Member Article

Design tips to boost your online shop

Advice from Richard Stevenson, ePages

E-commerce is getting more competitive. If a visitor comes to your online shop and doesn’t like the look of it or finds something that doesn’t work, they’ll be just a click away from one of your competitors.

In short, getting the design elements right in your online shop plays a key part in keeping your customers on your website and encouraging them to buy.

Keep your content slider clean

A couple of years ago, having large header pictures at the top of every page was a standard look on many ecommerce websites. Today, this is considered a waste of space. Instead, present your top products using a content slider. Don’t overload it with graphical elements and text; keep it clean and ensure there is a clear call to action (CTA).

Don’t use a welcome text

Welcome text at the top of your home page might seem like a nice way to engage with your customers and add a personal touch but it takes away valuable space which you could use for prominently placing products or special offers.

Our recommendation is to skip the welcome text and add a call to action image or a special offer to lead your customers where you want them to go. If you want to have SEO-optimised text on your home page, place this at the bottom.

Write individual and unique product descriptions

Often, shop owners settle for describing their products with one or two basic sentences or, even worse, by just copying the original product description of the manufacturer.

Not only does this negatively affect your Google ranking but it also sends the wrong message to your customers. Take time to write your own unique product descriptions that are easy to read and show your customers that you know your products well.

Avoid using clichéd stock shots

Your website is the main face of your business but you don’t want to have the same appearance as your online competitors. So stay away from standard stock photos and try taking pictures of your own products.

Authenticity and personality are more important than ever. Show your customers what makes your shop unique. If you are not able to produce your own pictures, take some time to look for stock pictures that fit your shop perfectly.

Focus on one font

Have you painted your living room in ten different colours? If not, why should your online shop have ten different fonts? A lack of design integrity gives your website a chaotic and amateur look. Choose your own corporate design and focus on one main font for your headlines and another one for product descriptions.

For whitepapers on how to boost your online sales, check out the whitepaper section of ePages

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by RICHARD STEVENSON .