Dot Com Mastermind
Dot Com Mastermind

Want to generate more E-Commerce sales? Here are a few things to be aware of…

First of all, your website not only needs to look amazing and user-friendly, but also convert those visitors into orders, multiple orders.

How high is your standard? How high do you want to grow?

After working with hundreds of clients and reviewing thousands of websites, I have learned about the TOP 7 web design elements each E-Commerce site needs to include for maximum conversion (e.g. leads, sales, customers)

In brief, these are design/layout elements to make your website more appealing, and generate the sales number and profit volume you’re after.

1. Visible Phone Number

Show a clear visible phone number on the header or anywhere prominent (e.g. in the sidebar, at the top).

1800flowers.com is just one of the many examples out there we can model after.

You want visitors to call you immediately. There’s no time for multiple page browsing – this is just wasted time. Get them to act now, and they’ll order faster, don’t you think so?

This simple implementation works great for retail shops, hotels, restaurants, pizza delivery shops, financial service websites, coaching products, seminars, and so on.

The fewer steps your visitors take to order, the more clients and orders you will be getting. This is a true and tested marketing method that retailers are taking full advantage of.

2. Advance Search Feature

The search box is a key feature for your visitors’ ability to access products that match their wants and needs.

Some users prefer to look up specific products by brands, prices, or both.

Why not make it easy for them to find what they want, fast?

Example:

Simplify searches with an “Auto-complete” function. Google is using this for their search engine. Add and adapt this feature to your own website, and sales will jolt.

Moreover, happy customers will lead to return visits and repeat purchases. It is your responsibility to ensure your website is entirely built from A to Z to benefit your client.

Top online retail shops are customer-centered; their websites are offering clients a tremendous product browsing and shopping experience. Think Starbucks and Zappos.

3. Related Products

Show related products on each product page (to get more sales).

Amazon is a great example for this particular strategy. By presenting potential buyers with related items, they’re bumping the average order size per customer. Think “up-sell” on steroids.

Each product page can also show reviews and customer testimonials/comments to raise your trust level and build confidence with visitors and return customers.

Whatever your business model is, each page should be clean enough to avoid confusing your visitor from making a purchase. That means removing any distractions from the check-out page or shopping cart. Keep it simple is the motto.

4. Payment Options

Have a few payment options to choose from.

How are your clients used to ordering products from your website or from competitors’ sites?

PayPal and credit cards are the standard amongst E-Commerce sites.

The power of a few select options is what most people overlook. They think that the more payment choices they’re offering to their clients, the more orders they will end up with. Sadly, they’re generating the exact opposite effect.

Get this – Offer fewer options, and see more orders coming in…

Plus, ensure your order buttons and shopping cart are as visible as possible.

Place them in the sidebar, or closer to the top. Make it easy for them to buy from you, or they’ll buy from someone else!

5. Social Share Buttons

Show social share buttons on products page.

This is a move that some smart (not most) online retailers have jumped on. And there’s no secret if I tell you it works!

Facebook is possibly the most important button you should add to your website to ensure you get your shop visible on this mega social network platform counting over 1 Billion active users, as per their recent claims.

6. Product Images

Show multiple images for a single product.

Any products, even books can and should be presented more dynamically and enjoyable. Online visitors cannot experience everything like in a local retail space. They cannot touch or smell your item, but you can get them to see it from all perspectives and angles.

Show multiple images for a single product and you will attract their attention. Show less, and you will lose their interest, and perhaps a potential referral source.

7. Order Page “Exit” Survey

Shopping cart abandonment should never be overlooked. You’re already getting potential buyers with their cards in hand, why allow them to leave your website and never come back?

An article by SeeWhy.com states that shopping cart abandonment by online shoppers is on the rise: from 68% – like it was back in 2009 to 72% in 2012.

So how can you get more “order page” visitors to buy from you instead of closing the page and quitting the shopping cart?

Capture their email (name and phone number if possible) before they order; this way you ensure you get their contact details and are able to follow up with them to entice a purchase or find the reason for the order failure.

Regardless of the reasons of shopping cart abandonment, having an order-reactivation campaign enables E-Commerce sites to benefit from a higher sales volume from the same amount of traffic.

Instead of advertising more often, and throwing money out the window, invest in traffic maximization strategies and client re-activation campaigns.

Implementing these 7 key design elements won’t make you rich overnight, but will definitely get your website closer to your customers’ hearts.

Whenever I build an E-Commerce site for myself or for my clients, I make sure to design it around these concepts and practices.

Is your current designer approaching his work alike? Send him to read this article, and he’ll probably thank you for your kind gesture.