Tips for Building an Effective Online Store

Start Small and Then Grow the Business

Since your resources are probably limited, it is important to keep everything simple when you start. Chances are that you won’t get it right first time and you might need to spend a considerable amount of time and money to try out new things and finetune your business model. It would be a waste to spend one’s entire budget on the first attempt.

While budget considerations are important, it is equally important to keep future growth in mind. We have seen too many businesses that are very successful at marketing but don’t have the systems in place to handle growth. These businesses will eventually fail.

Don’t worry about operational issues too much when you start. But think about how your processes can be optimised later, when your order volume grows. Choose a solution that allows you to start small, but that can grow with you.

Image and Appearance

The appearance of your site should be clean and focussed. Graphics don’t necessarily need to be flash. Some of the most successful retail sites use a surprisingly simple layout. Of course, the graphics intensity of your site depends on the products you sell. For example, if you sell cosmetics you will probably want to use more graphics than if you sell books. But as a guide, keep your site simple and fast. Less is better than more, unless you have a specific reason to do otherwise. Think twice, before you implement that triple JavaScript button rollover effect. You may think that it looks cool, but a customer on a 56K dial-up modem link certainly won’t.

Website Navigation

Website navigation should be consistent across the entire site. Main navigation elements should be the same on every page of your website.

Keep the navigation structure of your site as flat as possible. Count the number of clicks that are required to navigate to a particular product on your site. Ideally, any of your pages should be accessible with not more than three clicks. Four clicks is the absolute maximum.

If your site contains more than just a few products, you will probably want to implement an efficient search feature. A search feature is important, since it gives your customers a way to quickly find a product if they know what they are looking for.

Give customers a simple search option, as well as an advanced Boolean search that can be used by experienced users.
Allow customers to find common misspellings. You can add misspellings into the keyword field so that customers can’t see them, but the products will still show up in the search results.
Make sure that the search returns both category and item matches. Category matches may be more relevant, so they should appear on top of the search results.

Continuing Maintenance

Before you build it, think about how you are going to maintain it. There is no point in getting a graphic designer to create fancy buttons when this means that you will then need to go back to the designer every time you add a new content page. Instead, ask the designer to create a layout that is extensible, so that you can add to it as you go.

Credibility, Trust, Respect

Answer customer enquiries promptly. This is of particular importance for complaints. Many customers have legitimate concerns and issues that they want to raise with you. These should be taken seriously and deserve a prompt and accurate reply. Most complaints are relatively easy to resolve. Customers who take the time to complain are often the most loyal ones after their complaint has been resolved. In addition, customer feedback helps you to improve your customer service and overall business model.

If you receive good testimonials, publish them on your website. There is no better advertising than good customer testimonials. Of course, you will need to have the written permission from your customer to do that. Alternatively, you could remove identifying details such as the customer’s name before you publish the testimonial.

Your website should contain plain language information about your security and privacy policies. Customers have a legitimate right to know how personal information that they provide to you will be used. They will appreciate you being upfront about these issues.

Sell Without Shame

The purpose of an online store is to sell, not to show off flashy features or cute content (most beginners make that mistake). Stick to the basics. Allow customers direct access to the products you want them to buy, without distractions such as splash screens or boring company introductions.

The first thing people should see when they land at your site are your products, not your entire company history or similar ravings. Put your best selling products on the homepage.
Make it easy for customers to buy online. A shopping cart and good online checkout process are mandatory for an online store. People must be able to make a purchase instantly for your store to be successful.
If you advertise a specific product, point people to the web address of that product, not a generic web address such as the homepage. Otherwise, too many people will click on the “back” button. You will loose sales and waste your advertising budget.
General information such as your company history, policies and support section should be easily accessible through the main navigation bar. However, this information should not be the focus of your site.