Posted by on Aug 6, 2015 in Computers & Technology | 0 questions

Many people now do the majority of their shopping online, from clothes to groceries. If you run an online store, you’re in competition with thousands of other websites in your industry. If you want to have a chance of consumers choosing you over them, you need to have an excellent store.

One of the many things you need to consider is how easy the store is to use. Your buying process can’t be too complicated, or customers will give up and go somewhere else. Fortunately, it’s not difficult to make checking out of your store a smooth experience. Use these tips to get it right.

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Maria Elena

Navigation, Menus, and Filters

When people arrive on your website, they need to be able to find their way around. It’s incredibly frustrating to be unable to find what you’re looking for. Clear navigation will help them to find the pages and products that they want.

One of the things that will make this easier is your menu. Many online stores will choose to have main categories in their menu. Then they have drop-down boxes of more specific labels. Once your customer is looking at your products, allow them to filter them by brand, size, and color. Don’t forget to provide a search function too.

Product Information

Once a customer has found the product they want to look at, they need to take a closer look. It’s essential to provide accurate information. And you also need sales copy that entices them to buy. Make sure you tell them everything they need to know, from product dimensions to materials and functions. Accurate photos are important too, so don’t forget to include them for each product.

Security and Transparency

One of the most vital things for your online store is that your customers can trust you. They need to know that their payment details will be safe, and they will receive the items they ordered. Having an SSL certificate to secure your website is the first step you should take.

You also need a safe payment system. Customers want to see things like your privacy policy too. Display your website terms and conditions and shipping and returns information as well.

Payment Options

When it’s time for your customers to check out, payment should be secure, quick and easy. As well as a payment system such as PayPal or Sage, you can also accept credit cards online. Use a secure gateway so that customers can enter their card details using a system that protects them. You can also have programs that create invoices and send them to your customer’s billing email address.

Contact Pages

It would be a mistake to be coy about how customers can get in touch with you. It looks suspicious if it’s difficult to communicate with you, so make your options clear on a contact page. You could include email addresses, phone numbers, and your physical address.

If you want people to choose your store over others, make their shopping experience easy. But remember that it doesn’t stop at the website, so pay attention to delivery and customer service too.