WEBSITE DESIGN ARTICLES

Why do most E-Commerce Sites FAIL and How Can You Make Your Site Succeed?

One of the most common reasons for building a Web site is to sell products. However, many (if not most) online stores fail to fully realize their potential. Most online shoppers have various levels of Internet savvy. Successful online stores cater to all of their needs. The following is a summary of common online shopping mistakes, tips for creating more effective ecommerce sites, and examples of online stores that are doing it right.

Reasons for Shopping Online:

• Convenience.
• Better prices.
• Availability of unique products.

Reasons for NOT Shopping Online:

• Shipping and handling costs too high.
• Delivery takes too long.
• Expense and inconvenience of returning a product.

Reasons for NOT Reordering from an Online Merchant:

• It took too long for the order to arrive.
• Product was not what expected.
• Difficult to reach, slow, or non-responsive customer service.
• No order confirmation or receipt.

Shopper Complaints

Not Enough Information

• Inadequate ordering information -- shipping, handling, or tax information that is unavailable until well into the check out process.
• Inadequate product descriptions.
• Insufficient product images.
• Product photos that are too small (and no larger images are available).
• Insufficient or difficult to locate customer service or merchant information. No estimated shipping date.
• No price information available unless you enter the ordering process.

Confusion and Frustration

• Can't find the desired product on the site.
• Difficulty in locating desired information about products, pricing, shipping, or customer service.
• Frustrating, complicated, or time-consuming ordering procedures.
• Technical problems (especially those that necessitate starting over).
• Frustration with slow sites.

Lack of Trust

• Concerns over credit card security.
• Concerns about privacy issues.
• Concerns with product quality.

Tips for Online Store Design

Ideally, your online store should offer some motivation for the shopper to purchase from you instead of at a local store. The most common reason for shopping online is convenience. If information is hard to find or the check out procedure is cumbersome, frustration will outweigh convenience -- and your customers will head for the mall. When designing an online store, we consider the needs of your target audience, the type of products you are selling, and the number of products your store will offer. Small stores obviously don't have the need for functionality and enhancements found on large stores, nor is it affordable. However, small stores can create great, user-friendly shopping experiences which even large stores often have difficulty providing.

Here are some specific tips for designing sites that will turn shoppers into buyers:

• Provide detailed and accurate product descriptions.
• Make information about shipping charges and delivery available.
• Display the store phone number and an email link on every page, including shopping cart and check out pages.
• Include direct links to shopping cart and check out on every page of the site.
• Provide clearly visible links to contact information and policies.
• Attempt to recreate the off-line shopping experience by providing the option of viewing enlarged images, color or texture swatches, images of the product from different angles, images with zooming and panning capabilities, etc.
• Offer as many customer conveniences as possible (or affordable).
• Include a search function on larger stores.
• Adhere to good Web design principles -- strive for a quick loading, visually appealing site with logically organized and abundant content, and intuitive navigation.
• ALWAYS use a secure socket layer (SSL) for transferring private information, especially credit card transactions. (This may seem obvious but I have visited sites that take online orders without a secure server.)

Online Store Examples Designed by EZSolution Corp

www.drumsetc.com
www.genuinetobacco.com