Every retail web site seeks to increase its sales revenue. It’s one of the most important indicators of business success. Many business owners mistakenly look towards advertising and marketing to boost their sales, not knowing that sometimes, the answer to this challenge sits in their online premises. When done right ecommerce web design can attract conversions and reel in repeat customers to your online shop.
Looking into how to create a retail website, choosing the right platform, carefully planning the content and design, and selecting a suitable retail website template - these are all things that contribute to the success of your online venture. You could be wasting advertising dollars by simply implementing ad campaigns without optimizing your website for sales.
1. Always think of your customer
Everything about your website - from the product images and descriptions to the contact forms and checkout process - should be able to influence a user’s decision to complete a purchase. You need to keep your target customer in mind when building a retail website. User experience can directly affect your online store’s ability to attract conversions.
2. Avoid sliders on the homepage
Here’s something interesting: sliders - or banner images appearing in a slideshow format on your homepage don’t really increase sales. If anything, many customers tend to get annoyed by this feature. It might seem like a good idea at first - using sliders in retail website design to highlight different products and features. But the reality of it is that this feature has not been proven to increase sales so you’re better off without it. Instead, it’s better to use that upper half of the page to promote the most important message of your website.
3. Highlight popular products
Another tip on how to build a retail website is to leverage on the bandwagon effect by highlighting popular products or service plans on your site. People patronize products that other people like. This is why many marketers use such phrases as “recommended by most doctors” or “the #1 brand in the US.” Customers are more likely to purchase items that other people enjoy.
4. Explore different landing page designs
One of the best things about Strikingly is that you can switch to a different retail website template should you change your mind mid-way through the development process. It’s also okay to change your template once the site is live, especially if you find that users are not as receptive to your current selection.
By listening to traffic analytics, learn more about how your customers are responding to different messages on your landing page. For instance, many brands find that removing any references of pricing on the banner section when promoting a product or service actually helped in attracting more conversions. They found that pricing is not a huge factor when customers are already sold on the features of the product. Conversely, in retail website designs, notice how a sense of urgency in the CTA promoting discounts and other offers can actually help usher a sale.
5. Consider offering money-back guarantees and easy returns
Capture customers who are still on the fence about your products by offering easy returns. When you build a retail web site, consider including return guidelines and conditions to convince buyers to take the plunge about the item they are looking at. Do not promise anything you cannot deliver, however. But the more ironclad your guarantee is, the greater your potential for sales conversions.
6. Remove unnecessary checkout steps
Finally, keep your checkout process streamlined. Simplifying this process can help boost your sales because let’s face it, no one ever has the time to go through several forms and pages just to buy a pair of pants online.
