Building a website that looks and feels great is the only a fraction of the purchasing process. Your online store has to give customers more than a few pretty web designs to look at before they are willing to cash out.
A website should create a sales funnel. This includes components that explain where shoppers need to go to find what they want and make it easy for them to get there. At every step of the process regardless of which page they enter your online store.
Navigation is the first step to creating a user-friendly website. And this includes mobile users. Actually, your website has to be built specifically for mobile-users. Because Google says so.
Furthermore, websites need to rank high in search engines. Your online store, therefore, has to be user-friendly and encourage visitors to hang around and explore.
Before you can expect to sell your products or services, pages have to be relevant to the end-users search terms, provide content (information) that offers value and make you appear like a trustworthy firm.
Use eye-catching graphics
A web design needs to look cool, but at the same time represent your brand. The colours and typography you choose are just as important as the images.
Visuals should ideally support the textual content on the page and communicate to customers. If you’re selling products, use high-quality images that make the product look appealing. Or at the very least, pique the viewer’s curiosity.
Product descriptions
Consumers want information about your product or services. Your product/service pages should therefore provide as much detail about the benefits of your product as possible. Customers want to know what they will get when they buy your product.
As a minimum, Google demand 300-words per page, otherwise it is treated as ‘thin content’ and tanked lower down the search engine results. In other words, buried.
An advantageous method of structuring content is to highlight the best features using bullets. Underneath the bullets, write short paragraphs with subheadings that describe the benefits.
Earning consumer trust
Websites might give your business visibility in the online world, but essentially you are still a faceless firm. And that makes it difficult for online shoppers to trust you will produce what you promise.
You will alleviate fears by providing customer testimonials – both on your site and on third-party review sites if they are relevant to your business. Take advantage of third-party reviews sites whenever possible.
You can take customer reviews one-step further by publishing a portfolio of your work (if you are in the creative field) or by writing case studies. You can do the latter in blogs and on a dedicated sales pages on your website.
The more credibility you earn with customers, the more you increase your chances of guiding them to the check-out. You will only be successful in making online sales if your website is geared to be a selling machine.
If you have already gone to the expense of building a website, don’t settle for a substandard design that does not sell. If you need to build a website, make sure you have the right elements in place and increase your chances of making a sale.
