Create A Conversion Friendly E-Commerce Website
Create A Conversion Friendly E-Commerce Website
With the ever-increasing addition of e-Commerce websites appearing on the Internet, the need for businesses to be strategically aligned to their customer needs has never been greater. The most immediate consideration which businesses give to their customers is one of price and yet, they often overlook the human computer interaction of the procurement process. The purpose of any e-Commerce site is to convert the viewer into a purchaser and great care should be taken in providing the necessary tools and processes to expedite that conversion. This article is aimed at providing some useful tips and guidelines to help create a preferred e-Commerce experience, which may significantly enhance a business’ conversion rate.
Website Navigation
Any potential customer should be greeted with an easy and navigable means to finding the products which they are seeking. Frustrated shoppers are less likely to return to a website in the future if they know that placing an order may potentially be an ordeal. Therefore, it is essential to design a website that allows customers to get to where they need to be with the minimum amount of difficulty and the least number of clicks.
Product Descriptions & Imagery
When presenting a product on a website – the information pertaining to that item should be clear, interesting and engaging to the customer. The information must be relevant and presented in such a way that all the benefits of the product are easily identifiable. To compliment your text, a high resolution image of the product should also be provided. The image will help potential customers identify with the product and visualize what they will be receiving.
Product Video Descriptions
The inclusion of video descriptions is a practice which is becoming more widely used. The principle advantage of using a video description is that they offer the viewer a more personal experience of the product. Further, the benefits and features of the product can be easily integrated into a video requiring less reading effort on the part of the customer.
Featured Products
The inclusion of a Featured Products pane on a landing page is also a very useful tool to help convert potential purchasers. It can be found on occasion, that potential customers arrive at an e-Commerce site with no real idea what they are looking to purchase – but rather simply looking for a solution to their immediate needs. Having a Featured Products pane helps them to focus on what they would like to purchase as well as elevating that products status.
Discounts, Offers & Delivery
The purpose of any discount or special offer is to boost a business’ conversion rate and improve their sales turnover. High street retailers generally adorn their shop windows with large ‘Sale’ signs to attract customer attention. An e-Commerce website must follow the same principle and ensure that any discounts or special offers are clearly visible on the website. The Home Page is generally considered the best place to reveal the offers but it is also advisable to ensure that critical Landing Pages offer that same information.
A popular opinion touted by many, is that discounts offer better conversion rates rather than free delivery. In reality, it has been found that many customers equally listed free delivery as one of their major decisions to purchase. It therefore makes sense for any business to consider their delivery charges and be able to factor a free delivery service into their business model.
Payment Options
‘Trust’ is one of the key concerns for most Internet users. The continuing development of scam websites and dubious merchants is still something that is rife throughout the Internet. Many people who purchase over the Internet still have concerns about sharing their financial information and as such may never get to complete a transaction. It is therefore prudent for a website to offer multiple payment options that may appeal to a wider audience of potential customers.
In this article we covered some of the core concepts, which a business may use to help increase their sales conversion. Fundamentally, an e-Commerce website should be clear, concise, informative, user friendly and not overly complex. The shopping experience to an end user should have a minimal amount of navigation and have an organised flow that takes the user from Point A to Point B with relative ease. As with most things in life, e-Commerce websites should be carefully monitored and analysed regularly to ensure that they are working optimally – not only technically but also from the perspective of an end user.
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