E-Commerce Web Design - Urban Media
Are you the owner of an ecommerce business? If so you will be highly reliant on your website to generate business, so when was the last time you dedicated time to objectively reviewing your web pages to ensure they are as effective as they can be? If it's been a while, then a web design review could make for a valuable business New Year's resolution.
Compliancy
Business Laws are regularly updated, so regulations that you didn't need to comply with a year or so ago will have come into force and may impact on your business. To avoid the possibility of costly fines, it is worth checking out recent regulations that apply to your industry, to ensure that you are up to speed.
An example is the introduction of the UK Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 in June of this year. These regulations were enforced to protect consumers as they improve the cancellation rights and support transparent pricing. Your website should clearly show all charges, not just for the goods, but also for extended warranties, postage etc. Clear payment buttons, such as €Pay Now' or €Confirm Payment' must also be shown on the website, so the customers understand the point when they are committing to the purchase.
In addition consumers are entitled to return non-perishable or personalised goods within 14 days, even if they are not faulty and a refund must be paid within 14 days. Finally any customer service helplines must not be charged at premium rate. Provide clear information on your exchange, returns and cancellation policy on your website that not only complies, but also provides reassurance to customers.
Online Competition
Your online success not only relates to what your company are offering, but what you are offering in relation to the competition. Taking time to undertake some competitor analysis will ensure that you are still a preferable option for potential customers. Sometimes an honest outsider can help you to look objectively at your web design in relation to others. A good overview of your competitors will help you to make improvements to your web pages.
Type your top selling goods or services into the search engine, to discover your current online competitors and take a thorough look at their web pages. Look at the web design, the presentation of goods and how easy it is to find, select and process items. Do they match your returns and exchanges policy?
Check out their prices including delivery charges and their delivery times. Evidence has shown that free delivery can significantly improve the volume of orders placed. If your competitors are offering cheaper delivery, you should at least match them and if this isn't viable, then look at improving the speed and convenience of your delivery service.
Product Presentation
When you start out in business, you present goods and services in some sort of logical order. Having been in business for a few years or more, you should have clear data to show your best selling items, your most profitable items and complementary goods that are regularly bought together. This data should inform an update of your product presentation.
Ensure that your top selling items are clearly shown at the top of your web pages. Add links to current product reviews or case studies for these popular items and include images of any goods that are commonly purchased with these top sellers. At the same time, remove out dated goods or those which fail to generate interest. If you have a large quantity in stock, price them cheaply and add them to your sale items to help clear your stores.
Is it time to take some new photos? Images are the main guide an online buyer has to check that your goods match their requirements. If specific details aren't clearly shown in the main image, add additional photos to capture these elements.
Compliancy
Business Laws are regularly updated, so regulations that you didn't need to comply with a year or so ago will have come into force and may impact on your business. To avoid the possibility of costly fines, it is worth checking out recent regulations that apply to your industry, to ensure that you are up to speed.
An example is the introduction of the UK Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 in June of this year. These regulations were enforced to protect consumers as they improve the cancellation rights and support transparent pricing. Your website should clearly show all charges, not just for the goods, but also for extended warranties, postage etc. Clear payment buttons, such as €Pay Now' or €Confirm Payment' must also be shown on the website, so the customers understand the point when they are committing to the purchase.
In addition consumers are entitled to return non-perishable or personalised goods within 14 days, even if they are not faulty and a refund must be paid within 14 days. Finally any customer service helplines must not be charged at premium rate. Provide clear information on your exchange, returns and cancellation policy on your website that not only complies, but also provides reassurance to customers.
Online Competition
Your online success not only relates to what your company are offering, but what you are offering in relation to the competition. Taking time to undertake some competitor analysis will ensure that you are still a preferable option for potential customers. Sometimes an honest outsider can help you to look objectively at your web design in relation to others. A good overview of your competitors will help you to make improvements to your web pages.
Type your top selling goods or services into the search engine, to discover your current online competitors and take a thorough look at their web pages. Look at the web design, the presentation of goods and how easy it is to find, select and process items. Do they match your returns and exchanges policy?
Check out their prices including delivery charges and their delivery times. Evidence has shown that free delivery can significantly improve the volume of orders placed. If your competitors are offering cheaper delivery, you should at least match them and if this isn't viable, then look at improving the speed and convenience of your delivery service.
Product Presentation
When you start out in business, you present goods and services in some sort of logical order. Having been in business for a few years or more, you should have clear data to show your best selling items, your most profitable items and complementary goods that are regularly bought together. This data should inform an update of your product presentation.
Ensure that your top selling items are clearly shown at the top of your web pages. Add links to current product reviews or case studies for these popular items and include images of any goods that are commonly purchased with these top sellers. At the same time, remove out dated goods or those which fail to generate interest. If you have a large quantity in stock, price them cheaply and add them to your sale items to help clear your stores.
Is it time to take some new photos? Images are the main guide an online buyer has to check that your goods match their requirements. If specific details aren't clearly shown in the main image, add additional photos to capture these elements.
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