We have reached the end of our series! Its true, so many little things can ruin your entire website. In the series I tried to touch on each of the most common pages businesses place on their site and then discusses the top ten worst things for each. Here we'll do a quick summary of those lists.
But what I want you to take away is this: your website is part of your branding. Make sure every page, every line of text exemplifies who you are as a company. That's the best way to create a great website.
Not all sites have an e-commerce section, but many do. Today, in our continuation of the Top 10 ways to Ruin your website series, I want to talk a little bit about your "shopping cart". Any e-commerce site has multiple sections from how products are laid-out to payment options, but I just want to focus on getting through the "cart" area, in other words the process it takes to get from a product to a sale. Not all e-commerce solutions offer flexibility, some are straight-out-of-the-box so to speak. But when you are making the decision, look out for these top ten.
1. Log-in Hell
I understand the need to have customers "log-in" so that you can have their information and contact details. But, this process should be as simple and intuitive as possible. If the log-in frustrates a customer they may give-up and never come back. If you require membership, give your clients an option to sign-up as part of their check-out process.
2. Not saving contact information
Give clients the option to save their information (leave me logged-in, remember my password, that kind of thing). Nowadays we all have 573 passwords we're supposed to remember. Don't let the reason you missed a sale be because a customer forgot how to log-in.
3. Deleting everything when there's an input error
This may be a personal issue but I really hate it when I spend 10 minutes carefully filling out my contact information, my credit card, etc. and then I mistype one number and the page reloads saying: there was an error with your credit card. Then, all the information I painstakingly added, vanishes. I have to do it all over again. This alone has made me give-up and use a different website before.
4. Not making the cart front and center
I don't see this often, so when I do, it stumps me. Put a link saying "Buy now!" next to every product. There should as many opportunities to click to purchase as possible. This does not mean tricking the client into purchasing, but it means make it easy to get the money.
5. Not giving prices up front
Prices vary for a number of reasons: tax, shipping, bulk ordering. However, simplify the question of cost as much as you can. Let them know if tax will be added. Give them an idea of what shipping costs average. Do not let the final charge completely surprise them. Also, make sure you include prices next to each item in a highly visible way.
6. Making the process more than 3 steps
If it takes more than 3 clicks to get from the product to making the payment, you need to simplify. Places you can cut:
consolidate like information (shipping & tax, membership & credit card information)
cut out unnecessary personal information requests
only ask for approval to bill their credit card once
Send an email confirmation instead of a page they can print
7. Long Load time
An e-commerce site may have heavy back-end coding. The reasons vary from lots of products to automated systems. These things can cause a slower load time. This is a hard problem to fix. You may need to find a new program or solution if wait time becomes an issue. Not all shopping carts are created equal. Don't lose clients because your page won't load.
8. No options:
The average person excepts your site to cater to them. Make sure to give them options. Marketing used to follow the rule: ask forgiveness, not permission. That philosophy went out with the 90s. Now people want to choose. So be sure to offer choices. You have a newsletter? Let them opt-in or out. Give them the opportunity to save their password, or let the site remember their log-in (or even keep them logged in for a period of time). Do they want an email receipt? Why not ask instead of assuming. These are just a few examples of options you can give your customers.
9. Errors
It happens. One misplaced bracket and it throws off the whole page. Check for coding errors. E-commerce requires multiple facets therefore it require extra time to debug. Don't be surprised if your web company charges extra to check these things, or be willing to walk through yourself.
10. Charging the wrong amount
The worst glitch that can ever happen is charging someone the wrong amount. If you charge too little, you have to charge a second time. If you charge too much, you have a pissed off customer. Much like site errors, these things sometimes happen. The best I advice I can offer you is deal with it immediately. As soon as the error becomes obvious, fix it.
I hate to add this but I will. Sometimes companies charge the wrong amount on purpose. They add a few cents or charge twice, just to see if the customer double checks. Its wrong. Don't do it. And if you ever do it and get caught, you'll be lucky to still have a company, so make sure to be honest.
How about some examples of good shopping experiences. If you spend money online, who do you like to shop with?
