Warmest Greetings,

:: Wednesday, August 07, 2002 ::

10 Things to Consider When Designing Your E-Commerce Website

1. Do you provide adequate information about your products?

2. Do you offer online help for your online applications, such as a link to a FAQ, or popup online help manual?

3. Is the design optimized for search engines and directories?

4. How different is the online experience from the Brick and Mortar one, your print brochure or your print catalog? (What is the added benefit of an online version?)

5. Branding. Customers like consistency in both layout and flow of pages. They'll return to websites where they feel comfortable and are familiar with the UI. Therefore, don't keep making major changes to your logo, layout, colors and fonts.

6. Is the objective of your website VERY clear in the first few minutes after loading?

7. Is your shopping cart placed below the scroll? You'd better have a good reason why your users must scroll down for each page of the buying process.

8. Be careful where you place links. Avoid links to other pages during the shopping cart process. Why give users a reason to abandon the cart? (And stop a potential sale?)

9. Accentuate the positive. What are the benefits of the website? 1) fun 2) network 3) best prices and values 4) automation 5) privacy 6) security. Your design and content should promote the reasons why users are interested and what they're coming to find.

10. Browsers and resolutions. If your target market is more likely to be using AOL for email and browsing, be sure you make design accommodations. Same thing with Web TV, or your high-end business consumer who has access to larger monitors, T1 line, and media plug-ins.


10 Things to Consider When Promoting Your E-Commerce Website

1. Who is your target market? General? Mature? High school/college age? Gender?

2. Are you a supplier, distributor, crafter, affiliate, industry specific? Narrow your focus. Specialize.

3. What motivates your shoppers? Research their needs, wants and known choice patterns. Be sure your website fulfills those needs and their expectations. Advertise your knowledge and attention to this sort of detail.

4. What benefit will the consumer receive by visiting your E-Commerce website? Make a list for yourself. Use this list when promoting, talking about and designing your website.

5. Know the media habits of your users. Will they seek your products/services via radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, Internet?

6. Are there online activities where your products/services would fit, such as auctions or malls? Consider partnerships.

7. Demographics. A quick poll on your site will help determine things like user income level, profession, online spending habits and much more.

8. Learn what print media and online sources offer information/services or host E-Commerce websites. Advertise on them. Write articles for them. Send press releases to them.

9. Study your competition. Note their UI, status in search engines, pricing and types of services offered to customers.

10. Testimonials. Your best advertisement is a satisfied customer. Monitor feedback and use it to guide improvements to both website design and advertising strategies.

:: posted by Kim Krause Berg on 8/07/2002 10:11:32 AM

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