In the world of e-commerce, design is paramount. In this age of digital marketing, your site is your shop front to the world – speaking volumes about your brand, how you do business and your professionalism. No matter how good your product is, a poorly designed and inferior looking website can translate to a poorly designed, inferior product in the mind of the visitor.
An aesthetic appeal and an intuitive user interface are key for a positive e-commerce experience – it should be easy for people to buy your products. If they have to figure it out or work at it, chances are they won’t.
Winning More e-Commerce Customers
Understandably, consumers are tightening their belts and looking for great deals and a rewarding shopping experience on the web – which provides a great opportunity for online shops. With this in mind, here are 5 tips for improving your customers’ experience – and your sales.
Keep It Clean
Take half an hour out of your day to visit a range of e-commerce websites – those you like, and those you don’t like – note what works and what doesn’t. What you will notice is that a clean, tidy and visually concise front-end is top of the list for any site selling a product. Yet the amount of broken, cluttered and ugly pages there are out there beggars belief. Ask yourself this: if shopping on your website is a chore, why should anyone bother? Chances are they won’t.
Love Those Colours
Research has long told us that colour is inextricably linked to mood and emotion, and it has long played an important role in the arsenal of the modern marketing strategy. Supermarkets and advertisers spend millions each year researching package design and the use of colour – and internet marketers should never underestimate the use of this vital facet of web design.
It’s All in The Up/Cross-Sell
Amazon is probably the best example here “customers who viewed this item also viewed…” or “like these? You may also want to try…”. How many times has your mouse cursor been drawn to one of these links placed strategically on the page? A simple, but extremely effective method of promoting related items or more expensive alternatives.
Again, it’s all in the power of suggestion, rather than forcing pages of alternatives – let the user feel they’re in control. It’s also worth mentioning the humble Wish List here – a tried and tested way of building a shopping list for return shoppers.
User Interface
A slick user interface is a vital component of any successful e-commerce website. People shop online for convenience, so presenting visitors with a cluttered, slow site encumbered with broken links will harm sales and discourage return visitors.
Ensure your hosting is up to speed and streamline the checkout process to keep them coming back for more.
Do One Thing, and Do It Well
Unless you’re Amazon (let’s not forget they started off as a book retailer predominantly), you’re unlikely to be able to get away with selling anything and everything. There’s a lot to be said for finding a niche – something you know well – and sticking to it. Remember the saying ‘jack of all trades, master of none’? Well, the same applies to e-commerce.
