Beyond the Home Page: Ecommerce Web Site Design
A Home Business Article Contributed by Donna M. Brown
Home May Be Where the Heart is, but It's Not Necessarily Where the Sale is in Ecommerce Web Site Design
In ecommerce web site design, the home page is equivalent to a store front. The home page welcomes shoppers to your sight, gives them a feeling for your professionalism, describes the products and services you offer immediately and is your first chance to make a sale.
Your sales pages are secondary and, of course necessary. They should be easy to find, easy to access and efficient for the busy shopper. Of course, your shopping cart page is a necessary, functional part of your overall ecommerce web site design. However, in addition to these basic pages, web designers should always offer something more to people who are willing to linger and learn about you and the products and services you sell.
Stick with Standard Titles in Ecommerce Web Site Design, but Offer Stellar Information
Ecommerce shoppers need to feel a certain level of confidence in the people from whom they purchase goods and services. You can make your ecommerce web site design more friendly, personal and usable by adding a traditional "About Us" page with stellar information.
Your "About Us" Page should include information that is relative to the likely interests of your customers, but should offer a little something extra to let those customers see a glimpse of you, the man or woman behind the curtain, so they feel connected to a human being who cares about customer service.
On the "About Us" page you have the opportunity to tell customers who you really know. Include a brief (very brief) history of your organization or business. Publish your mission statement, share your goals and reasons for embarking on the type of business in which you are involved.
Don't bore customers with personal details they may or may not want or need to know, but don't be afraid to include a picture of you or the one or two individuals you consider to be the face or faces of your organization. This page, or links from this page should include company profile information that is convincing enough to help that cautious customer make the decision to spend money in your ecommerce store.
Tell people where your company is based, how long it has been in existence, why you sell what you sell and how you do what you do. Disclose the number of employees who work with or for your company (putting a positive spin on the largeness or smallness of the number) and include other information that you believe is important to the customer who really cares who you are.
A Frequently Asked Questions page could spare your customers some time and grief when the gears of their inquisitive minds start to spin. Include questions -- - that really are frequently asked -- - and complete answers, but also include a direct e-mail link to somebody in your company tasked with answering customers questions. Make sure questions that come in are tallied, answered and eventually included on your FAQ page if the same questions become more and more frequent.
Customers Want to Know Their Rights, Include Information in Your Ecommerce Web Site Design
What will you do with the information I submit on your site? What if I am not happy with your product after I receive it? Do I get technical support? Many of these types of questions can be answered in a page that clearly describes your customers rights, responsibilities and expectations of privacy.
Don't scare customers away with long pages of legalese. Keep it simple and to the point. If you plan to sell e-mail addresses to other vendors, tell your customers. If you plan not to sell there information, tell your customers - and then make sure you don't!
