Simple Things You Can Do To Improve The Online Shopping Experience For Your Customers
If you are the owner of a small or midsized business, and you have an ecommerce website, it is not a bad idea for you to consider reviewing the overall effectiveness of the site on a regular basis. For an ecommerce website to be extremely successful, the design and function must work seamlessly together. An effective ecommerce website provides customers with valuable content about the items available for purchase within the online webstore. An efficient ecommerce website offers customers a simple way to purchase the goods from the online store. Here are a few tips wich can help you improve the online shopping experience for your customers:
Fix Any Broken Links Within Your Website
If a potential or existing customer clicks on a link within your ecommerce website, and the desired page or image does not display properly, this might deter the person from purchasing goods from your site. If you offer many products for sale within your ecommerce website, there will most likely be a lot of links and images for you to maintain. To ensure that there are no broken links within your ecommerce site, you may consider using a free online “broken link checker” tool regularly. If you find that your ecommerce website has broken links, have them fixed as soon as possible.
Maintain A Blog In Your Site
If you do not have a blog within your ecommerce website, you could be missing out on reaching many new customers. Did you know that companies that blog get 55% more web traffic and 70% more leads than those that don’t? If you are not currently posting useful information about your company and the items available for purchase in your webstore, you are further limiting your means of reaching your target audience. So, consider utilizing a blog and adding unique content to your ecommerce site on a regular basis. Not only does blogging offer you an avenue to better connect with your customers, it can also help you attract many new visitors to your ecommerce site.
It’s Better For Your Website To Have Superior Graphic Design
For the viewers of an ecommerce website, nothing stands out more than bad graphic design. If you have an existing website, and the graphic images within your website appear “dated” to you, then it may be time to give your site a facelift. If you are planning on having an ecommerce website constructed, make it a priority to consider all graphic components before implementing the site’s design. The graphic design of your ecommerce website should help showcase the unique qualities of your business as well as help you sell your products. So, avoid using poor quality photos for the imagery within your site and keep the use of “outrageous” colors to a minimum. When you have an ecommerce site that is not only visually appealing, but also easy to use, you’ll increase your opportunities for making sales.
Provide Your Customers With The Shipping Rates
If you were going to purchase something from an online ecommerce webstore, wouldn’t you like to know how much the shipping cost is going to be? Well, so will the online shoppers who visit your ecommerce website. Your customers will appreciate knowing what it’s going to cost them to purchase your product and have it shipped directly to their desired location. If your potential customers have to guess what the total price of the product plus shipping is going to be before they proceed to checkout, you will most likely lose the sale. So, remember to make the online shopping experience easy for your ecommerce website customers.
Use Large Fonts Within Your Site’s Webpages
Have you ever visited a website and found it hard to read the content due to the small size of the font? When designing or updating an existing ecommerce website, it might not be a bad idea to keep in mind that a large percentage of online shoppers are over the age of 50. According to Transgenerational.org, “Each year more than 3.5 million Boomers turn 55. Their swelling numbers predict that, by 2012 America’s 50 and older population will reach 100 million. And according to the UN Population Division, 1 in 5 people are expected to be 65 or older by 2035.” Instead of using really small fonts and making it difficult for some online shoppers to read about the products you offer, make it easy for people of all ages to be able to learn about your goods. You may also want to keep in mind that mobile commerce (m-commerce) is also on the rise and people are using devices with small screens, such as iPhones and iPads, to make online purchases. So, make it easier for people to see the content within your ecommerce site by using large fonts where applicable.
There are many ways you can drive more web traffic and increase sales from your ecommerce website. As long as the webstore is visually appealing, the process of purchasing an item from your online store is easy to do, and the shopping experience is pleasant, you can increase your opportunities to make more sales. If you need advice regarding creating a new webstore or updating your existing ecommerce website, call Cornerstone Consulting at (813) 321-1300 today!
