It’s estimated that around 33.3% of the global population shop online.
In today’s increasingly digital world, more and more businesses are operating online. When it comes to B2C commerce, having an online presence is vital if you want to keep up with the competition. A well-made website will have a huge impact on how successful your business is.
In this guide, we’ll go over some key website design tips to support your sales model. Keep reading for more.
1. Make Your Site Mobile Responsive
This is one of the most important elements of modern websites, and it can have a huge impact on engagement. In the past, many companies would have their desktop site and a separate mobile site. Responsive design involves building a single website that adapts to work well with both.
More than 55% of website traffic comes from mobile devices, so if your site isn’t responsive, you could potentially be losing out on half of your business. A professional web designer will be able to ensure your site works well on desktops, tablets, smartphones, and any other devices.
2. Put Your Top Products Front and Center
If you have certain products that sell better than others, you want to promote these where possible. These are likely the products that make your company the most money, and that’s something you should capitalize on.
You can have them displayed on your home page, use contrasting colors to highlight them, make banners promoting them, and more. This is similar to using promotional displays in brick-and-mortar stores to highlight certain products. Drawing people’s attention to these items will help you increase sales and generate more profits.
3. Focus on SEO
The importance of SEO cannot be stressed enough. It’s one of the best ways to drive more organic traffic to your website, and if your site appears higher in search engine results, it can give you a huge edge over your competitors.
Research popular keywords that your audience might be searching for, optimize your product descriptions so that they’re clear and descriptive, and create quality blog content. All of these will help boost your SEO, and there are several other approaches you can take. Just bear in mind that it can take some time to see the results of SEO, but it’s well worth it.
4. Use Quality Images
With many products, pictures can say a lot more than a description. You want to have high-quality photos that showcase your products well.
It’s a good idea to take multiple photos of a product to show off every aspect of it. If there are different variations (such as different colors) of a product, make sure you include them all. 3D views and videos can be even better for some products so people can get a better idea of what they are and how they work.
5. Keep Things Simple
It can be easy to get carried away with website design, but you want to make sure you keep things simple. A well-designed website is streamlined and clear so that users don’t have any difficulty finding the products they’re looking for.
If people find it hard or confusing to navigate your website, it will put them off and they’ll turn to your competitors. Plan things out so that your site is seamless and logical to make sure it’s more user-friendly.
6. Keep the User in Mind
Throughout the entire design process, you want to always think about the user. You’re trying to create a shopping experience that’s better for them than other brands so that they keep coming back.
Making it easy for them to complete purchases, including clear descriptions, providing a smooth interface, and ensuring your site is free of bugs will all help with this. A good user experience will leave a lasting impression that will help build relationships, promote brand loyalty, and improve customer retention.
7. Be Honest About Pricing
Low prices may be appealing to customers, but deception isn’t. You should always be honest about pricing so that customers know what to expect. The only additional fee that customers should ever see is for shipping-and it may even be appropriate for shipping to be free, depending on your sales model.
If they get to the checkout and discover there are additional fees that they didn’t know about, they’ll be far more likely to abandon their purchase. On top of that, this will diminish any trust that customers have in your brand.
8. Enhance the Security
Security is more important online now than it has ever been before. An e-commerce site handles a lot of sensitive data, and if there’s a data breach, it could be devastating for your company.
A data breach can be very costly, and it will cause your customers to lose faith in your brand. A single data breach could be enough to completely end a company. Make sure you have a robust security system that will keep your company, your employees, and your customers safe at all times.
9. Use Multiple Payment Methods
On many websites, users may get all the way to the checkout, and then realize they can’t use their preferred payment method. In some cases, they’ll abandon the purchase in favor of a brand that lets them buy in the way they want to.
You can include standard card payments as well as alternative methods like PayPal and Stripe. Some modern websites even let users make purchases using cryptocurrencies. The more options your customers have, the more likely they’ll be to buy from you.
10. Use Customer Reviews
Customer reviews are great for credibility, and they let new customers know that your brand and products are reliable and high-quality. You should encourage users to leave reviews, and you can add these to product pages. Most customers look at reviews before making a purchase, so this could have a sizable impact.
Designing a Website to Match Your Sales Model
When you have a sales model you’re happy with, you can build a website that puts it at the center. This will help you reach your business goals and ensure your customers are happy with the site you provide.
6Street Digital helps clients build their ideal B2C storefronts to improve reach and increase sales. Contact us today and we can start working on the perfect solution for your business.