13 E-Commerce Tips for Your New Website—A Baker’s Dozen
To be successful selling your products and services online, think like a customer. When you shop online, what makes it easy for you to buy? Which e-commerce sites do you like to revisit and why? Design your new website storefront as if you are the customer.
Here are Edit LLC’s Baker’s Dozen Website Tips for Online Retail Sales Success:
1. Your website has to be responsive
A responsive website is designed to fit the screen on any device, from a laptop, to a tablet, to a smartphone, and beyond. In other words, it’s “mobile-ready” and allows customers to shop on-the-go. You’re missing out on customers if your site can’t be seen on all devices—Mobile use grows 58% year over year (according to smartinsights.com).
E-Commerce Content Strategies:
2. Put your best foot forward on your homepage
It’s your “welcome mat” to your website store. Show off your hottest selling products. Display a full menu of categories at the top of the page to eliminate scrolling. Make it obvious why customers should shop from you on your homepage.
3. Your great products and services deserve great photos and descriptions
Shoppers can’t touch and feel your products as they can in a physical store, so you have to do the next best thing. Ensure that customers feel so comfortable with what they see and read that they know exactly what they’ll receive when they buy. Think Pinterest—Display such beautiful images that satisfied customers will want to share photos and brag to their friends about their newest purchase.
4. Bundle items together to entice website visitors to buy
Group your products and services together in packages as an incentive to purchase an entire collection. This method is particularly successful for selling holiday or kitchen items that will make life easier for customers. Offer product suggestions to the customer as they view each product, too.
5. Make product search easy-peasy for your customers
Introduce product categories that encourage exploration. Lead shoppers to discovery, but don’t offer too many categories. Like a restaurant menu, presenting just a handful of categories prevent customers from getting confused about what to order. Favorite categories include: Top-Sellers, Sale or Soon-to-Be Discontinued Items, and Featured Items (the trending products you’re including on your homepage).
6. Think Search Engine Optimization (SEO) when creating content
Know the keyword phrases to include on your new website and weave those topics into product and page descriptions. Use these phrases as a starting point for blog topics. Include META information on each web page so that Google will send customers who are searching for your products to your online store.
7. Use the same tone and language throughout your site to welcome new shoppers
Define terms that new customers may not know (such as the terms “fit and flair” and “rouging” for dress shoppers). Devote a separate page to sizing and measurements, including useful diagrams and videos, to help customers place and complete orders (and to minimize returns).
8. Include customer reviews to verify product and service quality
Are you afraid of posting reviews? Research shows that they actually propel sales. Reviews confirm that your website is trustworthy, especially if there are a few negative reviews in the mix: 63% of customers are more likely to make a purchase from a site that displays customer reviews (according to iPerceptions).
9. Offer incentives for buying from your store and returning to buy again
Reward shoppers when they review a product, too. Whether you provide a discount, a VIP membership, or free shipping, customers love incentives, and they’ll return often to buy from you, instead of your competition.
10. Regularly update your online store
Give customers a reason to return. If you don’t have new products to offer, change up your site so that the product looks like a new addition by updating the product description. Regroup product collections according to the season. Rotate sale items. Use your blog to keep your website fresh—Offer valuable information about how to use your products, fashion trends, recipes, and more. When you regularly update your online store, Google sees that you have something new to offer and may rank you above your competition in search engine results.
Shopping Cart Strategies for Easy Check-Out:
11. Check-out should only take a few clicks of the mouse
Don’t force customers to create an account to checkout. Instead, let them use their Facebook or Google account to auto-fill personal info, or allow them to check out as a “Guest”. Once a customer begins the checkout process, avoid abandoned shopping carts by eliminating advertisements, additional product options, and other distractions.
12. Speed up check out by answering questions promptly
More than 65% of online customers use live chat in their online shopping (according to econsultancy.com). Most website visitors choose it over placing a call or emailing because it saves time, avoids waiting “on hold”, and they can receive a transcript of the chat. Live chat helps you to close the sale quickly and offer great customer service.
13. Provide customers the chance to save items in their cart.
Some customers fill up their carts but aren’t ready to buy. Maybe they don’t have their credit cards handy or they need to check a size. Give them the option of saving their cart or creating a wish list of items, inviting them to return to your online store to complete their purchase (or even add more items to their cart before checking out).
Here at Edit LLC, we stay current on the latest technologies that enhance your new website and make it sizzle. Reach us at 559-281-2855 for a no-obligation, free consultation. We’ll team up with you to build a unique online store that topples your competition and bring customers to you.
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Date: 08.25.2016