In every industry, there are best practices. Many of these are learned through years of trial and error, from diligent instruction by trained professionals, or from user feedback over time. Sometimes these lessons are not learned at all, and many would-be entrepreneurs with a great product end up never being noticed by the public. When it comes to websites and user interaction, here are five hard learned lessons and common mistakes to avoid making with your E-Commerce site.
Forcing User Registration Prior to Check Out
It’s safe to assume that when a consumer visits a website (and sticks around), they are looking to purchase one of the products listed. This makes them the target audience for “Website X”, the all-important demographic any E-Commerce site has been trying to attract. Would it not be practical, then, to make the process of acquiring these goods and/or services as simple and easy as possible for the consumer?
If the primary goal is to have users purchase a product/service through a website store, that action should be the only one a consumer is required to make; anything else not absolutely necessary inhibits that goal. If the plan was to get more “bang
for your buck” by collecting user data and acting on that information afterwards either by selling it off or sending out email incentives, it should be noted that many websites that eliminate this practice see an almost immediate uptick in their sales. To circumvent this potential problem, offer users two checkout options at the end of the checkout process: one as a registered user, another as a guest. If the purchaser decides to willingly register as a user, it can be assumed that they are planning on simplifying the process for future purchases.
Hiding Product Prices from the Consumer
It is understandable for a seller to want direct contact with the consumer prior to revealing the cost of the product (generally when that product/service cost is rather high). However, forcing consumers to traverse the website like an archaeologist in search of the Holy Grail for any information on what something actually costs is generally considered inconsiderate, and it’s simply bad user experience. After all, a satisfied customer is the best friend a website can have.
Even if the intention was not to force said expedition (and a contact phone number to a sales representative is plastered all over the site), human nature will drive consumers into a frenzied search of that mystical price long before they give in and pick up a phone, especially when dealing with a product as simple as a a scented candle or customized baseball bat.
If the product is somewhat elaborate and does require direct human interaction in order to accurately price the item properly, then at least provide a baseline or range of what they may be expected to pay before they pick up the phone. Remember, your product’s value is directly related to the convenience of your sales process. Often when a product price or range is not found on a website the user will move on to a site where they can get that information and that is where they end up making their buy decision.
Making the Customer/Provider Relationship Complicated
If a user suddenly decides to end their business dealings with you, whether temporarily or permanently, it is strongly recommended to not subject them to a lengthy cancellation process. Make it easy for your customers to find you and reach you, and make the processing of refunds an easy experience. If you provide users with an easy one-click option to stop receiving emails or the monthly auto-withdrawal on their account, or you have a human on the other end of the customer service line (that is positioned prominently on the front of your site), you are more likely to keep that business relationship. Showing you really care about the user enough to make things easy contributes to a sense of buyer’s remorse (to some degree) that they will remember next time one of your competitors lets them down. In today’s online environment, good customer
service is as important as it has ever been, maybe even more so. The fewer clicks to get what one wants, the more satisfying the buying experience. Customer satisfaction in the online experience is still a very important part of the buying experience.
Lots and Lots of Text on Your Homepage
As much as we would like to not acknowledge this, most people on the Internet are not interested in reading. Try not to overload users with more text than they can handle. If a user just wants to buy a scented candle, save the specific, highly detailed information for a different page. This is very important- try to distinguish between what is buy-oriented vs. information-seeking behavior and plan the content placement accordingly. We live in an image-based society (and pictures are generally universal, whereas language is not), so place a “Buy Now” button next to a picture of the product. That product image should ideally link to a product detail page where there is product info, data sheets, etc. Generally speaking, an unconvinced buyer will need the second step to adequately assess whether or not the product is a good fit for them. As trite as it sounds, a picture really is worth a thousand words. Especially when expensive copywriters are involved.
Interactive Features That Detract From the User Experience
There are several interactive features that can create a detrimental effect on the user experience, and they are all too common. One such problem nowadays (and this wasn’t always the case) is the presence of Flash animation. Flash was the appropriate way to go several years ago, but especially since the prevalence of Apple i-products and mobile browsing, Flash has actually become a limitation. Since Apple does not support Flash, any cool slideshows or videos on a site using this technology will not be seen on an iPad, iPod or iPhone. Most of the time, Javascript/jQuery will yield very similar results and be supported on all browsers.
Another detractor is the use of popups. Even simple confirmation boxes are capable of becoming annoyances, so imagine if an alert box came up every time the user tried to submit a form. After a while, these minor annoyances will cause users to simply decide it is not worth the effort and move on to a different site that offers a similar product/service with less hassle. Another factor to keep in mind is that tied in to the user’s subconscious experience is the association of popups with viruses in Internet Explorer. Everything that is done in Javascript with popups can be done using the same technology without popups and with better results.
Disabling the back button on the browser serves no functional purpose other than to trap the user on the page they navigate to. This is akin to blocking off the entrance to a maze once someone is inside so they can’t get out. All the user has to do is type any other URL into the address bar, away from the site they navigated to in the first place, annoyed and convinced not to visit that same site again.
Avoiding these all-too-common practices may not give an E-Commerce site overnight success, but adherence to them in the long run will demonstrate to users a high level of respect and consideration for their time and comfort.
Sources: Gartner, 2010; Google Internal Data, 2011; Cisco, 2011
Sources: Google "The Mobile Movement: Understanding Smartphone Users," 2011
