There’s really very little more soul-destroying than having a site that rakes in the traffic only to then discover that conversion rates are abysmal. Getting folks to your e-commerce website in the first place is literally about 95% of the job, but without that remaining 5% in place, you’re largely guaranteed 100% failure. And what’s more, it’s a bitter pill to swallow when you have to acknowledge that if they’re flocking your way and summarily heading for the hills, there’s clearly something wrong with your website, your approach or your business in general.
The good news however is that more often than not, the problem or problems can be easily identified and remedied with a little snooping. The experts at Davison Williams always recommend having the professionals give your site an objective going over, but chances are that if you’ve fallen into any of the following traps or bad habits, you have your answer as to what’s going wrong:
1 – Poor Loading Times
Statistics show that when it comes to patience, online shoppers haven’t got any…simple as that. Generally speaking, the longest anyone is willing to wait around for the next page of a site to load is about four seconds – five if you’re very lucky. Speeding up page loading times can be as simple as cutting the clutter or upgrading to a better web hosting package, but in either case it’s perhaps the single most importance change to make to a slow site.
2 – Too Much Intrusion
Let’s be honest – you personally cannot stand it when you visit a website only to be bombarded with popups, banner ads, auto-playing videos and various other things that get in your way. As such, what on Earth makes you think they’re a good idea to use on your own site? Sure, you might make a few quid with advertising revenues, but perhaps at the expense of the overall success of your business…hardly worth it.
3 – Spelling and Grammar Mistakes
While it may not in fact be the case at all in reality, it’s natural for shoppers to subconsciously think that any site littered with silly mistakes is being operated by someone rather on the dodgy side. It’s not like your site’s content as a whole needs to be up there with a Shakespearean sonnet, but it does at the very least have to be 100% free of spelling mistakes and grammatical blunders. And if you’re not the kind that can handle this kind of wholly flawless content yourself, you’ll need to bring in an outside party to take care of it.
4 – Low Quality Filler
Still on the subject of content, it’s one thing to make your site a rich resource packed with useful information but it’s something else entirely to pack it will filler just for the sake of it. The simple fact of the matter here is that the more low-end filler your prospective customers come across, the more your reputation will slide in their eyes. Even if your products are fantastic and your prices the best on the web, you’ll struggle if you can’t build a reputation for across-the-board excellence.
5 – Mandatory Membership
This is perhaps the biggest blunder for anyone in the e-commerce business these days – making your customers create an account or become members before allowing them to make a purchase. There’s really no better way of driving traffic into the arms of your rivals that this as the moment any bunch of shoppers are presented with account signup screen, at least half of them will bolt. You don’t have to open an account to go shopping at about 99% of standard retail stores, so why do so many online vendors insist on making membership mandatory? It really is a bad idea…period.
6 – Too Much Clutter
Last but not least, when the products and services you’re offering are the true heroes and indeed the stars of the show, they should sing in their own right. As such, the more clutter you fill your pages with – flashy images, banners, mixed media etc. – the more it gives the impression you’re actually trying to take attention away from your primary products. Clutter achieves absolutely nothing other than looking a total disaster and distracting your prospects who may otherwise have made a purchase. Of course there’s always room for making your pages look pretty with a bit of ‘garnish’ but it’s crucial to know where to draw the line – don’t get carried away with the superfluous detritus.