Building An Effective Furniture Sales Web Site

Web sites that feature products ? especially furniture or other large items ? require a careful balance of text and images to convey the value of each product.

Let's face it. Consumers like to see, feel, and "experience" a product before they make a purchase decision. If you can elicit the senses in your on-line presentation of an item, you will increase your chances of making a purchase tenfold.

In addition to the basics of an effective web presence, such as complete contact information, a successful furniture sales web site will convey the following:

* Credibility of the merchant to provide any product available through the site;
* Dimensions, an invigorating text description, and multiple images for each product;
* A replacement or repair policy in the event an item is damaged during shipping;
* Delivery or shipping options, with pricing;
* Customer testimonials from those who have shopped with the merchant;
* Full payment options, preferably with telephone, on-line, and invoice credit/debit options.

Style and Navigation

Again, developing a successful furniture sales site depends on the web designer's ability to elicit the senses through a careful combination of text and images. "Presentation" design elements, such as Flash and Java components, may be useful in establishing a professional, yet comfortable tone across the site.

Site navigation should be effortless and flow seamlessly throughout the entire web site, including on pages that do not relate specifically to products. Subconsciously, the site's ease of use will affect the prospect-customer's impression of the merchant.

Content Elements

As the saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words." This is certainly the case in on-line furniture sales.

Each product should include at least two unique photos, complete with thumbnail and enlarged versions, but may have as many as six. The goal here is to encourage the prospect-customer to become familiar with the product, to envision the furniture in their home from all angles in the room.

Product descriptions should vibrantly relate the texture, colors, size, and "feel" of each item. Choose words that connect directly to the senses. A throw pillow, for example, could be presented as "a soft burgundy compliment to any sofa pictured above." Of course, while it is appropriate to be vivid in your product descriptions, remember to remain true to each product's features.

Customer service options are a must. A hyperlink to the merchant's contact page or customer service area should be available on each page of the site, uniformly. The merchant's telephone number should also be listed on each page.

A shopping cart system is not required, but can certainly promote prospect-customer conversion based on convenience. For the product-based web presence, the next "action step" after selecting a product is to make a purchase decision. If a purchase requires picking up the telephone, the merchant risks losing the customer during this transition. Offering on-line payment with telephone support is the optimal way to promote an on-line sale.

Tweaks and Tips

* Offering financing options and/or incentive-based sales offers, such as no interest for a 6- or 12-month period, will increase your competitive edge and promote a quicker purchase decision.

* When developing content, be sure to include plenty of key terms and phrases in the site's general text. Search engines such as Google rely on content text, not meta tags, to determine search placement.

* Include key terms in image description tags and hyperlinks. Describe each image or link using terms and phrases relevant to the image, industry, and merchant.

If you are a furniture merchant attempting to develop your first web presence, seek the advice and support of a full-service small business web design firm. Professional, affordable web design is available. Creating a "do it yourself" site may appear cost effective, however this can quickly become a complicated and time consuming project. Stay focused in your profession, and recruit the wisdom of a web professional.

Jim D. Ray is a seasoned web developer and president of Web Presence, a web design firm serving the needs of small businesses nationwide. To learn more, or for a free quote for your own web site, visit the Web Presence at http://www.web-presence.net.

---

Web Usability: The Basics

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

Custom Website Design - 7 Steps to a More Professional Website

If you are trying to sell a product or service... Read More

How To Use Color Effectively When You Create A Web Site

Colors are powerful, and create strong feelings. They can also... Read More

A Beginners Guide to Web Page Design

Designing your own successful web page can seem difficult and... Read More

No More Jargon! Pamper Your Audience!

When your company built its website, did you think about... Read More

Effective Website Design

In this era of ultra-sophisticated internet marketing and web design,... Read More

Moving Things Around

How often, men, have you come home to find the... Read More

Web Site Turn Ons

When you develop a sales brochure, you have a mental... Read More

Drupal Modules

There are plenty of Drupal Modules that you can install... Read More

Basic Graphic Design

Wether you design your business brochures, flyers, web page, or... Read More

5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Website

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

Top Ten Ways to Increase Web Sales - Part 1

You have only 10 seconds to impress your potential buyer.... Read More

Essential Strategies To Make Your Web Copy Attractive To Your Target Audience

Reading on the web is different than reading in all... Read More

Integrating Advertising into Your Web Design

If you are going to be placing ads on your... Read More

Differences between XP Icons and MAC Icons

The icons in an application are the soul of the... Read More

Increase Your Website Sales Instantly

If there's one thing that I've learnt so far, it's... Read More

Color Scheme for Your Website?

Yes, in a world that is obsessed with makeover madness,... Read More

Design With Purpose

If your website is falling through the cracks, the chances... Read More

Don?t Put Your Slogan in the Title Tag - Optimize Your Web Pages

Don't just put your slogan in the title tag when... Read More

5 Ways To Improve Your Website Immediately

If you are reading this, I assume you either have... Read More

How To Boost Your Chances at Having a Successful Web Site

New Web sites are springing up online by the millions.... Read More

Do You Own Your Web Site Design?

Your web site has been up for a few months... Read More

Website Creativity: Why It Matters Now More than Ever

If one more business owner tells me their website sucks... Read More

One-Product Sales Sites: Avoid These Top Blunders

One product, one long web page: this kind of web... Read More

Dont Make Your Website User-UNfriendly!

Web Design is a very subjective process. Your idea of... Read More

How To Boost Your Sales Dramatically Using Dynamic Back-end Strategies

Getting a customer is not easy.Getting a visitor to decide... Read More

Five Common Web Design Mistakes

There are often many mistakes encountered when creating a webpage... Read More

How to Build Your Own Website - More Steps

To build a website, there are four methods to choose... Read More

Your Site Map: Spider Food or Just A Light Snack?

Mechanical spiders have to eat. In fact, they usually have... Read More

Dos and Donts in Web Design - part 1 (design)

Do use a consistent look and feel Your site should... Read More

Why is a Logo so Important to Your Business?

Well, a logo for your business. Why is it important?... Read More

Using Server Side Includes to Simplify Your Web Design

An "include" file is a piece of code that can... Read More

When Your Graphic Designer Costs You Money

So how do you know when your graphic designer costs... Read More