GOOD DESIGN SELLS - ECOMMERCE WEBSITE TIPS

In today’s internet based world, good website design has never been more vital. Customers make up their minds about your website – and in effect your company - within seconds. If your website’s an ecommerce one you want them to stick around and spend their hard earned cash on your product or service. Here’s a brief rundown of our top ecommerce website tips:

Choices, choices, choices

Let your customer filter their search results from the very start of their search. Give them as many options as possible and make sure the filters are easy to use and clear. Nothing is more frustrating for customers than finding the product they want only to discover it’s not available in their chosen colour or size. Don’t let their disappointment drive them away from your website.

Searching for something?

Have a prominent search bar visible at all times. If a customer can’t see what they want in menus they’ll quickly turn to the search bar – if one isn’t quickly identifiable you run the risk of them leaving your site empty handed.

How much?!

Be up front about delivery costs – don’t leave it until check out. Make the charges clear in the item description and give it its own section so shoppers can check out the costs before they start adding items to their baskets.

Image rich

Make sure you feature plenty of images of your products. The customer needs to see exactly what they’re buying especially if it’s an expensive item. An interactive image which customers can rotate using their mouse is a great idea. 

The more the merrier

Once something’s been placed in their shopping basket don’t automatically direct buyers to the checkout. Give them the option to continue shopping or better yet simply show the basket at the top of the screen with an indication of how many items are in there. It’s also great to maximise your cross selling opportunities by recommending related products.

One click

Customers don’t like entering their card details – it often involves stepping away from the computer and finding a wallet or purse before they even start entering the long number. Try linking up with payment sites like PayPal which make one click payments possible. 

The final hurdle

The checkout page is such an important part of any ecommerce website. Keep it clean, free from distractions and easy to use. If a customer makes any typos or forgets essential sections make sure it’s incredibly easy for them to identify where they’ve gone wrong.