Yearly e-commerce sales in the U.S. could potentially top the $430 billion mark by 2017, according to projections by the market research firm eMarketer. Global e-commerce revenues eclipsed $1 trillion in 2012, the first time in history that number has been reached. If you think your business should be earning a bigger piece of the e-commerce pie, maybe it’s time to make your website more open and responsive to people who want to spend their money online.
Take out the Garbage
The easiest way to make your website an unattractive wasteland for consumers is by automatically playing Flash videos, music and other RAM-eating media as soon as they arrive. This not only causes your homepage to load slower, but it gives potential customers an easy excuse to skip your website and go on to the next one offering a similar product or service.
Your navigation bar should be simple and direct. Don’t have long lists of confusing subheads nesting under the main entries. Combine or eliminate as many subheads as possible without removing anything that vital.
Some businesses have completely overhauled their websites to reflect a new image or brand. Arizona iAcquire, an SEO company, went from an impersonal, boring throw-together website to a comprehensive and simple-to-navigate presence that has contributed to the company’s recent success. “We wanted to clearly show the human side of the business while maintaining a professional feel,” said Jeff Nappi, the company’s director of software engineering. “Aside from actual programming, the biggest challenge [was] getting the content strategy right.”
Go Mobile
The 2013 Mobile Future in Focus Report by ComScore found that one out of every three minutes Americans spend online is done on a smartphone or tablet, and four out of every five minutes on these devices are spent on major brands’ apps. It is more important than ever for businesses to make their websites compatible with mobile content. This is known as “responsive” design.
