A conversion can take a number of different guises based on the nature of your website. For educational or informative sites then signing up to a newsletter might be classed as a conversion. For charities then a donation is most likely to be the ultimate goal, whilst for ecommerce websites, a sale is always king. Conversion rates can take a lot of tinkering to improve, although ultimately it is well worth it as just a couple of extra percentage points on your conversion rates can lead to a large increase in the turnover of ecommerce websites.

So, as promised, seven top tips to help you increase the conversion rates of ecommerce websites:

1. Quick page load times – internet users are notoriously impatient and unforgiving. Brand loyalty does not exist on the internet as it does on the high street, so if you want a customer’s money, you can’t keep them waiting around.
2. Don’t use Flash – although Flash can deliver some spectacular looking sites, it does not mix particularly well with ecommerce, so it’s best to be put to one side.
3. Usability is the key – navigating ecommerce websites should be simple and straightforward. People will become quickly frustrated with a site that makes it difficult to find the information they are looking for and will swiftly take their business elsewhere.
4. Take the time to craft your copy – customers are looking for important messages when making purchasing decisions. “Sell the sizzle not the bacon” is a phrase banded around by some professional copywriters, and although we’re not entirely convinced by slogans, this one does carry some weight. By focusing on the benefits of a product, rather than the features, your sales are likely to experience a boost.
5. Ensure ecommerce websites are viewable on the most popular browsers – by focusing on only one browser you are instantly fragmenting your target market. Play the numbers game. Ensuring ecommerce websites can be accessed and viewed on all of the most popular internet browsers will maximise your number of conversions.
6. Make your pages scannable – instinctively we read web pages differently to books. Users scan ecommerce websites for important information. If it’s not there they’ll move on. Ensure your main points are emboldened, or bulleted, with those selling points that resonate most with customers at the top of the page.
7. Use graphics prudently – pictures are extremely important on ecommerce websites as they show customers the products they wish to buy. However, graphics which are not needed should be avoided at. Not only do they distract a customer from their objective, which is of course to spend some money, they can also increase your page load times. 

         
Increasing the conversion rates on ecommerce websites can involve a lot of tweaking and testing, so don’t expect results overnight. Make a change and leave the site well alone so you can accurately assess the effect on conversion rates. Making multiple changes at one time is futile as you will not be able to track which of the changes had the impact. 

If you’d like to talk to an experienced team of developers with dozens of successful ecommerce websites under their belt, give us a call here at Designer Websites on 0845 272 6813.