Are you wondering if you need an eCommerce website for your products in Dubai? Take a look at the data below.
The top three online store categories based on monthly sales in the UAE are apparel, beauty and fitness and computers. The apparel category makes up 48.15%, followed by beauty and fitness at 2.15% and computers at 0.08%.
With a growing number of online shoppers, it is no longer an option but a necessity to build a website for eCommerce. It is a smart move for any business that is aiming to stay relevant, scale fast and tap into new markets online.
So whether you’re starting your eCommerce website design and development from scratch or aiming to revamp it, this blog will be your guide. We are going to tell you everything you need to know about building an e-commerce presence in one of the most business-friendly cities in the world.
Let’s start!
eCommerce Website vs Brand Website
Before you delve into the process of creating an eCommerce website or eCommerce web development, let’s first understand the basic difference between an eCommerce website and a typical brand website.
A brand website mainly focuses on showcasing your business. That is, showcasing your story, services and value. It is an excellent tool for building trust, credibility and awareness. However, it is not built for transactions.
An eCommerce website, on the other hand, is a full-fledged online store. The eCommerce website design is suited to let your customers browse your products, add them to their cart, pay for them online and track orders. It is where your brand meets functionality.
Therefore, if you plan to sell online, you need to go beyond a simple website. You need to design an eCommerce website that’s built for performance, not just presence.
Who Will You Need to Build an eCommerce Website?
Creating an eCommerce website is a team effort. If you want to build a website for eCommerce that actually works well and converts your visitors to customers, you will need the following skilled professionals by your side —
Web Designer
Your web designer will take care of your eCommerce website design. They will establish your website’s visual identity. The web designer will make sure that your brand is represented with the right color schemes and images to create a visually appealing experience. It encourages your visitors to stay on your site longer.
Web Developer
A web developer brings the design to life. They build a website for eCommerce by handling all the coding and back-end functionality. Web developers take care of all aspects of eCommerce web development, including setting up your product database, integrating payment gateways and ensuring mobile responsiveness.
UI/UX Expert
User Interaction (UI) and User Experience (UX) experts look after how your customers interact with the website. Their expertise helps you simplify the navigation, streamline the shopping process and reduce friction. In short, they make sure that your visitors enjoy the shopping experience and are more likely to return.
Content & Copy Writer
Clear and compelling content is important for retaining your visitors and selling online. They will help you describe your products in a way that speaks to your audience, answers their questions and builds trust. They will also write headlines, calls to action and other copy that encourages clicks. Most importantly, they incorporate SEO terms to help you improve your rank on Google.
SEO Specialist
Getting found online takes serious effort. An SEO specialist helps you optimize your site for search engines by focusing on various aspects like:
- Keywords
- Meta tags
- Image alt texts
- Site speed and more
Digital Marketer
Once your eCommerce website is live, the next task is to attract traffic and convert visitors into customers. A digital marketer handles all your promotional strategies, including paid ads, email campaigns and social media outreach. They also analyze performance data and refine your marketing to drive consistent growth.
Creating eCommerce Website: Brief Process Overview
To build a website for eCommerce, you will have to follow a series of steps. We have briefly outlined them below for you —
Define your eCommerce Model.
Who are you going to sell to? Is it going to be other businesses or directly to your customers? Give it a thought. Here are some common eCommerce models for you to consider —
- Business-to-Customer (B2C): Business sells products/services directly to consumers.
- Business-to-Business (B2B): Business sells products/services to another business.
- Customer-to-Customer (C2C): Connects customers to exchange and see goods or services. For example, an online marketplace.
- Direct-to-Customer (D2C): Sell your own products directly to customers without help from retailers or wholesalers.
Additionally, decide how you will ship the products. Some of your options are:
- Dropshipping
- Wholesaling
- White label
- Private label
- Subscriptions
2. Choose a Platform for eCommerce Web Development
You will need a platform to host your eCommerce website. Some of the popular eCommerce web development platforms are:
- Shopify
- Wix
- BigCommerce
3. Start Customizing Your Website
This is where your web designer and web developer will come together for your eCommerce website design and development. They will come up with a wireframe (detailed overview of the website’s navigation), including elements such as:
- Homepage
- Category pages
- Service page
- Contact us
- About us
- Any forms on the site
4. Set Up Your Online Store
In this step, you will be adding all the products you have, their descriptions and high-quality pictures. You will also decide how you want to sort or filter these products. Next, you will set up the shipping and payment gateway. Your inventory should match what’s available on the website and the payment method should be connected to your business bank account.
5. Launch Your Website
After you have finalized your website, launch your website. Create social platforms, if you don’t have one yet, to promote the store. Additionally, SEO and digital marketing experts should take over to attract customers.
How Will an eCommerce Website Benefit Your Business?
Your brick-and-mortar store has fixed working hours. Your customers can access your products and services only during those pre-decided hours. But what if you don’t have a brick-and-mortar store at all? How do you showcase your offerings and let customers buy on their own will?
The answer is an eCommerce website. Here are some more reasons to invest in an eCommerce website.
24/7 Access
eCommerce websites are deployed and live all the time unless and until you manually take it down or there is a bug. This means that your online store does not close, allowing you to sell your products or services around the clock. You make sales even when you are sleeping and that’s a game-changer for your business.
Lower Operational Costs
Physical stores are not easy to run. You need to pay for rent (if the store is not yours), electricity bill and salaries of staff. An eCommerce website cuts overhead costs like rent and staffing, increasing your profit margins.
Reach a Wider Audience
Consider the number of people who can visit your brick-and-mortar store. It may be accessible to the people in the locality and a few more from other localities. Although Dubai is your base, your reach can still be global with the help of an eCommerce website.
With an eCommerce website, you are not limited by geography, which makes it possible for your products or services to reach everyone.
Data-Driven Growth
You have full Access to what you sell, when and how much. Moreover, you can identify where your audience hails from and how they are behaving on your site. This data helps improve your offers and marketing strategies.
Easy Scalability
When starting out, you may not have a lot of products. However, as you scale, the SKUs will keep increasing. Moreover, as your brand gains recognition, the traffic on your online store will increase. You can keep upgrading your eCommerce store to handle more traffic or showcase more products and services. The sky’s the limit.
Moreover, if you want to diversify into different geographical markets, it is easier to set up multiple eCommerce stores for each geography and customize them, as compared to opening physical stores.
Customer Reviews
Another big advantage of having an eCommerce website is the chance to collect customer feedback and showcase them. This way, your potential customers can learn more about the actual product experience and make decisions for themselves.
Conclusion
Creating an eCommerce website in Dubai goes beyond just launching your store. It’s about building a digital storefront that delivers real value to your customers. Your eCommerce website should let your visitors find what they’re looking for with ease, shorten the buying process as much as possible and make payments easier while pleasing them visually.
With the right team, the right tools and a strategy that puts your customer first, you can build an e-commerce website that doesn’t just look good but works hard for your bottom line.
At Insights Marketing and Communication, we take great pride in building functional eCommerce stores that drive your business. Our team boasts experts for all eCommerce website design and development-related tasks, such as designers, developers, writers and marketers, to create, set up and launch your online store.
Connect with us today to see how we can support your eCommerce website dreams!