our guide to a great ecommerce website.

If you’re going into the ecommerce business, your website is the most important purchase you’ll ever make. Think of your ecommerce website as a store front (which is what is really is). If the front of your store looks run down and miserable, or gaudy and cheap, you’re probably not going to lure too many customers inside. No matter how great your products, and how fabulous your level of service, unless your ecommerce website is just right, you’ll be scaring your customers away before they even get inside.

Make sure your website works for your rather than against you by following these tips to a great ecommerce website.

Make your ecommerce website functional rather than fancy.

An overly-complicated, fussy-looking ecommerce website with lots of graphics and embellishments (animated gifs, flashing mouse trails) can be a real turn off for customers. Remember, they’re here to shop, not to look at pretty pictures or admire your graphic design. Make things easy on them. Organise your ecommerce web site in a logical manner, making it easy for them to find the products they might be interested in. Take time making sure your item pictures are clear and your descriptions as comprehensive as possible - that way you’ll reduce the likelihood of customers having to email you for more information, or just going somewhere else.

Think about the design of your ecommerce website

Above all, keep your design clean, simple and professional. Resist the impulse some webmasters have of including pictures of your children or your pets; you may think they’re the cutest things on the planet, but your customers are only here to shop. Cut the clutter from your ecommerce web site and let them get on with it!

Chose the right payment facility for your ecommerce website.

When you’re creating your ecommerce web site, you’ll soon discover just how many different payment options you can offer; credit cards, debit cards, paypal, worldpay, bank transfer, money order, personal check. In general, your best option is to offer as many different options as you feel comfortable with. Don’t make it difficult for your customers to pay you.

Internet shoppers are generally looking for a quick and easy way to make a purchase. They want to click a few buttons and be done; what they don’t want to have to do is fill out a lengthy form, make a telephone call or write out a cheque and have to remember to post it (and remember that if you’re offering personal cheque as a method of payment, you’ll have to hope they remember to post it too - and sometimes they won’t.) Make it easy on them, and offer as many payment options as you can.

At the same time, try and make things easy for yourself, too. Remember, if you accept payment by credit or debit card (whether through a merchant account or through paypal), you get your payment straight away and can ship the product immediately. If you’re using personal cheque or money orders the whole process can take a couple of weeks - something both you and your customers will want to try and avoid.

Hot Igloo Productions Ltd. is a website design and online marketing firm offering high quality designs at affordable prices, Click here to view our portfolio and or contact us for a quote.