Ten tips for creating a successful e-commerce site
- Location, location, location
- Branding
- First impressions
- Efficient downloading
- Ease of use
- Information: More is better
- Easy money
- Site security
- Legal compliance
- A significant presence
Location, location, location In the physical world, location refers to your city/state, the neighbourhood where your business is located, whether you’re on a freeway, major street, or back street, etc. In the online world, location is defined by where your Web servers are: onsite at your business, with a hosting company, or with your Internet Service Provider (ISP). In the case of both the physical the and online worlds, location can make all the difference, especially when it comes to the control you have over your site and its reliability. After all, a site that’s down doesn’t bring in any money.
Branding Building a name and reputation is just as important for an online business as for a bricks-and-mortar one—maybe more so. A business name that people will retain should be coupled with a domain name that’s easy to remember and come back to. Something like www.smith-cattle-herders.com is much more descriptive and memorable than www.joesmith.com (even if the latter weren’t likely to be taken). Keep the domain name as short as you can while still keeping it unique and descriptive. And watch out for confusion or unintended meanings caused by combining words in domain name. For example, John’s Exchange becomes johnsexchange.com, which can also be read as “John Sex Change."
First impressions The front page of your Web site is your first (and maybe last) chance to make a good first impression. An attractive site can draw in customers; a blah or unappealing site can drive them away. Logos and taglines help distinguish your site from all the others, but don’t go overboard with animations and special effects. Keep it professional. Unless someone on your staff has a talent for design, it’s worth the expense to pay a professional to design your site to set the stage and mood that’s appropriate for your particular business and target audience. Colour, fonts, graphics, and layout all determine the impression a site makes and there is no one-size-fits-all template. If the budget is tight, have the professional designer just do the front page.
Efficient downloading In today’s “instant gratification” society, people will click away from a site that doesn’t download quickly. Make sure your Web server is on a fast connection and don’t load up the graphics and other large files that take a lot of time to download. Remember that many people, especially in rural areas (who are prime candidates for buying online because they aren’t near retail outlets), are still connecting via 56Kbps (or less) dialup connections.
Ease of use There’s nothing that will drive potential customers away faster than a site that’s frustrating to navigate. If essential information is buried deep within multiple levels of a site, with no clear way to get there, you’ll lose business no matter how great your product is. Navigation buttons or bars leading to most frequently needed information should be displayed on every page, and a site map, with cross-referenced links, will help site visitors find less frequently accessed information. Don’t make visitors dig for crucial information. For example, include shipping charges on the pricing page; don’t make customers go through the entire order process to find out what shipping will cost them. Ensure that it takes as few clicks as possible to make a purchase.
Information: More is better The only thing that’s more frustrating than information that’s buried on an inside page is information that’s missing altogether. Provide detailed specifications for each of your products. A person who’s considering buying a table wants to know its size (length, width, height), whether it’s made of real wood or laminate, how much assembly is required, and so forth. Anticipate common general questions and provide an FAQ to answer them. For instance, what is your return policy for defective items?
Easy money Don’t make it difficult for your customers to buy from you. It goes without saying that you should be set up to accept credit card payments, but don’t forget about those who don’t have or don’t want to use credit cards, either. The more options customers have, the more likely they’ll spend their money on your site instead of somewhere else. You should also have the capability to process phone or mail-in orders. Make the phone number easy to find and provide an order form that can be printed and mailed. Some folks like to do their preliminary shopping on the Web and make the final purchase in person, so if you do have physical stores, be sure you show the address(es) on your site.
Site security Identity theft is a big concern, and rightly so. Customers don’t want to give you sensitive information like a credit card number unless they can trust you to keep that information safe. It’s not enough that you won’t misuse their info; you must also show them that you won’t let it fall into the hands of someone who will. Consumer trust in businesses to protect their personal info is low following numerous security breaches of large company databases. Ensure that all transactions are encrypted and use authenticated SSL digital certificates. Play up your security measures on your site.
Legal compliance Check federal, state, and local laws that affect your site. Are you required to collect sales tax on the items or services you sell online? If you collect personal information, you may be required to post a privacy statement describing your policy for sharing that information.
A significant presence No matter how great your site looks and how easy it is to navigate and buy, no one will spend money there unless they know you’re there. Get the word out through traditional advertising, promotion, and word of mouth. Make sure the URL is featured on your business cards, letterhead, print ads, etc. Get listed in the major search engines. Exchange links with others in related businesses. Promote your site every chance you get; you never know who your next customer will be.
By Debra Littlejohn Shinder, MCSE, MVP
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