The Ecommerce Expert

Successful Ecommerce Businesses Start Here

  • Home
  • Services
    • Ecommerce PPC Management
    • Conversion Rate Optimization
    • Ecommerce Consulting
    • Website Design / Redesign
  • Free Resources

Do’s and Dont’s for Designing Websites That Sell

By Eric Leuenberger 1 Comment

You and Me graphical representationI recently read an article that listed what they called 8 effective habits for web design.

The article listed some great points. I wanted to pick out just a few of them and share them with you as these are too frequently abused by many websites.

1) Don’t talk about yourself. Do talk about your visitor.

Too often I see sites with “fluffy” copy stating things like “we are the best widget maker in the business today.” Or “we provide a large variety of widgets to meet all kinds of applications”.

If there is one thing I have said time and time again, it is when you talk, talk from the customers perspective not the sellers. Don’t tell your visitors how “great” you are.

Instead, tell them how your product(s) can help them fulfill their own need. This is what they want to hear, and it is what will cause them to buy. After all, would you buy a “whatchamacallit” from me if I told you it was the best “whatchamacallit” in the world? I doubt it because you don’t know what that “watchamacallit” does, and furthermore, how that will benefit you.

Now, if I told you that “whatchamacallit” was a tool which was guaranteed and proven to put at least $1000.00 in your pocket within the first 24 hours … and you would only have to put forth $9.94 to get it, well I bet you would jump on the chance right? It’s all about the wording and the angle of approach.

The lesson: The site is about your visitors … not you.

2) Don’t get in the way of your visitors, especially when you are selling something. Do mark your visitors path to the end goal clearly and consistently.

Putting together a well thought out site structure with consistent navigation one of the biggest keys to visitor satisfaction. Keep “deep linking” to a minimum and make sure that it takes no more than 3 clicks for a user to get at the information they seek.

Use breadcrumb trials when possible to assist the visitor in navigating the site.

The lesson: Don’t make your visitors think. Keep it simple.

3) Don’t become too attached to your site. Do realize that all good sites grow, adapt, and change in relation to their market.

Many website owners “love” the design of their site so much that they overlook what their visitors think. They invest a lot of time and money into a design without ever thinking what their customers actually want.

First realize that if you are to satisfy your visitors, you must listen to them and test. Testing is one key to success. You may start with one design in mind (hopefully it has been founded on the notion of what your visitors will like), but once launched, test as many sections of the site as possible using a tool like Google’s Website Optimizer (Now Google Content Experiments).

You’ll often times find that what works for your visitors (and increases your sales) is not what you initially thought. That winning combination is the power behind increased conversion. But you have to be willing to change and adapt to the results. Your success depends on it.

The lesson: It’s OK to change. Don’t design a site based on what you think is nice. Let your research lead you and design it based on what your ideal customer would think works for them … whether you like it or not.

4) Don’t assume a site looks good to all users if it looks good on your machine. Do test it on as many browser platforms as possible to ensure a widely accepted layout.

This should be a given however, I still come across many sites that do not appear correctly under different browsers and versions. This is a sure way to alienate potential customers and is no way to grow your sales.

If you do not have the capability to test what your site looks like under multiple browsers and settings, you can use a service like BrowserCam to help do that for you. No matter the road you take, make sure you test for cross-browser compatibility.

The lesson: Test how your site looks under as many browsers and platforms as possible to ensure you are not excluding potential customers from buying what you are selling.

5) Don’t make it difficult for visitors to contact you. Do give them several ways to do just that.

If you’ve ever been shopping and had a question (online or in a brick an mortar store), you’ll know what I mean here. Providing contact information is not only a credibility issue it’s more than that.

It is downright frustrating for potential customers that may have a question to not be able to get a hold of someone to ask it. In a brick in mortar store they may walk around looking for someone to ask. On the Internet they simply leave. It’s just too easy.

If you want to increase sales, provide multiple methods for customers to contact you, and display those methods in plain site. Things like customer service phone numbers, live chats, email, etc… give them the flexibility to choose which suits their needs at that moment. These all go a long way to satisfying the visitor and turning them into a lifetime customer.

If you operate a business that either does not have a business phone line, or is operated out of a house (and you do not want to give your personal home phone number as a customer service number) then you can use a service like Google Voice to get a phone number masked to ring at any number of phone lines you want. And it’s FREE! Another option (not free but great resource) is OneBox.

The lesson: Don’t hide from your customers. If you want to generate more sales, make yourself available to them. Remember, if you hide from them, they will hide from you.

Related posts:

  1. All Web Site Traffic is NOT Created Equal
  2. Customer Service Gone Wrong
  3. Designing for Your Audience
  4. Google Warning to Sites That Sell Page Rank

Filed Under: Design & Usability, E-Commerce Optimization

Books by The Ecommerce Expert

Google Analytics Uncovered: How to Set Up and Maximize Ecommerce Data in Google Analytics
Available on Amazon Now!

About Eric Leuenberger

Ecommerce conversion marketing expert who has been helping store owners since 1995 increase sales and build more profitable, more sustainable ecommerce businesses.

Comments

  1. Stuff4Toys says

    February 5, 2008 at 11:50 am

    Sorry for the miss information on the previous post, Grand Central looks closed, but I filled in the reservation form and got an email the next day. I now have a CALL ME button on my home page.

    Hoping someone will create a 150 px side box for the smaller CALL ME button.
    JOhn >

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories

  • Blogging
  • Conversion
  • Customer Retention
  • Design & Usability
  • E-Commerce Optimization
  • Email Marketing
  • Featured
  • Google Adwords
  • Increase sales
  • Marketing Strategies
  • Mobile Commerce
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Search Marketing
  • Security
  • Shopping Cart Abandonment
  • Social Media
  • Website Analytics
  • Zen Cart
  • Zen Cart Contributions
  • Popular
  • Recent

About

The Ecommerce Expert offers products and services that help move ecommerce businesses toward growth and success. Our products and services help store owners maximize their ROI, decreasing expenses and increasing revenue. The net result is sustainable growth and stability with above average results.

Services

  • Conversion Rate Optimization
  • Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
  • Ecommerce PPC Management
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Ecommerce Consulting
  • Website Design / Redesign

Copyright © 2023 | Privacy Policy

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT