Why you can't go wrong with building your eCommerce site on Magento?

Retailers from across the globe are keen on grabbing a slice of the trillion-dollar industry that makes up the eCommerce realm. To build a sustainable online presence, it’s pivotal to set up a functional, high-performance store on the right platform. With eCommerce platforms like Shopify, OsCommerce, Magento, Zen Cart, Volusion and more to choose from, retailers are confounded by the number of choices. So, what’s the best? The answer: Magento. Read on to know why.

Over a quarter of all eCommerce websites run on Magento, making the platform a highly attractive option. Right from providing extreme scalability to extensive customization, Magento scores high on all aspects.

Reasons that will convince you into building your store on Magento:

What characteristics differentiate a great web designer from the rest? Find out

Your website represents the face of your brand in the online realm. As such, its visual appeal matters as much as what your brand signifies. In other words, presentation is key to putting your business out there. With design forming a crucial part of your site, it’s imperative that you’ve got the right web designers on board. The market is flooded with options and discerning the great from the not-so-great requires extensive research on your part.

 So, how do you get started? We’ve compiled a list of eight qualities that you should watch out for.

#1: Industry Trend Awareness

You don’t want to be stuck with someone still trapped in the 90’s. You need someone who stays updated on the latest trends and incorporates them into practice.

#2: Ability to Adapt

Your business could be anything – a coffee shop or an MNC. The designer should be able to change his style to suit your tastes and needs.

#3: Be an excellent communicator

This is key, because if your designer doesn’t communicate well, he understands too little and eventually, the results are far off the mark.

#4: Passion is everything

Believe it or not, passion is a valuable trait that distinguishes the best from the rest. There’s a huge difference in the quality of work done by someone who enjoys designing than by someone who considers it a chore.

 #5: Open to criticism

A great designer thrives on making his good work, better and construes criticism positively. Your designer should be open to suggestions and make modifications as needed.

#6: Must know development

Sure, it’s a diverse area, regardless, it’s important for designers to have an understanding of development to better aid the design process.

#7: Knack of perceiving user expectations

At the end of the day, the product is going to be used by your customers. Give them something they want instead of something your designer wants. It is important to keep user expectations in mind while designing.

#8: Function over form

Incorporating function into the design can be quite tricky, as sometimes the best-looking design isn’t always the best performing one. An expert knows how blend form and function well.

Cross off these qualities from your checklist, and we’re sure you’ll be able to find someone worthy. If you’re still struggling to find good web designers, here’s a suggestion: choose Openwave. The US-based company has a large team of highly creative designers you can hire.

Top 5 benefits of hiring Magento website development services

For retailers looking to foray into the online space, Magento earns the top spot when it comes to building their eCommerce store on. With a host of features, extensions, themes, and functionalities being offered, this fact comes as no surprise. However, did you know there’s more to the platform than what meets the eye? Exploring the platform’s complete potential and building a robust, fast-loading and highly functional store takes skill and an advanced level of development knowledge. That’s why opting for Magento website development services is the right decision. 

If you’re still having second thoughts, here are five benefits that will convince you into hiring professionals:

#1: Takes away your mental stress

Magento is huge, with limitless possibilities. Getting to know the platform’s ins and outs is tedious, if not stressful. Handing over the development work to a company will relieve you of the burden and will leave room for you to focus on other business development activities.

#2: Start from level one and not level zero

Since Magento already includes a set of generic functionalities, bringing it all together and customizing it is all that’s needed. Unlike website development, there’s no need to develop from level zero, which leaves ample ground for developers to deploy an efficient store in minimal time.

#3: Minimize risk, maximize gains

You might consider learning the know-how of Magento on your own and building the store. After all, how hard can it be? Let us tell you this: for a novice, the platform is very tough to master. While there’s nothing wrong in making an attempt, you could end up wasting a lot of time and resources on something useless. Seek professional help for risk-free, profitable results.

#4: Built with the best

Magento development services allow you to tap into the expertise of the developers and incorporate the best practices in the store. For instance, as opposed to using the default checkout, a developer can include a one-page custom checkout. From customizing themes to integrating payment solutions, you’re assured of receiving the best.

#5: Cost-saving

Sure, development services don’t come for free, and you’ll have to shell out a substantial sum to get your store built. Compare that to the cost of maintenance or the losses you’ll incur in case your website breaks down – and you’ll find that the initial expenditure is next to nothing.

With over a quarter of a million retailers using Magento to power up their online stores, you should too. Take the right step by hiring a professional developer from a renowned Magento Development company in the US.

The 6 worst mistakes in web design – and how to avoid them

Common Web Design blunders you should never commit

Despite investing a lot of time, money and effort in building websites, the results can sometimes be disappointing. The influx of visitors you expected just isn’t happening, and those who do come are quick to leave the site. While you may blame it on the content, or the marketing strategy, however, an often overlooked parameter is DESIGN. Yes, you read that right! Often, designers go overboard and incorporate elements that can turn away your site visitors.  From hard-to-read supposedly stylish font to excessive animations, there’s just so much you can get wrong with your site’s design.

Here’s our pick of the most frequently committed web design blunders and ways you can avoid them:

#1: Using too many fonts

You might be tempted to use 5-6 different fonts, but when it all comes together; it clutters up your web pages.

Solution: Stick to two or three fonts and ensure that they are easy to read.

#2: Overdoing CTAs

It’s recommended that every website should contain clean, concise Call-to-Action buttons, but stuffing them everywhere will not have the desired results

Solution: Make one clear request, to prompt users into completing the action.

#3: A soundtrack with no start/stop button

Music is a great way to grab user attention – or is it? If the music starts blaring automatically as soon as the visitor lands on your page, it could send the visitor away at once.

Solution: If you’re incorporating music, give visitors an option to ‘play.' Do not force it on them. Also, make sure there’s a ‘pause/stop’ button.

#4: Using unflattering images

Images are meant to complement your site, not downgrade it. Using free images or unprofessionally clicked images will only lower the site’s appeal

Solution: Avoid free stock images and opt for premium ones instead. Better yet, hire a professional photographer to click great pictures relevant to your brand.

#5: Forcing visitors to scroll right

Don’t make your website too wide, as most visitors are used to scrolling up/down on websites and do not usually scroll horizontally.

Solution: Use only vertical scrolling on your site

#6: Propping interactive media all over

Interactive messages with fonts, light boxes etc are excellent means of getting the message across to your visitors but use it too much, and you’ll end up distracting your visitors.

Solution: Moderation is key. Use interactive elements only to highlight the vital content.

If you’re a newbie into the web space or own an existing website with a poor design, you need to hire professional web designers to incorporate the best design practices into your site. Openwave is a global IT company, with 20 years of excellence in the field of web design. Consult with an expert Web Designer in the US today!