eplatforms

We’ve all run across those e-commerce websites that are fantastic to look at, but trying to find the page you want is like searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack. On the other hand, we’ve all also quickly navigated through websites where we were almost embarrassed for the owners – utterly unattractive, with typos, but ever so user-friendly.

These varying types of sites should be a hint that website design is not for the weak of heart; nor is it for the neophyte, or even the graphic artist untrained in website design. In fact, effective website design is best accomplished by a professional website designer. Good website design achieves – at a minimum – two primary goals, and the second of those is commonly forgotten in the excitement of achieving the first. An effective website must be a value proposition, and it must have measurable goals.

Before the goals can be achieved, the overarching purpose of the site, itself, must be considered. That is, before any design work can be done, the conceptual phase – wherein the purpose, the required results, are first determined – must be completed in detail, and a professional website designer knows this. Once the desired and measurable results are determined along with a method to measure them, a budget can be set.

Although most first-time website owners have a tendency to look at a website as a monetary liability, the key to setting a budget for website design is to understand that an e-commerce website is, in reality, a cost-saving proposition. Whether the purpose of the site is to get product information out onto the Web, or to actually promote sales via the Web, the bottom line must show a decrease in costs and/or an increase in revenue and that decrease or increase must be measurable.

Analyzing savings

Analyzing savings can be a detailed and intricate prospect – again, a professional website designer can come in handy here. But for now, let’s look at a simplified analysis. Let’s say in a typical month, you receive requests for four catalogs (£10 each) and ten brochures (£4 each). If every single one of those people make an average purchase of £25, then, simplified, your profit is £270. Over a year, that comes to £3240.

However, let’s say you set a budget of £6000. Remember, that will be good for a year, or longer. You could easily get 1000 Internet surfers to your website each month, and if only 10% of those make the same average purchase, then your profit for that year is going to be £24,000. The ratio of cost to profit decreases, and the overall profit increases!

Designing your website

Once goals and a budget have been set, then and only then can the actual design begin. All aspects of that design – image, content, and structure – should be produced with the measurable goals in mind, and a professional website designer will create such a design that looks attractive, is user-friendly, and that incorporates SEO principles.

As noted, the image, or the look, of the website is often the common denominator in what we consider “bad” e-commerce websites. Of course in most cases, you want to present a professional image, and the elements used to do this are page layout, graphic design, color, font style and size, and so on. Professional website designers will ensure that graphics and content on each page are well-balanced, that the layout is visually pleasing. And if they are not writers, themselves, they will hire or recommend one who can produce content that is both user and search engine friendly.

Content and SEO

For the average user, content must be clean, clear, and concise. Most online customers don’t want to wade through verbose reams of fluff -- sometimes filled with typos – to get to the “meat” of your products or services. Similarly, the content should clearly state to the Internet surfer exactly what the purpose of each page is. This allows user to quickly tie the information together in their minds and find exactly what they need in the most efficient way possible.

On the other hand, search engines do not recognize text in images and graphics, so SEO content must include a variety of technical aspects such as image alternative text and highly focused keyword phrases in titles and body copy. It needs no more than five focused keyword phrases per page and should include at least one navigation scheme based on text links.

Content also relates closely to structure. The overall structure of the site should be almost intuitive; it should be user-friendly and allow site users to quickly and easily find exactly what they are looking for.

The entire structure will sustain the overall goals of the site, and again, a professional website designer understands those elements that are inherent in successful structure, including ensuring the necessary information is easy to find and understand; the navigation is simple, with logical links and a search option that actually returns pages with the requested information; the sections and pages are easily recognizable; and the user can return to a previous page, or even the home page, without effort.

Consistency

One of the most commonly ignored aspects of good e-commerce website design is consistency throughout image, content, and structure. Color schemes, font styles and sizes, presentation of content, writing style, location of navigation buttons – all of these, in fact every detail of the website, should be consistent throughout every single page. This allows users to quickly and easily become familiar with the site. It allows them to anticipate what they will find when they click on a link and where they can find exactly what they need. It also provides for that important professional “look” that is so important to the image of your company as a whole.

Unfortunately, untrained website designers often focus only on either the look or on SEO aspects of the site. The result is usually either a flashy site that is utterly useless to search engines or an unprofessional, inconsistent site that ranks high in search engines, but is useless to the average Internet user. A truly effective website must achieve both results in order to increase the value of your site, and in turn increase the bottom line.