ImageWorksBlog

Here's something to think about: These days, A bad Website can be worse than no Website at all. Really! Think about that for just a moment. No Website at all means you might not believe in online marketing, and that's okay. Although many of my competitors (trust me, I've spoken to them...) would argue with me, even I am not convinced that every company needs a Website. However, a bad Website could mean so much more for your company.

There are more than 700 million Websites on the internet since the dawn of the web happened almost two decades ago. Google gets 2.7 trillion searches each month, 119 million tweets are tweeted per day, and every 60 seconds more than 5,000 web pages are created. Wowzers, when you really stop to think about it, being on the internet, pretty much a big deal.

Have you ever entered a store and were so overwhelmed by chaos and messy displays that you walked out almost immediately? Well, if you have an improperly designed online store, instead of walking out, a visitor who clicks on your mess of a website will navigate away from your page probably for good. If your website includes ecommerce, there are certain best practices that should be followed in order for your website to be effective. Good ecommerce websites can decrease costs and lead time, increase sales, increase global reach, and ultimately generate more revenue for your business. If you have ecommerce on your website, read the following characteristics of the best ecommerce sites to ensure that your business is offering its customers the best solution available. 

1. Thoughtful product descriptions. The description of your product is one of the most important elements of selling a product online. The description can make or break the sale. The likelihood that the manufacturer's description is enough to sell a customer on the product is small. Your product description should reflect the voice of your brand and business, not to mention the image that it is describing. When thinking of how to describe the product, it helps to keep in mind why the customer is looking for the product in the first place. Be descriptive! While customers enjoy the fact that they don't have to leave their homes in order to buy a product, they are not able to physically touch the product. Use as many descriptive words as possible and remember to highlight the most important features.
   
   
2. High quality photos. The images of your product are just as important as the description. You'll want to use the highest quality photos available and include multiple perspectives for your customer to get the full visual representation of your product. Make sure that the image can be enlarged without becoming distorted or pixilated. The better the photo, the less questions your customer will have about the product, which means they are more likely to actually purchase it. 
   
   
3.  Visible policies. Customers will want to know what happens if your product does not suit their needs, who to call if they have questions, and what your policies are in general. An effective website that includes ecommerce will inform its customers of its return policies, customer service hours, FAQs, delivery dates and more. Don't make your customer look around for these answers. Have them readily available and easily acccessible. 
   
   
4. Clear call-to-action buttons. Your website should clearly display buttons that invite your visitor to take action. These buttons should be spread throughout your website and advertise different products. These buttons should lead to landing pages that either have form or purchase options. Make sure that your buttons are visually attractive and easily understood.