October 17, 2011
Tips to Enhancing Your E-Commerce Website
Instead of going over ways to reinvent your site, this week we're going to slow down a bit and focus on little things that you can do to improve your E-commerce web site.
We decided to let the intarweb do the heavy lifting for us on this topic. There are lots of sites offering long lists of E-commerce tips. A lot of them were questionable, but some made a lot of sense. Here are the ones that we heard most often and agree with:
Enchance your 404 page
Usually just about any result you can send to the user for a broken link or error is better than your web server's default page. Most E-commerce pages make custom 404 pages easy to create.
What should you do with them? Keep it simple, don't blame the customer, and provide links back in to your site. Humor can sometimes work nicely here, just don't overdo it.
Use high quality images, and a lot of them
Don't use your cell phone. Spring for a good, high quality camera: these days they're not that expensive. Take multiple clean shots of each product from different angles. Important: make sure that your E-commerce software can support this.
List shipping charges up front
According to one study the most common cause of cart abandonment is sticker shock resulting from the addition of shipping fees near the end of the purchase process. List these as early as possible so that customer has a chance to calmly factor it into their purchase decision.
Include product information that's complete, but simple
Another survey states that approximately ¾ of users will not consider purchasing a item unless its page contains complete product information. Post this, and contact the manufacturer if you have to in order to fill in the blanks.
At the same time, make sure that what you post is understandable to novices in these product fields. Define any obscure terms, and explain any point that might be unclear or lead the user to a false conclusion about the item.
Respond to emails quickly
Different authors have suggested different time frames for how fast you should respond, but in reality there's no single number you can put on this. The moment someone sends you an email, they are potentially looking elsewhere for the same product.
You'll especially want to make sure you have a good way to respond fast on weekends. That may be when you least want to work, but conversely, that's when shoppers are most likely not working.
Respect privacy and security
Information privacy is becoming a deal-breaker for many. Make sure your site uses SSL and advertise this well on it.
Then make sure that you post a full privacy policy. Don't make it just a sentence: make it clear to the customer that this is a principle you hold dear, and that you back it up with strong, ethical action.
Test your site endlessly
Finally, you can't test your site enough. Got five minutes? Go through the purchase process, and do your best to break the site as you do. Combine features in ways you never thought of before. Enter bizarre information. Sooner or later a customer will do what you did for real, and whether or not you are ready for it is the difference between a lost sale and a captured one.
Popular Links
Categories: Ecommerce |
Tags: features,
email,
software,
server,
e-commerce,
front page,
server security,
SSL,
create a website,
website,
security,
down time,
website security,
security tips,
web server,
advertise,
up time,
create website,
e-commerce site,
website back up,
customer support,
links,
support,
IT,
web site security,
security software,
slow server,
security features,
IT security,
web pages,
website down,
multiple lists,
SSL support,
on-page features,
server privacy,
site support,
survey,
privacy,
email security
Post comment: