In building a perfect website to sell a product on, I would first have to come to terms that there is no such thing as a perfect website. However, aside from being aesthetically please, there are certain features that would make a website better from lessons learned and from research. According to Fonesca, in the digital age, many consumers don’t rely on advertisements from the seller but rather trust opinions and reviews of strangers to evaluate the possible purchase. This means that for the website, there must be a product rating system and easily accessible reviews for potential buyers to shift through. Much like the features on Etsy, the reviews should allow photos as well as a review of both the aesthetic as well as the functionality of the product.

Another feature would be to make the website easy to browse and navigate. This is because according to Laja (2019), consumers tend to like and appreciate simplicity. In looking back at past browsing experiences, when the website was confusing or needlessly complicated, even if it had an appealing aesthetic, it made me want to spend less time on it. Because I could not find what I wanted and was forced to jump through hoops to locate it, I felt less inclined to purchase it. This means that the second important feature in an appealing website would be ease of use and a readily available search option. Items should be grouped by categories and then subcategories such as the separation of women’s apparel from men’s apparel and then further separated to types of apparel available.

The last function I would emphasize would be the ease of payment. This comes from the lessons learned of navigating other websites to purchase items. If, in the end, the payment step takes forever and feels so complicated it reminds me of filing out a job application, then I would re-evaluate how much I want the items. However, if it were simplified and secure such as allowing me to use PayPal for example, then I would be very inclined to finish my purchase. Furthermore, the less time you allow for pre-emptive cognitive dissonance to kick in, the most likely the consumer will make the purchase.

References:

Fonesca, A. Purchase decision. https://www.scribd.com/document/471726760/Purchase-Decision. Retrieved November 13, 2021

Laja, P. (2019). Purchase decisions: 9 things to know about influencing purchasing decisions. https://cxl.com/blog/9-things-to-know-about-influencing-purchasing-decisions/. Retrieved November 11, 2021.