trust. We can easily integrate this for all your products and make them accessible to your customers.
D.) Return Policy
This is another aspect where you need to be transparent and accurate as possible in automotive ecommerce solutions. Everything you outline in the return policy should be honored; otherwise, you’ll be bombarded with complaints in no time. We will make a dedicated page for this, which your customers can access in one-click and even develop a convenient return form with the most appropriate fields, which they can fill out in seconds to save time and effort.
E.) Filter and Refine Search Options
It won’t hurt to be able to filter unwanted products when a user is conducting a search. The term for this is filtered navigation, which only aids in narrowing the results further for your customers.
Users can refine their searches further based on what’s available for that specific search term with regards to the brand, category (e.g. air filter, alternator, A/C condenser, carbon air filter, etc.), price range, year, condition (whether new or remanufactured) — the quantity of the products displayed (should the visitor tick the corresponding box) can be seen as a preview.
In the end, it’s all about being able to conduct hyper-focused searches that place the products your customers want in front of them in seconds. This is especially helpful if you have a large catalog. We employ the best UX practices to ensure this.
F.) Buy Now Button
We can set it up in such a way that the ‘Add to Cart’ button will be greyed out automatically if the product is out of stock or the customer will be redirected to a separate out-of-stock page. Once the user clicks on ‘Add to Cart’, he will be promptly taken to the cart page, where he will have the ready option to checkout with multiple payment options, again for time-saving purposes.
G.) Payment Page
Efficient payment and checkout pages can be set up with the help of APIs. More importantly, it should be able to help you understand your customers’ purchasing behaviors and immediately act on them. We make it point to use only those that are flexible, scalable, provide top-notch support, and can be easily integrated into any store setup.
We can use customized modules for payment gateways to speed up the transaction process and provide more options to pay. Or if you prefer the perks of a No-Cost EMI model, then know that we can easily adapt it as well.
H.) Images and Screenshots
We’ll use genuine, high-definition images and screenshots of the products, displaying the parts from different angles, to ensure the best transparency and engagement.
I.) Miscellaneous Information and Other Fields
Other essential information like delivery days, shipping, and warranty can be built with their own modules. Users will be able to have access to a shipping calculator field when viewing a product to know beforehand shipping expenses. Warranty terms shall be uniformly displayed among the description of the product’s features.
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Conclusion
All in all, mobile app design and websites are being developed for one purpose: convenience. Everything becomes streamlined, both the business process and the transaction. Is it any wonder that automotive ecommerce trends have always pointed to a continuously rising online shopping industry? It’s because it’s easy and very beneficial for both parties, and the e-commerce automotive industry is no different.
With the right custom E-commerce website development team at your side, everything should be smooth sailing from start to finish.