So you have an ecommerce site that you think is amazing?  The load time is under 10 seconds and it meets all of YOUR visual needs?  People visit daily and make purchases?  And of course you are beating your competition daily?  Well, have you ever asked how you could increase your sales?  How about, can you decrease the number of abandon carts?

Currently, I am working with a client to develop a product-voting tool for her new ecommerce site.  The goal is to give the client the ability to upload potential product and have her followers vote on the product.  If the vote casts well then she will supply both her store and online cart.  For a few months she has been casting these votes on Facebook only.  Ignoring her website and other social outlets.  While its great for her facebook following what about the people that are not following her on facebook?  In comes the answer, a tool that is run completely through her site.  With the push of a single button she will be able to push the voting cast out to all of her social networks!  Brilliant right!  How does it work you say?  Well, if you don’t already know I can tell you but you must contact me…

Contact me today for your Free Consultation.

info@nextpagewd.com

Make It Easy

by Justin Hailey, Owner of Next Page Web Design

In the last edition of Next Page Talks we addressed the importance of a website being visually stunning.  In this issue we will discuss what steps you can take in planning your website that will make the set-up process simple and fast.

Your Blueprint Shall Set You Free

When you begin a project, you need to start from the ground up, right?  A website is no different.  At Next Page Web Design we prefer to work with pencil and paper first.   Just like building a house, creating a blueprint prior to starting the actual work will make your job easier and more streamlined.  Words of wisdom: don’t be too concerned if you have to adjust your plan as you go.  Many designers do.

The Power is in the Planning

There are three major factors you should take into consideration while putting together your blueprint. First is your audience.  Who will be snooping around the internet for your products or services? Secondly, what is the product or the content of the site?  Navigation is the third aspect of your site that should be considered before starting the design process.  Once you have settled on who your audience is, what makes up the content of your site, and how your end users should navigate, you’ll find the rest simply falls into place.

 Who Cares?

Once you have answered the questions in the previous section, you will need to begin to cater your content to your target market.  Your specific target market can be tricky to figure out and may be ever changing.  This means that taking the time to re-evaluate the people/companies you are directing your marketing campaign towards is important.   If you are struggling to pin point your ideal followers, start by asking yourself, “Who do I want to visit my website?”  Then, research that segment of the population’s demographic.  Be prepared to answer the big topics like, Gender, Age, Marital Status, Education, Employment Status, Housing, and Household Income.  You can ask more detailed questions as you progress, but this will make for a good start.

The demographic information you gather will make it easier to determine your ideal follower’s interests.  The blueprint for your website should cater to the majority of your target market’s “likes.”  I use tools such as Google Insights to research what my target market is looking at online.  Once you have uncovered what people are searching for and what sites within that search are the most popular, you will have a basic idea of what features to add to your site.

Follow Me Here

Navigation happens to be one of the most important features on your site.  Where it is located and how logical it is plays an important role in keeping visitors at your site.  There are many ways to create your menu and page titles.  Say, for example, you have a single product you are selling.  You shouldn’t bury that info.  Instead, try to include that information on your welcome page.  If you offer several products, include a menu to quickly bring your viewers to the product and category they want to view.  This will keep your visitors engaged and on your site for a longer period of time.  A frustrating navigation menu creates a frustrated consumer – and frustrated consumers leave your website quickly!

Once you have your navigation set up, study your users’ habits.  They are the only true way to determine whether or not your user interface is working.  Are the people who visit your site viewing what you want them to view?  If not, what can you change about your navigation design to get them there?  Don’t make the mistake of using the “set it and forget it” method for your business.  As your business grows, so do your customers.

Does your site have a number of abandoned carts?  Have you notice people visit but don’t purchase?  Or are you just interested in confirmation?  This news blog is for you then.  The subject is about consumers physiology on purchasing.  Did you know that looks have  an effect on their wallet?

Read More download the PDF Here

The average cost of hosting an online shopping cart ranges from $0 a month (with ads from host) to $100 a month (large hosting  storage).  The cost of a Real-Storefront can cost you hundreds even thousands a month.  Your average “off the shelf” mega-  corporation is spending tens of thousands to maintain there local presence.  More often than not without a once of sweat.  So where  is the hope for the small business?

The reality is that you may not be able to compete with the every changing visually appealing real-storefront of the MC’s (mega-  corperations) in your area.  In fact if you would like to be completely honest, you are not even in the same ball park as they are.  However, you have an opportunity to compete with the best of them online.  But don’t relax just yet! You have to be as (if not more) creative with your online presence as you are with your real-storefront.  The cost to change your OSF (online storefront)  to meet the demands of your consumers is exponentially less than your RSF (real-storefront).  You have the ability to communicate to thousands of potential clients online. You have the ability to be completely mobile. While there are thousands of excuses not to jump on the e-commerce train; the fact is, if you’re not on it you aren’t going the direction you know you should be.

The e-commerce community loves to talk!  Much like other online communities, there is tons of resources online to accurately track the ever changing trends of your market.  For those of you that have already discovered social media and e-commerce, you are going the right direction.  For those of you that aren’t, why?

The following was published by Mary Zeiher (www.associatedcontent.com).

Top Ten Reasons We Shop Online

1. Able to shop 24 hours a day (76%)2. Saves time (74%)3. Avoiding crowds (65%)4. Saves gas (59%)5. Sales/Discounts/Promotions (55%)6. Low prices (53%)

   7. Comparison shopping (48%)

   8. Selection (40%)

   9. Available product information (37%)

   10. Items are in stock (37%)

So don’t lose out on your next sale!  Take back your business!

The founders Alisha Perkins and Anna Biehn have both have created a unique brand that they are very proud of! Make sure to visit their website for more info on their products. Also to learn more about the technology I used to create their site visit my portfolio.

Good luck Anna and Alisha!