When your web site sells more than a dozen items, you may face a fierce challenge of helping shoppers find what they are looking for. You'll need to classify products into categories, but these will serve as obstacles and even deal killers if those categories do not match those in the heads of shoppers.
I've seen again and again web sites using classifications that aren't known or understood by a portion of their customers. For instance, I once wanted to buy T-shirts and went to the site of a famous catalog company, where I found a category called "shirts." So far, so good. But then I had to choose between a category called "woven" or another called "knitted." There I got stumped. Are T-shirts woven or knitted? I was not sure.
Another time I was searching for a Toyota car part, ready to buy it, but I could not find it on the Toyota parts web site unless I knew whether it was part of the drive train, an accessory, the exhaust system or something else. I hadn't a clue. In both these cases, the site wrongly assumed that shoppers understood their jargon, and set that up as a barrier to an online purchase.
Let's suppose that you solve the jargon problem and someone finds what they are looking for. The next hurdle for shoppers concerns whether or not people can find answers to all the questions about availability, shipping charges, warranties and return policies that they could easily ask if shopping by phone or in person. In the last year, I would say that only 50% of the time when I'm shopping online I've had all of my pre-purchase questions answered by the web site. Among the multi-product sites I've toured as a reviewer, I don't remember a single one that answered enough questions for shoppers.
Before your site launches, you can think up all the questions people might ask by imagining different kinds of shoppers - people from other countries, corporate buyers, gift givers, etc. - and what they'd need to know. Once your site's been up for a while, collect the questions that come in by email and phone. Gather the questions and answers in a Frequently Asked Questions page and make the FAQ accessible from every page of your site.
Especially do not make people put items into their shopping cart and begin checking out in order to find out the shipping charges and refund policies! Another epidemic blunder is not revealing the address of the company behind the shopping site. Not only is this necessary to set at ease the mind of any shopper worried about recourse against no-show orders or faulty merchandise, it's important for some people to know where items are being shipped from.
Ditto for your privacy policy. Are you going to be renting out your list of customer addresses and bombarding everyone who's bought from you with frequent emails?
Online order forms range from easy to use and complete to baffling and aggravating. Submit yours to what I call "the grandmother test" - ask people who've never seen your site before to place an order and talk through the process out loud. Button your lips and listen. Note where they get stuck and fix your ordering procedures accordingly.
Finally, do you have testimonials attesting to the quality and value of what you sell and the pleasures of doing business with you? That's the cherry on the sundae of a well-designed site from a company shoppers recommend and return to for more purchases!
Marcia Yudkin is the author of Web Site Marketing Makeover and 10 other books. A four-time Webby Awards judge and internationally famous marketing consultant, she critiques web sites and performs web site makeovers for clients. Learn more about her detailed critique sessions on five different kinds of web sites (including multi-product sites) at http://www.yudkin.com/websitequiz.htm .
Lincoln Stretch rentals Alsip ..There can be zillions of reasons why your visitors return... Read More
One of the most popular methods of traffic generation is... Read More
Owning your own website is a must if you are... Read More
When you design a website how do you start ?Do... Read More
Avoid these mistakes and your site will be steps ahead... Read More
One of the challenges of moving a web site up... Read More
Web design is a very competitive area and there is... Read More
The .htaccess file is a control file located in your... Read More
"How to turn "slightly interested" customers into "I've got to... Read More
So how do you know when your graphic designer costs... Read More
As search engine marketers, we spend an enormous amount of... Read More
We would all like to have the best looking website,... Read More
Want to know what the worst thing to say on... Read More
A picture is worth a thousand words.And it still is... Read More
There is a widespread confusion among lots of new website... Read More
Part one of this article is available at ... Read More
If you are trying to sell a product or service... Read More
If you are reading this, I assume you either have... Read More
Let's look at what your user wants to see at... Read More
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) allows you to create fast loading... Read More
What do the key words represent?Key words - these are... Read More
Your website is your tool for showing the online community... Read More
Square buttons, round buttons, flashy buttons ? will they match... Read More
Physical therapists have unique web presence needs. An effective site... Read More
Setting up a survey on your site is extremely simple... Read More
Western Springs shuttle limo ..Many people hire professional web site designers for as much... Read More
Let's look at what your user wants to see at... Read More
In my last article entitled, Maximizing The True Value Of... Read More
Home PageHome page should clearly indicate what the site is... Read More
The time it takes to load your site can make... Read More
Learning how to convert visitors to your web site into... Read More
Novice and professional designers alike ? you may probably be... Read More
When your web site sells more than a dozen items,... Read More
Web usability is perhaps the most important factor in any... Read More
There's no doubt about it - the first page your... Read More
If you've a website that is not generating a lot... Read More
Selling on the internet is a challenge. There is no... Read More
There is a widespread confusion among lots of new website... Read More
Automating your online business is one of the most important... Read More
As the Internet blooms at an alarming rate, so as... Read More
Imagine spinning someone around so profoundly and for so long... Read More
Many businesses want a simple website where they tell people... Read More
A "404 Error" happens when the web server you are... Read More
1. Repackage your web site content in to different products... Read More
Have you ever been to site with so much ad... Read More
Once, I attempted to create a favicon (the little graphic... Read More
While few companies can boast as we do that our... Read More
You have an idea for a website and you are... Read More
If you've a website but not making a lot of... Read More
If you are familiar with my work, then you have... Read More
Web Design |