E-commerce entrepreneurs have many things to consider when having their retail, wholesale or affiliate website built and designed. An e-commerce storefront, like its brick and mortar real-world counterpart, is the physical representation of the company. As such, it must be an accurate reflection of the image the entrepreneur would like customers to see.

E-Commerce Web Development Management Pro Shares Tricks of the Trade Bill Snowman owns a full service website design, print media and graphic design company. His company, CreateSource.com, caters to a variety of individuals, small businesses, corporations and other organizations. When asked to identify the top mistakes these entities make when having a website built, Bill had no trouble creating a list. In fact, he could have mentioned several more!

After paring the list down to the most critical, absolute worst mistakes e-commerce entrepreneurs can make with their website – the types of mistakes that cost businesses money, negatively impact their reputation, or send customers running in the other direction – Snowman shared the Top 3 E-Commerce Website Mistakes.

Accessibility and Usability Fall to the Wayside in Favor of “Cool” Effects

This is probably the biggest mistake made in all types of web design, Snowman points out, but it is rampant in e-commerce web design.

He notes that the “Web 2.0 crowd” love to use Ajax, Javascript, Flash and other widgets to make their site look cool. However, visitors with Java or Flash disabled lose not only aesthetics, but functionality.

Snowman recommends that e-commerce entrepreneurs disable all Flash, Javascript, images and even CSS style sheets to test their website. It might not be pretty, but if the forms work and the text is legible, it’s functional. If it’s not, it needs to be fixed so all visitors have access. Don’t cut customers off in order to have a prettier website.

E-Commerce Businesses Fail to Answer One Simple Question

Snowman regularly asks clients this simple question, but most don’t know the answer to, “Why does your website exist?” He hears a variety of responses, including:

• To advertise the business
• To increase the company’s profits
• To sell products or services

These are all results, Snowman says, not reasons. A website exists for one reason, he claims: to solve the problems of its visitors. The problem could be anything; the visitor is bored, they are price shopping, they need advice, or they want to buy a product. The key, he says, lies in doing market research to understand what customers want, then being able to give it to them.

Does a Home Builder Paint the Walls Before Pouring the Foundation?

Although it is easier to picture the finished website than it is to imagine all of the boring, technical components, Snowman notes that the actual design is the least important aspect of creating an e-commerce website.

He likens the website building process to new home construction. “You draw up plans based on the new household’s needs,” he says, “…build the foundation, erect a solid frame, add plumbing and electrical, and then you think about decorating.”

For those who disagree, Snowman points to Craigslist.org as a perfect example. It is popular because it works. It’s not pretty, but it is built well.

Accessible, Functional E-Commerce Web Development Key

Snowman points to Zarifas.com as an example of a custom e-commerce website with a simple interface, allowing the entrepreneur to perform most maintenance and other functions on their own.

Before commissioning any professional to develop an e-commerce website, check references, ask to see an online portfolio, and have a contract or work order in writing.

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The post E-Commerce Web Development Gaffs: Build a Business Website and Avoid the Top 3 E- Commerce Mistakes first appeared on Solutions Resource.

“Summary of Black Friday and Cyber Monday”

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are popular times of the year for when people buy products on the internet. Every year after 2005, there has been an increase in the amount of money that consumers spend on Cyber Monday and Black Friday (“Statista. 2015.”). Statista points out that the amount of money that consumers spent on Black Friday was $1500 million dollars and a little over 2000 million dollars on Cyber Monday during the year of 2014 (“2015.”). This means that small businesses should have content on their website that allows them to receive website visitors and be profitable on the days when many consumers purchase products.

“Content That A Small Business Website Should Have On Black Friday To Cyber Monday”

Some examples of content that small businesses should have on their webpages on Black Friday to Cyber Monday include:
• Notes that thank customers for shopping at the firm (“Gregory 11/24/2014.”). In this way, website visitors will likely return to the firm’s website and store (“Levin. July 8, 2014.”).
• Features of value, such as a warranty, that a customer can receive from purchasing a product that they cannot receive from a competitor (“Winn and Fallon Taylor. September 21, 2015 12:43 pm EST.”)
• Four to six products that customers will likely purchase (“May. Dec 1, 2014, 6:25 AM.”). That way, website visitors will not be overwhelmed by too much content on a webpage (“May. 2015.”).

“Conclusion”

Organizations should contact Solutions Resource if they need help getting their website ready for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. That way, Solutions Resource can quickly prepare their websites for those busy times of the year and utilize a technology for creating a website that allows organizations to easily add content to it if necessary. Finally, small businesses should visit Solutions Resource’s website at https://solutionsresource.com/ to learn about Solutions Resource’s web development services and to contact the company.

“References”

1.) “From Black Friday To Cyber Monday: Tips For Small Business” by Alyssa Gregory. US Bank Connect. 11/24/2014. Retrieved Friday, November 20, 2015. Web.
(“http://www.usbankconnect.com/article/black-friday-cyber-monday-tips-small-business”)

2.) “How Your Small Business Can Take Advantage of Cyber Monday” by Ryan May. BusinessDictionary.com and WebFinance, Inc. 2015. Retrieved Friday, November 20, 2015. Web.
(“http://www.businessdictionary.com/article/754/how-your-small-business-can-take-advantage-of-cyber-monday/”)

3.) “Holiday Sales 2015: How to Prepare Your Business” by Nicole Fallon Taylor. Business News Daily. September 21, 2015, 12:43 PM EST. Retrieved Friday, November 20, 2015. Web.
(“http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7450-holiday-sales-kickoff-guide.html”)

4.) “U.S. Online Retail Spending On Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday And Cyber Monday From 2008 To 2014” by Statista. 2015. Retrieved Friday, November 20, 2015.
(“http://www.statista.com/statistics/266104/online-retail-spending-on-thanksgiving-black-friday-and-cyber-monday/”)

5.) “The Importance of Customer Appreciation” by Kim Levin. Corporate Finance Associates. July 8, 2014. Retrieved Friday, November 20, 2015. Web.
(“http://www.cfaw.com/blog/the-importance-of-customer-appreciation/”)

Author: Tyler Nelson-Administrative and Marketing Intern At Solutions Resource, LLC

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The post Tips That Growing Small Businesses Should Follow For Preparing An E-Commerce Website For The Holiday Season first appeared on Solutions Resource.

“Summary of Holiday Season”

Thanksgiving to Christmas is a busy time for retailers and nonprofit organizations. According to Richard Lazazzera of Shopify, August is a month when many people look for products that they want to buy for other individuals for Christmas (“September 16, 2014.”). Therefore, enterprises must check their websites to ensure that holiday shoppers can effectively use them (“Rosencrance. 2015.”).

“Online Measures To Take Prior To The Holiday Season”

Entities must take several actions prior to the holiday season:

• Ensure that website downloads in three seconds or less (“Taylor. September 28, 2015.”)
• Have an app created that distributes messages to consumers (“Rosencrance. 2015.”)
• Ensure that online promotional material content has holiday keywords like percentage discounts (“Lazazzera. Sep 16, 2014.”)

“Conclusion”

Organizations can contact Solutions Resource if they need help preparing their website for the holiday season. That way, Solutions Resource can perform an action, such as adding holiday content to their website. Lastly, enterprises should visit Solutions Resource’s website at https://solutionsresource.com/ to learn about the firm’s web development services and to contact the company.

“References”

1. “It’s Summertime . . . ’Tis the Season to Prep Your E-Commerce Site for the Holidays” by Linda Rosencrance. KissMetrics. 2015. Retrieved Thursday, October 22, 2015. Web. (“https://blog.kissmetrics.com/prep-for-the-holidays/”)
2. “How to Prepare Your Online Store for the Holiday Season” by Richard Lazazzera. Shopify. September 16, 2014. Retrieved Thursday, October 22, 2015. Web. (“https://www.shopify.com/blog/15408729-how-to-prepare-your-online-store-for-the-holiday-season”)
3. “Holiday Marketing Guide: 2015 Trends That Will Drive Sales” by Nicole Fallon Taylor. System Experts and Business News Daily. September 28, 2015. Retrieved Thursday, October 22, 2015. Web.
   (“http://systemexperts.com/holiday-marketing-guide-2015-trends-that-will-drive-sales/#prettyPhoto”)

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The post The Importance Of Auditing A Website Before The Holiday Season first appeared on Solutions Resource.

E-commerce businesses must think about the type of content that they place on their website if they sell products to customers. That way, those companies can provide clients and potential customers with information about how a product or service can address a person’s needs as well as why the business believes that its current line of products and services are effective at addressing the problems that a consumer is facing. Lastly, thinking about the type of content that a company should place on its e-commerce website allows e-commerce firms to provide people with information about why they are in business and how they plan to address a person’s needs.

E-commerce enterprises must place information on their website that talks about the products that they sell. For example, if a business sells a technological product, like a vacuum cleaner, to customers for personal use, then the firm must place that product on its website and provide information about that the organization likes about that vacuum cleaner. Businesses must place this content on their website because this strategy allows them to provide website visitors with information about why that device is effective at addressing someone’s cleaning needs, such as cleaning deep into a floor, and how it is different from the vacuum cleaners that other competing firms offer. That way, the firm can provide website visitors with content that convinces the person to purchase the device from them for their cleaning needs. Moreover, enterprises need to inform website visitors about the procedures, such as turning the vacuum cleaner on or off, that they need to follow in order to operate the device effectively. That way, people can receive information about the operating procedures that they need to follow so that the vacuum cleaner can perform the cleaning job that the person wants the device to perform. Furthermore, businesses should place these pieces of information in a link that people can click on so that they can learn about how to operate the device on a separate webpage and not be overloaded by large blocks of text that talks about the item on a webpage where a person would rather see the image of a product. These steps are important procedures for organizations to follow because customers can lose trust with a business and may decide not to conduct business with that firm if people receive information about what the vacuum cleaner does to address their needs but do not receive information about how to operate the device so that the product addresses their needs (“Dunn. May 21, 2015.”). In a similar situation, website visitors can decide not to visit that firm’s website if they do not receive information about how to operate a product because they will feel that the firm is not providing them with information about the procedures that they need to follow to operate the product so that it can address their needs. As a result of this situation, they can lose trust with an organization and decide that it is not worth their time to visit the webpage of an organization who is not willing to show a person how to use a product in order for that good to address their needs.

There must be an about us webpage on an E-commerce firm’s website that provides website visitors with the following information (“Dunn. May 21, 2015.”).

• The year that the firm was created.
• The products and services that the organization sells.
• How the organization helps its customers and potential clients.
• How the enterprise’s business has grown over the past several years.
• How the firm’s products and services differ from those of other competitors.
• The goals that the entity wishes to accomplish in terms of addressing a customers’ or potential clients’ needs and providing effective customer service.

E-commerce companies must display these pieces of information on their website for a variety of reasons. For example, this content informs people about why they should purchase goods from that company compared with a competing entity. Furthermore, these pieces of information provide website visitors with information about what the firm does to address their needs. That way, website visitors can view an organization as being a reliable entity that can provide them with the products and services that are capable of addressing their problems (“Miletsky. 2010.”).

Solutions Resource is aware of the type of content, such as images and social media icons, that go on an e-commerce website because the firm produces those types of websites for its markets. Therefore, the company can create a website that is effective at helping its clients and potential customers address critical issues, such as providing website content that entices people to purchase their products and increasing the amount of sales that they generate from the products that consumers purchase on their website. These problems are some examples of the many issues that e-commerce organizations face in terms of driving consumers to their website and keeping them on the website for a long time. As a result of these problems, Solutions Resource must stay informed about how an e-commerce website is designed as well as the different features, such as social media icons, that are placed on that website. That way, the firm can generate a layout of what an organization’s website should look like in order to be effective at providing website visitors with information about the products that they provide including the procedures that a person needs to follow for operating them so that the goods are effective at addressing a person’s needs. This strategy is also true for creating an about us webpage for a client that provides a client’s website visitors with information about why the firm is in business. Additionally, this strategy allows Solutions Resource to develop a diagram for where website visitors will go when they click on a link or type keywords in an entity’s search engine. Furthermore, Solutions Resource can provide the e-commerce businesses that it serves with recommendations about the type of content that they should place on their website so that their website will be effective at providing people with information about the products that the firm sells and why the enterprise is in business. Any organization that needs content for their e-commerce website that satisfies the needs of their audience should contact Solutions Resource at info@solutionsresource.com to determine what the company can do to create a website that appeals to people buying products for their personal use. Finally, entities can visit Solutions Resource’s web design and development webpage on its website to learn about the websites that the firm produces for its clients and potential customers as well as the process that the company goes through for creating e-commerce websites.

References:

• “Monetizing Your WordPress Site. The Smart Way Seminar”. Bob Dunn. May 21, 2015. 9:30 AM-12:30 PM. 555 116th NE, Suite 109, Bellevue, WA 98004.
• “Principles Of Internet Marketing // New Tools & Methods For Web Developers” by Jason Miletsky. 2010. Course Technology and Cengage Learning (Represented by Nelson Education, Ltd). Boston, MA, USA, and possibly Singapore, United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, and Japan. ISBN-13: 978-1-4239-0319-2 and ISBN-10: 1-4239-0319-6.

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