If you’re looking to launch your own online retail store, you need to put your website design and development at the top of your priority list. There’s more to building an online retail store than simply setting up payment options and backend administrative elements. You also need a robust ecommerce website builder to help you create a well-designed experience for your customers.

Picking the right shopping cart software requires a lot of research and planning on your end, but creating an effective website is easier with the right software. To develop the right website for your online store, you should ask yourself plenty of questions, some of which may be unique to your business.

• Does my site require a custom design or should I use a template?

• Are my products varied enough that they’ll require a dynamic search function?

• Does my software come standard with an eCommerce website builder?

• Can I include breadcrumbs so customers can navigate their way backwards?

• Where should I feature specific products on my homepage?

• How can I make the payment process as simple as possible to help avoid cart abandonment?

• Which features are unnecessary for my customers? How can I make my site simpler and smoother to navigate?

• Does my shopping cart software work as seamlessly on the front (customer-facing) end as it does on the back end?

Of course, these are only a few questions to ask yourself—but the point is you should have the tools to manage your customers on the front end and your business on the back end all within a single package. A truly robust shopping cart software suite includes an ecommerce website builder that demonstrates knowledge of online retail and simplifies building a compelling online store for someone who may not have the expertise to build one from scratch.

For more helpful hints on best practices in ecommerce design, view our design tips (part 1 and part 2).