What Brick-and-Mortar Stores can Teach You about E-Commerce Web Design

You may be thinking that brick-and-mortar stores and traditional retailers are “so 1990″.  But in reality they can teach you quite a bit about how to approach your ecommerce web site design.

Here are a few things you can learn from those Mom and Pop stores. 

1. Identity and Trust - Offline, this isn’t nearly as important as it is on the web.  Customers want to feel secure in knowing that they can trust your store.  Familiarity is one of the key ways to establish this trust. 

   Questions to ask yourself:  does your website consistently flow with the same layout, design and navigation?  Is it easy for the user to find what they’re looking for?  What safeguards do you have in place to ensure their credit card details are secure? 

   Having clear, easy to understand navigation and placement of your online store products helps the user feel more comfortable about trusting you.

2. Clear Descriptions - In a retail store, the customer can handle and inspect the goods.  This isn’t quite possible on the web (at least not yet!), so you have to be clear with how your products are described. 

   For tangible products - what color and size is it? How much does it weigh? How will it help me?  If it’s a digital product, like an e-book, how many pages is it?  Can you show the table of contents on the sales page itself so that the user knows - in detail - what your book covers?

3. Immediate Satisfaction - Offline, the buyer can seek out an associate for help or questions. Online, this process has turned into things like live help, but old standbys like a toll-free phone number and an online contact form can also help. 

   The customer wants to know that they’ll be taken care of promptly when they order from you - and in case they have any questions, using live help technology, online forms and a phone number can help ease their mind when it comes time to checkout.

Now, take a look at your online store - do you have some or all of these features built in?  If not, consider hiring a professional web design firm to help you implement these cost-effective benefits.  In the end, your customers will notice and their confidence - and your online credibility - will both be higher!