Tamara Sutton, Director of Product Design
eCommerce is expanding in the building materials industry, as it helps businesses attract more customers. For those looking to grow their online presence with an eCommerce site, it can be tough to know where to start. This article will cover some of the key elements to focus on when setting up eCommerce for your business.
Customers have come to expect 24/7 access to their orders and tracking information. However, it’s not just about access, but the ease and speed of finding the information they need. An engaging and user-friendly website should be easy to navigate, responsive, and appealing to the target audience. It should showcase the product and service offerings in a way that is easy for customers to understand.
A poorly designed website can deter potential customers and harm the reputation of the business. On the other hand, a well-designed website can provide a seamless self-service experience for customers and enhance a business’s reputation for quality service. It’s worth spending the extra time during set-up to focus on the user experience.
Here are some tips and best practices to help you get started.
High-quality images and videos can showcase different angles, close-ups, and special features of the product. Find out if your vendors have a product catalog with images you can use to save time setting up your site.
Videos can also enhance the customer experience by demonstrating the features and benefits of the product. To test effectiveness, you can start by making a few videos for some of your top-selling products. Then, track sales to see if the videos increase customer engagement. If you see positive results, you can invest more time in creating videos for your other products.
Typography (fonts and size of the text) should be easy to read, consistent, and supported by most web browsers. Keeping your fonts the same throughout the site will help the customer focus on the product. The contrast between text and background colors should be high enough that it is easy to read.
Call-to-action buttons (CTA) should use clear and concise verbiage like “Add to Cart” or “Buy Now.” This will encourage immediate action from your customers. Give explicit directions about where users need to click and what to expect. Rather than a button stating “Account,” stating “Check my Account Balance” gives a clear understanding of where this button will take them. The call-to-action buttons should use contrasting colors, appropriate sizing, and be consistent across the website.
Feedback is essential for improving your eCommerce site and adapting to your customers’ needs. Adopt a growth mindset and look for opportunities to improve or adjust your strategy. There are various ways to collect and analyze data from your site, such as using free tools like Google Analytics or asking your customers for their opinions. If you aren’t confident interpreting your results, hire a local marketing agency to provide you with actionable insights. Based on the data, you can make changes to your site that will enhance the customer experience and increase your sales.
To create a successful eCommerce site, you need to prepare, plan, and maintain it with the customer experience in mind. A user-friendly site that meets your business goals and customer needs will help you grow your online presence and sales.
This article originally appeared in the publication Building Products Digest.