An appealing and engaging website is not difficult to create: above all, it needs to be easy for your customers to use. Look at the sites you enjoy using. Consider how easy competitor sites are to use.
If you're using a shopping cart in combination with a template or off-the-shelf site, the features you can offer your customers will depend on the functionality supported by the shopping cart.
Look at other stores that have been created using the same template to see how appealing and user friendly they are.
What makes a user-friendly website?
- Keep it simple
- Don't try to fill all the space on your pages - cluttered pages can be difficult to navigate.
- Visitors should be able to find and buy what they're looking for with the minimum of clicks. Avoid having a front page or 'doorway' page to your site if it could put visitors off.
- Easy to navigate
- It's often more difficult online than in a traditional store for visitors to find what they're looking for. A search box can lead to extra sales: according to a survey, 70% of online retailers believed that visitors who used search tools were more likely to convert from browsers to buyers.
- 'Breadcrumb trails' show users where they are on your website - for example home > women > shoes.
- Back-out links let users 'back out' from the category they are in to the previous level, back to the home page and to other parts of the site.
- A site map displays all the pages on your site, which helps users if they get lost or can't find something. Having a site map also helps with your search engine rankings - seePromoting your Business for more information.
- Structure
- Include the most important, popular and attention-grabbing content first, such as information about special offers and best-sellers.
- Include on your homepage your basic company information, such as name, logo, links and contact information. This will help reassure customers that you are a genuine business.
- Speed
- Pages need to be quick to load. Make sure your website host is fast enough and don't use unnecessary graphics as they can slow the site down.
- Use Flash carefully. Not all users have it and it can slow things down.
- Test, test and test again
- Test your website using different browsers - the appearance and/or functionality can differ. Popular browsers include Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Netscape Navigator and Opera.
- Test web pages using different devices as they can display differently on PCs, Apple Macs and hand-held devices.
- Test all links thoroughly to identify any that don't work. Even a single broken link can undermine the credibility of your website. You can use tools to check for broken links such as the W3C Link Checker.
- Information
- Deal promptly with any out-of-date or incorrect information. Make sure out-of-stock items are clearly identified.
- Include as much information as you can whilst keeping it readable. Customers, understandably, want to know about the product or service they're buying.
- Reassure customers by clearly displaying information on delivery costs and options, your terms and conditions, contact details and refund policy, before they get to the checkout.
- Give customers a way to contact you directly - an email address or telephone number - if they have any questions or concerns.
- Design
- Aim to impress. Make sure your site looks professional. If you are using a template site and are not technically confident, consider hiring a web designer to customise it.
- Brand it. Make sure your website looks and feels like your business. Use visuals your target audience can identify with.
- Display high-quality images of your products. Consider multiple images or zoom to help customers get the best possible feel for the product.
- Text
- Use short and snappy sentences. Most online browsers aren't keen to read large chunks of text.
- Headings are great for breaking up content. Use as many as possible to make your site easier to read.
- You need your copy to appeal to your target audience. Hire a copywriter or editor if you don't feel comfortable writing the website content yourself.
Engaging
- Interactive
- Many consumers are more likely to buy from a site that has reviews. Look for a company that can syndicate and manage reviews on your behalf.
- Consider including a discussion area such as a blog or forum to give customers a reason to return. Post regular news that's likely to be of interest to your target audience.
- Content: Regularly updated content helps keep your site fresh and encourages customers to return.
- Customer Loyalty
- Help generate loyalty and obtain potential customers' email addresses - invite them to sign-up for newsletters or enter competitions.
- Consider giving something away for free - it's a great reason for people to come to your site.
- Offer to save buyers' names and addresses to make it easier for them next time they make a purchase. You can do this using a cookie on their browser but you must (legally) ask their permission to do so.
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