E-commerce website specification template

Most e-commerce web agencies will request a specification, this should list out what you're trying to achieve and the constraints you are working to.

Often businesses begin to sketch out a solution, indicating an initial look and feel and a list of features, but this isn't 100% necessary.

In this article we've distilled the necessary elements that should be included.

1. State your objectives

Why do you need a website? What outcomes do you want to achieve? Are they measurable?

In this section, explaining a bit about the background of the business will help to build context around your objectives, which could be useful later on. Briefly outline your overall business strategy and how the website fits in with it.

Try and list two to five objectives that you are trying to achieve. This should be the lens through which decisions are made throughout your project, this approach will ensure you complete a project that helps your business and stops you from losing focus.

Some common objectives:

• Increase website sales revenue
• Increase conversion rate
• Increase visitor numbers/be higher in Google
• Reduce admin/order fulfilment time and cost

Of course, these will depend on your organisation and it's really useful to come up with specific measurable amounts for each, even if you keep these private at the start of the project.

2. Key Audiences

In e-commerce, the absolute number one focus is new visitors and returning customers. Go a step further and describe the demographics of the audience you are looking to attract and convert.

Use a bit of empathy and consider what will appeal to these customers, what their situation is when they arrive on your website and how you can convey your main selling points instantly.

Use your front page to describe what you do best and keep in mind the customer perspective at all times when designing your website.

3. Competitor analysis

Who are your closest competitors? What are they up to? Who has the best site and why? Who has a rubbish website? Why?

This is a really important consideration if you want to beat the competition, so have a look through your main competitors and make a list to include in the specification, this will help the agency you work with understand your industry.

A conventional SWOT analysis of each competitor can be really useful, not just for the website but also for your overall strategy, You could make a matrix of your competition and show where you sit in it - this will be helpful in gauging how you should differentiate yourself.

4. A Word About Budget

Many people don't want to disclose their budget when they contact us but this is counterproductive. If we know your objectives and your budget, we can come up with the best solution.

Budget will dictate which e-commerce web design platforms are viable candidates for your project. Shopify, Magento, Drupal Commerce, Wordpress WooCommerce and BigCommerce all require different degrees of effort and all have slightly different specialities. One reason for writing an e-commerce specification is to ensure that your chosen platform is capable of deliverying everything you need. If you don't consider your website specification beforehand, you may find yourself with a website running on a platform you can't customise sufficiently.

If your budget is low, tell us and we will think about what can be done with it. Either we can select a specific technology that is cheaper to set up or we can suggest a phased approach where more functionality can be added later.

You may also want to consider an Agile approach to development if you can tolerate not getting a fixed price quote. Often the results are better.

Be realistic and keep in mind that if you don't have enough of a budget, you'll need to compromise on what you want the site to do. Mark your requirements as 'must have' or 'nice to have' when you write your...

5. Feature list

This is the place for describing what your website should be able to do functionally. Describe:

• What each page type should offer (homepage, product listing, product page, cart)
• How the order process should work
• What payment gateways you want to use
• Integration with any third party systems

In e-commerce, often you want your website to integrate with stock management, analytics or affiliate systems. If this is the case, API documentation or a guide from each of these suppliers should be sought and this should be included in your specification as it will significiantly influence effort and therefore cost.

This is also a good time to consider requirements related to usability (e.g. accessibility), legal (compliance such as PCI DSS), security and performance (i.e. loading times, which are important for e-commerce).

6. Wireframes, look and feel

This is optional, but sometimes useful. In this section you can include:

• Rough wireframes and sketches showing what you imagine your site to look like can be useful here.
• Showing behaviour (e.g. of dropdowns) may also be helpful.
• A suggested site structure may be obvious from these wireframes, otherwise you should include a basic idea of what content you think your site needs and how it will be divided.
• It's often helpful to include a list of sites you like and don't like, this will save time during the design stage.

Really, this is what you are paying the agency to come up with, so don't worry too much about it. The last point is the most important, though if you have an elaborate idea now is the time to explain it.

7. Timescales

This takes us on to a touchy subject... timescales and any deadlines.

Obviously this is a key constraint on your project and may determine how the project is structured, or if it's even possible.

If the deadline is approaching quickly, perhaps a more basic first version of your shop can be put online whilst the full version is in the works. This will probably be a more expensive project, as you'll need two websites to be built.

Keep in mind the project management triangle...

Image credit

• Good + Fast = Expensive
• Good + Cheap = Slow
• Fast + Cheap = Inferior quality

Don't choose a tight deadline with a limited budget, unless you're desparate. The results will be inferior compared with a longer project or one where you can spare the cash to justify the agency re-arranging plans for your project.

In our experience, most projects take around 3 months to complete - they have been done quicker but we've completed over 100 projects and I'd say this is the median.

Getting a quote

You can use your e-commerce website specification to request quotes from a number of agencies. It's the first step to realising your dream of more sales and fewer e-commerce headaches.

If you want a quote for your next e-commerce project, have a look at our services and get in touch!