These key information pages and how-to guides are important to support your ecommerce product pages, reinforce your terms and conditions, offer trust and ultimately add to the sales potential by providing help and assistance. As discussed in the products section, it is good to give some of this information on the actual product page, as an information resource box or links. … [Read more...] about Ecommerce Information Pages
Ecommerce Content Management System & Automation
Content Management System (CMS). This is the engine of an ecommerce website. It’s the back-end administration (dashboard) that has been organized and structured for you the retailer to add products, process orders, set up email communication, and to display content and products in an organized fashion on the website, for the user to then interactively purchase products. It … [Read more...] about Ecommerce Content Management System & Automation
Ecommerce Design Fundamentals for Optimum Usability
When selecting a designer or design team—see Step (3) for hiring tips—it is important to be aware that not all web designers are equal. Choose the right designer and watch your profits soar. Choose the wrong designer and experience 6–18 months or more of sheer frustration, just waiting for your new website to be built and launched. Your website design is the main element … [Read more...] about Ecommerce Design Fundamentals for Optimum Usability
Using Google “Content Experiments” for Conversion Optimization
One of the most challenging hurdles for ecommerce marketers is getting visitors to convert after they've landed on the site. This practice, commonly known as conversion optimization, is a big deal for ecommerce stores because web traffic is essentially pointless if it's not producing sales. Content Experiments is a new tool in Google Analytics that aids the conversion … [Read more...] about Using Google “Content Experiments” for Conversion Optimization
Selecting a Domain Name & Hosting Account for Your Ecommerce Store
A successful ecommerce website starts with a good domain name also known as a URL (‘Uniform Resource Locator’), and good branding based on your product, category and positioning. I recommend that the first step you take when selecting your domain name is to include your main keyword or key phrase and then brand it. Unless you have a few hundred thousand dollars to brand your … [Read more...] about Selecting a Domain Name & Hosting Account for Your Ecommerce Store
Supplying Products In Your Ecommerce Business – Drop Ship, Hold Stock or Fulfillment?
Before you set up your ecommerce website you will need to decide if you’ll be holding stock, drop shipping your products (delivery direct from your supplier to customer) or using a fulfillment service for handling any aspect of the operations process (pre-sales to shipping). Hold Stock. If you hold your own stock, you will need money to invest in this up-front, unless … [Read more...] about Supplying Products In Your Ecommerce Business – Drop Ship, Hold Stock or Fulfillment?
Ecommerce Marketing Elements to Optimize Conversions
To maximize visitor actions on your website—whether they order or not—you first need to get them there. Then you can get them to do what you want them to do, be it place an order, sign up for RSS, download a free report or opt-in to your newsletter. It is imperative to build a relationship with prospective and existing customers and that you communicate with them often. … [Read more...] about Ecommerce Marketing Elements to Optimize Conversions
Must-Have Ecommerce Features
Ecommerce software solutions are NOT all created equal. Look online, find websites you like, and make a note of features and modules that you want now and in the future. And remember, if you get your full feature and module requirement list in the initial build, you will save money later on. Simply deactivate the features you do not need when you launch. Ecommerce Feature … [Read more...] about Must-Have Ecommerce Features
Planning Your Ecommerce Shipping, Courier and Delivery Strategy.
Shipping & Logistics. I recommend that you decide what ecommerce shipping options, methods and services you plan on offering to your online customers, before you start on your website development. Will you use one shipping company or multiple ones, depending on the product and/or country? Will you use the national postal service as a cheaper option? … [Read more...] about Planning Your Ecommerce Shipping, Courier and Delivery Strategy.
Using Website Personalization & Recommendations for Maximum Sales
In addition to personalizing your email newsletters, you can greatly increase sales by improving your users’ experience with product offerings and recommendations. On the front-end (pre-sale) you can add cross-sell modules to your website allowing you to link products together, and incentivize customers to order multiple items per order as opposed to just one. For example, you … [Read more...] about Using Website Personalization & Recommendations for Maximum Sales