Selling Multiple Products? Avoid These Top Blunders

When your web site sells more than a dozen items, you may face a fierce challenge of helping shoppers find what they are looking for. You'll need to classify products into categories, but these will serve as obstacles and even deal killers if those categories do not match those in the heads of shoppers.

I've seen again and again web sites using classifications that aren't known or understood by a portion of their customers. For instance, I once wanted to buy T-shirts and went to the site of a famous catalog company, where I found a category called "shirts." So far, so good. But then I had to choose between a category called "woven" or another called "knitted." There I got stumped. Are T-shirts woven or knitted? I was not sure.

Another time I was searching for a Toyota car part, ready to buy it, but I could not find it on the Toyota parts web site unless I knew whether it was part of the drive train, an accessory, the exhaust system or something else. I hadn't a clue. In both these cases, the site wrongly assumed that shoppers understood their jargon, and set that up as a barrier to an online purchase.

Let's suppose that you solve the jargon problem and someone finds what they are looking for. The next hurdle for shoppers concerns whether or not people can find answers to all the questions about availability, shipping charges, warranties and return policies that they could easily ask if shopping by phone or in person. In the last year, I would say that only 50% of the time when I'm shopping online I've had all of my pre-purchase questions answered by the web site. Among the multi-product sites I've toured as a reviewer, I don't remember a single one that answered enough questions for shoppers.

Before your site launches, you can think up all the questions people might ask by imagining different kinds of shoppers - people from other countries, corporate buyers, gift givers, etc. - and what they'd need to know. Once your site's been up for a while, collect the questions that come in by email and phone. Gather the questions and answers in a Frequently Asked Questions page and make the FAQ accessible from every page of your site.

Especially do not make people put items into their shopping cart and begin checking out in order to find out the shipping charges and refund policies! Another epidemic blunder is not revealing the address of the company behind the shopping site. Not only is this necessary to set at ease the mind of any shopper worried about recourse against no-show orders or faulty merchandise, it's important for some people to know where items are being shipped from.

Ditto for your privacy policy. Are you going to be renting out your list of customer addresses and bombarding everyone who's bought from you with frequent emails?

Online order forms range from easy to use and complete to baffling and aggravating. Submit yours to what I call "the grandmother test" - ask people who've never seen your site before to place an order and talk through the process out loud. Button your lips and listen. Note where they get stuck and fix your ordering procedures accordingly.

Finally, do you have testimonials attesting to the quality and value of what you sell and the pleasures of doing business with you? That's the cherry on the sundae of a well-designed site from a company shoppers recommend and return to for more purchases!

Marcia Yudkin is the author of Web Site Marketing Makeover and 10 other books. A four-time Webby Awards judge and internationally famous marketing consultant, she critiques web sites and performs web site makeovers for clients. Learn more about her detailed critique sessions on five different kinds of web sites (including multi-product sites) at http://www.yudkin.com/websitequiz.htm .

---

Tried and Tested Tips to Improve Your Website - Part 1

1. DO NOT use excessive graphics or banner images on... Read More

Build It And Build It Cheap! Part II

If you are familiar with my work, then you have... Read More

Usability and Considerate Design

I hate to imagine that in your web development project... Read More

Web Usability: The Basics

What is web usability & why is it important?Web usability... Read More

The Newbie?s Guide to Small Business Web Design

You've got a concept for a business, are excited about... Read More

A Landing Page is Not an Order Page (and why it matters)

To explain my point I need to first confuse the... Read More

Business Opportunity for Graphic Designers

As a graphic designer, you are sitting on a gold... Read More

An Ideal Home Business Home Page

From my personal experience of around two year as home... Read More

Wording Up Your Website

Back to basics. Forget funky design, good copywriting is the... Read More

Be Friendly to Search Engines

The object of search engines is to give their visitors... Read More

The Secrets of The Shriekers

I am constantly bombarded with all sorts of advertisements, single-page... Read More

10 Ways Web Site Text Can Impact Your Readers Buying Decision

10 Ways Web Site Text Can Impact Your Reader's Buying... Read More

Website Woes: Top Five Offenders

I see a lot of mistakes, but here are the... Read More

Are Web Templates Worth It?

First off, I am a designer. Now you're thinking, here's... Read More

Tips For An Effective Website

A successful website is something that everyone venturing into the... Read More

Web-Safe Fonts for Your Site

Choosing the right typeface for your website copy is important,... Read More

Web Site Professionalism? What Is It?

Your web site should be-visitor friendly to navigatesearch engine friendly... Read More

How to Design a Search Engine Friendly Web Site

Many web site designers don't design their sites for the... Read More

Freelancers Bite Back!

The Internet has seen an explosion in so called 'lance'... Read More

What is ASP.NET

ASP.NET is a new programming framework from Microsoft for developing... Read More

Sales Versus Customer Oriented Websites

Should Generating Revenue From A Website Be The Prime Motivator?... Read More

How to Create an Enjoyable Web Page Design

Novice and professional designers alike ? you may probably be... Read More

How to Create A Homepage That Works

Want to know what the worst thing to say on... Read More

Good Web Design ? What Is It?

There is unlimited possibilities when it comes to designing a... Read More

Web Coach Tip: The Single Most Important and CRUCIAL Element of Your Web Site

Here's the single most important part of your website: YOUR... Read More

Re-Use The Links You Have When Revising Your Site!

Many times I've seen a web site undergo a revision... Read More

Can Your Visitors Contact You From Your Website

Argh, where's the contact button?! Believe it or not, some... Read More

Leave Those Links Blue!

Don't mess with those links! When you're designing your site,... Read More

How Do We Know When Its Time To Redesign Our Web Site?

A question we frequently get asked is, "how do we... Read More

Understanding How HTML Color Codes Work

Ever wonder how HTML color codes are put together? For... Read More

5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Website

When designing your website, remember to avoid useless and confusing... Read More

Color Psychology in Marketing

On the internet we don't deal with face to face... Read More

Bad Design Characteristics For A Website

Making a poorly designed website is one of the easiest... Read More