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Creating an Effective Ecommerce Site
May 3rd, 2010 | Posted in Web Design.You’ll need a “shopping cart” solution that visitors can use to make purchases at your site. Once the eCommerce site is up and running, the focus can shift to marketing and sales, which will increase the prospects for a good profit margin.
A Guide To Building An eCommerce Site
Choosing eCommerce Software
There are a number of different programs, but the ones to focus on are a shopping cart solution, automatic shipping modules and payment gateways, like PayPal or Google Checkout. Do some research by reading lots of reviews from technology websites and publications, and talk with merchants who run successful eCommerce sites. Be sure that once you have chosen the software package, that you save all components to the hard drive of your computer.
Personal Touches
If your business is on the small side, it is possible to turn that into an advantage by making your Ecommerce site more personal. It will create a stronger bond between you and your customers, with your customers feeling like they are getting better customer service.
You could try some of these things to add personal touches to your site: About Us The ‘about us’ section is helpful for customers who are interested in getting a bit of information with regard to the owners and managers. You might want to provide a short synopsis of your experience in a particular field, even throwing in a few photos to make it more personal in nature. Don’t get too carried away since this can backfire if people think you are making things up or exaggerating.
Blog
Create a regular blog to update customers on special offers and new products. Create posts that are friendly and conversational to personalize the business and make it more approachable. Setting up a comments box will help you interact with customers.
FAQ and Contact Information
Use the names of individuals on your team to personalize the experience for your customers. Prospective customers are more confident about making purchases if they know they have someone to contact for a special request or in the event of a problem.
Searching for Products
It is important to consider the different ways that people will search for the products you are selling on your Ecommerce website. People may know what the exact product they want to find is and want a search box to look for this. However, other customers may be interested in browsing through various categories or price ranges. Offer different ways to search for products to make all your consumers happy. Set up a place on the site to display new product releases and special offers. You can even make an online community on your Ecommerce website, by setting up a forum where customers can talk about the products and offer their own research and content.
Gift Wrap, Other Extras
Once you have the basic eCommerce site running smoothly with an efficient checkout system, you can offer extras to boost sales as well as service. Gift wrapping is an example of such an extra. Consumers often turn to Internet retailers for gift purchases as well as gift ideas, so the next logical step is to offer gift wrapping.
Policies: Be Up Front
Consumers will not be happy if there are hidden costs and negative policies hidden throughout the purchase process. You should be open and honest with your consumers to make sure they come back and buy from you again. Prior to completing a transaction, customers will want to know about three issues: security and privacy policies, return policies, and additional charges. Clearly post all of this information on the website to save your consumers the trouble of looking for it.
Stephen Grisham, Sr. is a copy writer for InfoServe Media, LLC. Please visit if you are looking to create a website, or if you just need a few changes to an existing site, InfoServe Media also offers website maintenance.
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