Important Web Pages

In addition to your home page, sales copy pages and checkout page, you should consider adding further informational pages such as:

About us or Contact us Page

This page is vital to gain visitors trust in using your site and explains a little about your business and your way forward in the E-Commerce world. The page should also provide other contact details for your business and any other relevant information to instil consumer confidence. If you do not provide this kind of page, you will not do yourself any favours and could possibly encourage mistrust in your site. Some visitors may wonder what you have to hide; I myself am reluctant to shop at websites that have no contact details to speak of.

Disclaimer or Privacy policy

Having a Disclaimer or Privacy Policy page is another confidence booster to your visitor and protects your business from potential legal action. It is quite natural for consumers to query how their personal information will be used and will expect to see details regarding your policy on this subject. Do some research to get an idea of the content needed to implement this page.

Cookies

E-commerce businesses use cookies for a variety of reasons: to track activities of visitors concerning different aspects of the website and navigation of the site. Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, businesses must notify their customers about their use of cookies and offer an opt-out facility for those who do not want to allow them. This means that you must provide the consumer with a "privacy" or "cookies" statement that explains how they are being used and how they can be turned off.

Frequently asked questions - FAQ

As with offline shops, many consumers have questions about products or services. The usual questions could be asked many times, so to save both yours and the consumer’s time - have a FAQ with the answers readily available. With everyone in a rush these days and our want it now society people are not prepared to wait.
Make it easy for them - so they do not just click off your site and go to your competitors. Any questions asked that you have not anticipated prior to setting up your FAQ; simply add them on as they arise. Lastly, ensure the accessibility of this page is easy to reach. Do not fall in to the trap that many other web site owners have, that is to list questions that are irrelevant and hardly ever likely to be asked.

Use your web space effectively, think of questions that your potential customer may have and add genuine questions that have been asked.

Testimonials page

The best recommendation for your product or service is by this method. Obtain feedback from your existing customers and ask for their consent to publish their remarks on your website.  Testimonials can be placed on a page of their own, or in-between your own statements about the product. No testimonials? No problem! You could always give a product away free in exchange for testimonials. This can be considered as a legitimate business expense so will not leave you out of pocket.

Additional Options

Exit Surveys

Some website owners have implemented Exit Surveys into their sites so that if a customer leaves without purchasing they can find out the reason why.
Pop up windows have been used for this purpose, but do be aware that pop ups could annoy a lot of visitors.

If you do decide to go ahead with a pop up anyway, keep it short and to the point. Some visitors will fill it in and some will just plain ignore it and leave your site anyway.

Satisfaction Surveys

It is always good to know that your customer has had a pleasant experience when they purchase from your site. You can gain invaluable knowledge from these surveys and strive to keep the compliments coming.

A good time to introduce a satisfaction survey is after a customer has completed the checkout procedure, or you could send a follow up email asking them to complete one.

An incentive such as a discount voucher could be given for customers who fill in your survey.

There is always the option of getting a Third Party organisation to conduct them for you, either by telephone or email and suchlike.

Author: PhillMedia