7. Website Storefronts and e-commerce Sites

If your site includes a storefront for e-commerce, you have another level of consideration.  Your storefront must be easy to use. 

It must allow the customer to choose a product, get pricing and shipping costs on the product, complete the transaction and get an order number, and/or invoice confirmation via email. 

That means you have to accept PayPal, and/or credit cards. 

While some customers may prefer to pay by check, and you will have to decide if you want to accept checks and hold products until these checks clear, MOST customers want to buy the item and move on to their next task.

They want reference information if they need to check on an order, and they want to know that you will send them their product as soon as you receive payment.

Keep in mind that you can invest a lot of money in building your e-commerce site and LOSE a lot of money in the process, even if your product is selling well. 

The cost to design and run a storefront and to process credit card payments is significant.  If you are going to have an e-commerce site, be sure you plan it well. 

Consider the dynamics in a retail storefront. 

A customer walks into the store, browses through products and shelves, picks up items and looks at them, considers the prices and then chooses a product and takes it to the cash register to pay for the item.

If you are going to sell your products online, you need to provide plenty of content and product description (including sizes, dimensions, colors, and comparisons with other similar products).

You need to clearly indicate the price and allow your customer to research and choose a shipping method. 

You must tell the customer if the item is in stock or backordered.  Ideally, you should have an email contact or live help if the customer has a question. 

You must respond immediately!  If you want to provide your own live chat and help desk services on your website, you can purchase software like:

HumanClick  or

LiveHelper

Be sure your customer service links are large, and clearly marked, so your client does not have to dig around to find information. 

DO provide an 'about us' section or a section about your policies.  If you have privacy statements and customer satisfaction policies, your customer will feel better about shopping in your store.

You probably want to have customer quotes and references on the storefront page, as well, to let your prospective client know that others are happy with your service. 

Provide an FAQ with information about your return policies, shipping prices and insurance charges if they apply. 

If you are so inclined, you can offer a print catalogue if the customer prefers to order one from your storefront and shop in the privacy of their own home.

Do not annoy your customers by presenting products that are marked 'sold' or pages that say 'under construction' or 'coming soon'. 

DO add new content frequently, so your returning customers will not be bored by seeing the same products they saw four months ago. 

If your site is dated or has current references, be careful to change these references frequently so you don't give the perception that your site is gathering dust.

Companies like VeriSign provide online shopping security and when a customer sees a label like this on your site, they know their credit card and personal information is safe. 

Do not collect more personal information than you need to process the order.

If you plan to collect demographic information to better understand your customer, be sure that it is OPTIONAL for your customer to complete this information, and not mandatory for them to complete the order.

You have to provide Secure Socket Layering (SSL) on your payment page so that your customer's private data is encrypted and cannot be stolen by a hacker. 

Remember to serve a 'redirect' page after your customer completes the order, to let them know the order has been confirmed and their credit card has been charged. 

And give them an invoice or purchase order number they can reference if they have questions on order status. 

• Introduction
• Why Is My Website Traffic So Low?
• Is your website designed for search engine optimization?
• What is the quality and integrity of your web hosting service?
• Does your website give enough information for customers to contact you or to purchase your product or service?
• Understanding Your Target Customer
• Design A Website To Attract More Clients - Keywords
• Use Keywords in Page Titles
• Understanding Keyword Density
• Site Component Design
• Web Hosting Services and Domain Names
• Are You Search Engine Savvy?
• 15 Simple Tips To Get Repeat Search Engine Traffic
• Keeping Up With The Competition
• Become A Web Sleuth
• Getting Professional Help
• Summary

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