E-commerce

4. Setting Up a Successful Site

The most successful online shops concentrate on one type of product and provide plenty of related information.

4.1 Design the shop so that it is easy to look around and easy to purchase from.

• A simple design, without large pictures or complex graphics, will load quickly and save customers time. Visitors swiftly move on if a site is slow.
• Test your site thoroughly, placing trial orders and acting out different scenarios.
• Do not overload customers with too much information at any one time, but make it easy for them to check details if they wish.

4.2 Give visitors reasons to return to your site. Get them involved as much as possible. Experts believe that your best chance of a sale is when a person returns for the third or fourth time.

• Make people who visit your shop feel like part of a community. Consider providing news, discussion forums, and reviews.
• Update your site frequently so it is always new. Try to change promotions and add new products regularly.

4.3 Provide support pages that help users get the most from your product or service.

• Include plenty of background information. For example, case studies, answers to frequently asked questions, product specs, parts lists, and user guides.
• Publish news about product revisions, awards, and recommendations on the site.
• Provide clear information about customer rights, delivery times, warranties, and exchange policies.

4.4 Include links to other relevant sites, organisations and manufacturers.

• Users will start to view your site as a major information source for your product type.

4.5 Let people know your shop is there and open for business.

• Publicise your shop on related sites, either by paying for advertising space or by negotiating reciprocal links with companies selling related products.
• Use targeted email to persuade new people to visit your site. Use social media such as Twitter and Facebook to engage with potential customers and promote offers.
• Include the details of your online shop in your stationery, your marketing literature, and any advertising you do.
• Consider using pay-per-click advertising through search engines to target people who search for particular things online.