With November now a week old, it’s fair to say that the holiday shopping season is in full swing. Online stores everywhere are receiving more traffic from savvy shoppers looking to find the best deals early. Is your company website an inviting one? Redesigning your online shop will help to lure more holiday shoppers to it. What are some effective ways to spruce things up?
Keep your landing page designs simple and easy.
The fewer pages an online shopper has to navigate, the more pleasant his/her shopping experience will be. Your site should be both easy to click through and easy to read. Limit the amount of text copy. Make your photos bright and vivid. Your online store should be a visual pleasure that offers a stress-free shopping excursion.
“Remove header and footer navigation and any sidebars or CTAs that are not related to the product(s) you’re trying to sell on that page,” advises Sonya Andrews on WooCommerce.com, “Keep your copy brief and easy to read by using a short description and bullets to address the key selling points. Limit the number of images you use. One large, high-quality product image can make a big impact.”
Create specific project categories.
Keep in mind that many holiday shoppers aren’t 100% sure about what they’re looking for. They may have some vague ideas, but could use some help in making their final buying decisions. Your site should make things easy for the unsure shopper. Create product categories such as “For Music Lovers” or “Perfect For Kids”. They will help guide your site’s visitors to product pages that will best suit their shopping needs.
On Domain.com, Natalie Brownell encourages e-retailers to be trusted resources. “How often have you heard someone say that the person they’re shopping for ‘already has everything they need’ or is ‘impossible to shop for’?” she asks, “Take the guesswork out of shopping for your customers by compiling a gift guide (or a few) for your site visitors… There should be no confusion as to whether your gift guide is best suited for someone’s grandmother or great-nephew.”
Call attention to shipping.
Do you offer free shipping? If so, this is something you should call attention to long before the final checkout page. It’s important to make clear if there are any additional costs for shipping early. This will help you to minimize cart abandonments. Andrews points out that calling attention to shipping options and delivery times can both incentivize sales and reduce customer service tickets.
“Providing the option of next-day or two-day shipping, even for an added cost, could just give them that extra push to make a purchase,” she notes, “In the era of Amazon Prime, customers almost demand a free shipping option. If you’re offering free shipping, you’ll want to feature this prominently — especially on your product pages.”
Do you allow your customers to make online purchases?
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