posted by CAPTIVATEDESIGNS.COM // January 15, 2010 // Build Your Website

Gone are the days where you need to have a brick and mortar store in order to run a successful retail business. Welcome to the world of e-commerce! The success of taking your retail business online starts with a solid marketing strategy and most of all an e-commerce website design, built for success. A great e-commerce website design makes it easy for your website visitor to do business with you. Here are five tips for making your e-commerce website design a success.

1. Showcase Your Products – When crafting your e-commerce website design architecture, think about your customers. The moment visitors come to your website they should know what you sell without having to look for much. Highlight some of your products with a simple flash intro. Make your specials stands out. If you offer free shipping or a money back guarantee, this should all be visible at first glance. Focus on strategically positioning your products; better yet list your product categories on the homepage. Ideally you should have a sidebar with a list of all your products, as well as a product drop-down menu on the main menu bar. Position your products strategically at every chance you get.

2. Focus on Usability – Your new e-commerce website design should make it easy for your customers to get from one product category to the next. Better yet, make sure there is a "continue shopping" option when a product is purchased and ensure that the option to "view shopping cart" is available. Also give your customers the option to add or delete items from their shopping cart to create a user-friendly shopping experience.

3. Increase Your Average Sale Per Visitor by Cross-selling – Do you have products that complement each other or might be ideal for the customer? Cross-sell your other products by suggesting other items in a non-disruptive manner. For example, if you sell skin care products, perhaps if a customer purchased a night-cream, it might be wise to also suggest a cleanser once the customer has added the night cream to their shopping cart. You can suggest the cleanser by using a simple pop-up or automation. A great e-commerce website design should cover all the bases by seizing the opportunity to sell your products at every opportunity.

4. Provide an Option to Check Out as a Guest – I have seen too many e-commerce website designs that include only two options -- create an account or sign-in for returning customers. People like options; don’t force your customers to create a user account that stores their information if they don’t want to. It may lead to you losing the sale. Add an option for your customers to check out as a guest. You can still capture their email information to send offers, order confirmation and a thank you during the checkout so there is no need to force your customers to create an online account.

5. Give Your Customers Peace of Mind – Use a recognizable Secure Sockets Layer or SSL for website security. In this day and age where identity theft is so rampant, it is important to highlight to your customers that you are taking steps to secure their personal and sensitive information. Add an SSL certificate to your website and publish that it is protected by a credible company such as Verisign or GeoTrust, which are companies that are recognizable by most online shoppers.

Nicole McCullum is the founder of Captivate Designs, a web design company that provides small and mid-sized businesses with custom website design solutions including business web design, e-commerce web design, graphic design and internet marketing. Ms. McCullum has been featured on Inc.com as a Web Design Expert, and her web design tips and articles have been published in NY Enterprise Report and Strategy Magazine. For more information, visit www.CaptivateDesigns.com.

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Nicole McCullum

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