Store Design (general), Items 1 to 50

This section contains articles specific to web store design. Also look at Personalization and One-to-One Marketing. For more generic information, you'll find links to many articles on general business website design in our Web Marketing Today Research Room. Also consider Ken Evoy's Make Your Site Sell for a carefully researched sales optimization system for single-product sites. Dr. Wilson's book 12 Ways to Give Your Webstore a Sales Boost focuses on designing a multi-product online store so as to maximize sales.

"Store Design (general)" includes 582 items
This page contains items 1 to 50

1. Convert More New Users Using Advanced Segments, by Ben Gott, Search Engine Land, 10-16-2009 You have 2 types of web visitors -- newbies and returning users who know your site. Explains how advanced segments work in Google Analytics. Use this to assess your top organic landing pages. Explains how to treat both types of visitors.
2. Are Your Testimonials Costing You Sales?, by Sally Evans, Associate Programs Newsletter, 8-27-2009 Discusses 9 ways to make testimonials more effective, including being specific, backing up claims, benefit rich, credible, use comparisons, use consumer skepticism, placed correctly, etc.
3. Consumer Reviews Count, by Tessa Wegert, ClickZ, 9-10-2009 Explains the power of customer reviews -- both negative and positive. Suggests incorporating consumer reviews and testimonials in your online ads.
4. Reshaping Web Site Design, by Mark Brohan, Internet Retailer, 1-1-2009 Discusses current approaches to online store design. Examples from VistaPrint, ActionEnvelope.com, and QVC.
5. Because you bought cross-selling, you may also like ..., by Bill Siwicki, Internet Retailer, 1-1-2009 Discusses various approaches to product recommendations and cross selling to improve online store conversion rates.
6. How to Figure the Value of Research Conducted on Your Site, by Jason Burby, ClickZ, 10-7-2008 To determine the value of research conducted on your site to offline sales, track coupons and special offers, as well as match backs with product registrations. Ask customers about the likelihood that they'll buy. Conduct post-purchase surveys. A multipronged approach is best.
7. The Difference Between Great and Average Copy, by Jeff Sexton, FutureNow, 9-25-2008 Great copy communicates the emotional truth of your message; mediocre copy simply conveys information. As an example points to an embedded 6 minute YouTube short film. Excellent.
8. Don't Sell to Visitors From Corporate HQ, by Kevin Lee, ClickZ, 9-5-2008 Discusses the value of setting up a microsite to sell to customers by (1) ability to leverage search scent, (2) engine-specific or geo-specific offers, and (3) buy-funnel messaging.
9. The Gift Savvy Merchandising Top 10, by Lauren Freedman, The E-tailing Group, 6-13-2007 Merchandising tips for holiday gift shopping: (1) build a service culture, (2) be comprehensive in content, (3) be onsite search savvy, (4) tout gift cards, (5) be sensitive to cut-off dates, (6) be promotionally aware, (7) be in touch, (8) think multi- channel, (9) be nimble, (10) analyze and respond.
10. Optimize Your Site: Getting Started, by Jason Burby, ClickZ, 9-9-2008 To get started optimizing your website, first gain executive support, then focus on what matters to your business, monetize the impact, test many things, and spend the time. Begin with what drives your business.
11. Optimize Your Site: First-Time vs. Returning Visitors, by Jason Burby, ClickZ, 9-23-2008 Start optimizing with your landing pages. Explains how to segment your audience and separate returning visitors from newcomers. Mentions learnings of Sitebrand's whitepaper, "First Time Here? A Marketer' Oriented Approach to Optimizing Online Conversions."
12. Cleaning Up the Retail Site Navigating Mess, by Brian Klais, Search Engine Land, 9-4-2008 Users benefit from powerful attribute-based navigation systems implemented by retailers. But Google urges that the "blech" of duplicated pages be cleaned up. The author lists 5 natural search issues created, which dilute natural search marketing performance.
13. Ratings And Reviews Engage Your Visitors, by , Practical eCommerce, 7-24-2008 Discusses benefits of ratings and reviews for e-commerce sites. Stand alone software that can be used includes: Review-Script.com, Rating System, Bazaarvoice, and PowerReviews.
14. 4 Principles of Walmart.com Merchandising Exposed, by Bryan Eisenberg, FutureNow, 7-17-2008 Cites points presented by Raul Vazquez of Walmart.com. (1) Value. Customers need to see the value you offer immediately. (2) Assortment. Highlight the best, then show the rest. (3) Make it easy for the customer. (4) Content - great product info, multiple images, etc.
15. Letting Shoppers Have Their Say: Adding Customer Reviews, by Vangie Beal, Ecommerce-Guide.com, 5-27-2008 Suggests three review scripts for under $100, all of which use PHP and MySQL: (1) Five Star Review Script using a layout similar to Amazon. (2) Star Rating System PRO, (3) ReviewPost PHP Pro.
16. Don't offer me a gas company membership card. Offer me free gas., by Nick Usborne, Excess Voice, 5-26-2008 A cogent reminder not to spend time trying to explain the "process" to get the benefit. Rather focus on the benefit that the process or framework contains.
17. How to Strengthen a Site via Title Tag Strategies, Part 1: The Basics, by Brian R. Brown, MarketingProfs, 4-1-2008 Title tags have been so thoroughly explained and discussed that you would think everyone would be doing them perfectly. Not so. This is a clear explanation of exactly what you should (and should not) do with title tags.
18. What Is Web Copy and How Should I Use It?, by Holly Buchanan, Future Now, 3-17-2008 Web copy differs from offline copy in that it contains hyperlinks that can create persuasive momentum and a clear pathway for your visitor to accomplish his or her goals.
19. Enthroning the E-Shopper, by Paul Korzeniowski, E-Commerce Times, 3-6-2008 Online shoppers are becoming less loyal to particular e-tailers, thanks to intense competition and the proliferation of alternatives. One way to encourage repeat visits and purchases is to provide a personalized shopping experience: customize what visitors see in the store, offer unique amenities for stuff they have bought, and charge based on who they are.
20. Balancing Aesthetics, SEO in Web Site Development, by Julie Batten, ClickZ Experts, 2-4-2008 How to achieve harmony between SEO experts and the web design, to develop a website that looks great and also stands to rank well in search engine organic results.
21. Look Vs. Feel, by Jack Aaronson, ClickZ Experts, 1-11-2008 Understand the difference between look and feel, to spruce up the appearance of your online store without alienating existing customers or messing up a sales process that already works.
22. Content Meets the Purchase Funnel, by Heidi Cohen, ClickZ Experts, 1-17-2008 Rich content is an underused approach to building more online sales. This discussion lays out a content structure that e-tailers can use to add plenty of content that will generate new organic search traffic, as well as support the sales process.
23. Online Retailers Fail Customer Experience 101, by Bryan Eisenberg, ClickZ Experts, 12-7-2007 A look at 69 factors that contribute to creating a great customer experience for visitors to a webstore, explored through the results of a recent study that evaluates the design and sales process of 330 online shops. With actions you can take to improve your own site.
24. Screencast: Making Online Gift Shopping Easier, by Anthony Garcia aka "Shaq", GrokDotCom.com, 12-7-2007 A screencast demonstrates special ways to help gift shoppers navigate in online stores at Etsy.com, BarnesAndNoble.com, and best at Amazon.com. Lessons for online stores.
25. 7 Deadly Claims (Part 1) -- "Superior Customer Service", by Jeff Sexton, GrokDotCom.com, 12-3-2007 The first in a series of 7 persuasion killing claims often used in press releases -- to be avoided if you want to persuade and sell. The first claims "superior customer service." To convince you must (1) make a verifiable promise, (2) measure the effect of your fabulous customer service, and (3) establish (or imply) the cost of your customer service.
26. Delays In Product Searches, Check-Outs Plague Holiday Shopping Sites, by Mary Hayes Weier, Information Week, 11-29-2007 Online retailers have done a good job on optimizing the home page so it moves quickly and customers can browse main sections of the Web site, but product search, cart loading, and check out processes have been problems for many sites.
27. What Customers Want: More Detailed Product Descriptions, by Janet Meiners, Marketing Pilgrim, 11-26-2007 Author gives information from WebCollage’s 2007 Survey of Online Consumer Product Research Habits. Specifically: 79% of those surveyed "rarely or never" purchase a product without complete product information. The pieces of information customers require begin with: detailed product benefits and capabilities 67%, system requirements 61%, etc.
28. Online Copywriting 101: the Ultimate Cheat Sheet, by , GrokDotCom.com, 10-29-2007 Parts 1 and 2 index publication's articles in terms of writing headlines, readability, customer-focused copy, copywriting techniques, trust and relationship building, e-mail marketing, blogs and resources, blogging, PR, copy length, word choice, formatting, usability, active vs. passive voice, personas, branding and advertising, monetizing content, and finally inspiration and fun.
29. Profitable Product Pages, by Jennifer Schiff, ECommerce-Guide, 11-12-2007 The individual product pages of your site are the key landing pages and sales motivators, and you need to design them with the proper amount and mix of information that online shoppers are looking for. 10 must-have elements of successful product pages.
30. Copywriting Tips: Accentuate the Negative, by Jeff Sexton, GrokDotCom.com, 10-15-2007 Leverage (don't fight) the customers belief in compromise by addressing a product's downsides head-on. People are as likely to assume that a downside has a corresponding upside as vice versa.
31. "You Ain't All That!" -- A Marketing Copy Autopsy, Part 2, by Jeff Sexton, GrokDotCom.com, 9-17-2007 In this primer on marketing copy the author gives 4 steps for creating highly-tuned emotional copy: (1) Find the source of your prospect's cognitive dissonance ("We just don't have the money"), (2) find an image that reaffirms that preconception in order to establish its limits, (3) introduce an image that expands the paradigm, and (4) show how this new image better matches the "real" self-image of the client.
32. Usability Report Card: Babyplanetboutique.com, by Richard Kerr, Practical Ecommerce, 9-26-2007 Suggestions for making over this generally well-designed and successful e-commerce site focus on greater consistency and use of standards in navigation design, and making the site search function more prominent and useful.
33. Fancy Formatting, Fancy Words = Looks Like a Promotion = Ignored, by Jakob Nielsen, Alertbox, 9-4-2007 One site did most things right, but still had a miserable 14% success rate for its most important task. The reason? Users ignored a key area because it resembled a promotion.
34. Creating an Effective Home Page, by Jack Aaronson, ClickZ Experts, 8-10-2007 A checklist and discussion of the elements of an e-commerce home page, including the right mix of navigation, promotions, categories, and products for your webstore.
35. Photography: More Than a Decent Camera, by Pat Callahan, Practical Ecommerce, 7-18-2007 A product image can determine whether the online customer makes a purchase or not, but preparing persuasive product photos is not simple. Consider outsourcing the job, and if you must do it yourself, pay attention to lighting not just the camera.
36. Stop Being a "More-on"!, by Jeffery Eisenberg, GrokDotCom.com, 8-13-2007 The author warns against using the hyperlinked phrase "for more on this story ..." Persuasive calls to action should include an imperative verb and a benefit.
37. Streamlined checkout equals higher average orders at RugSale.com, by , Internet Retailer, 7-30-2007 RugSale.com reduced checkout pages from 7 steps to 2, reducing cart abandonment from 65% to 45% and increasing the average sale up 21%. They rejected a one-page checkout for fear customers would feel rushed. They also found most customers weren't interested in taking time to set up an account.
38. Web 2.0 tools improve shoppers’ experience, sales, by , Internet Retailer, 7-5-2007 Adoption of such Web 2.0 tools as Ajax can help increase sales, meet customer expectations.
39. For Your Reviews, by P.J. Fusco, ClickZ Experts, 6-20-2007 Customer product reviews can be exceedingly influential when it comes to converting lookers into buyers, and you should seriously consider adding them to your e-commerce site. This article describes how to integrate reviews well, with special attention to ensuring good search visibility.
40. Merchants Should Be Preparing For The Holidays Now, by Lauren Freedman, Practical Ecommerce, 6-20-2007 Plan ways to save time for busy seasonal shoppers, and you'll boost holiday season sales. 8 tips for gift savvy merchandising describe best practices to implement in preparation for Christmas, including developing a service culture, using gift cards, and establishing shipping cut-off dates.
41. Lowering Shopping Cart Abandonment, by Greg Laptevsky, Practical Ecommerce, 7-11-2007 Checklist of simple website changes you can make to make your checkout process smooth and speedy, and so reduce shopping cart abandonment and lost sales, including calls to action and progress indicators on each checkout page, and reducing fields that require data input.
42. SellPoint Offers 'Active' Product Tours, by Pat Callahan, Practical Ecommerce, 7-13-2007 An idea worth a look for both manufacturers and e-tailers: Flash-based product tours and demos that are paid for by the manufacture, and syndicated to e-tailers carrying the product. This puts a powerful sales tool on shopping sites that otherwise can't afford to develop such tools.
43. Five More Important Facts About User Reviews in E-tail, by Greg Howlett, Marketing Pilgrim, 6-28-2007 On user reviews: (1) customers are twice as likely to write user reviews about good shopping experiences than bad ones. (2) Review writers likely spend much more money online. (3) 50% of online shoppers find these reviews helpful. (4) Reviews are used to gauge reliability, quality, to make buying decisions and narrow options. (5) Shoppers value reviews almost as much as company-provided information.
44. ‘Searchandising’ sparks better merchandise plans, by , Internet Retailer, 5-17-2007 A study from the Aberdeen Group found that 68% of best-in-class merchants us data from site search tools in their online merchandising tactics to show what shoppers want and increase conversion rates. Rates "effective use of site search as a merchandising tool" for Progress EasyAsk (80%), Mercado (67%), Endeca (67%), SLI Systems (50%), and Fast Search & Transfer (38%).
45. Command Links, by Jakob Nielsen, Alertbox, 5-14-2007 Application commands can be presented as buttons or as links, which offer more room for explanation. For primary commands, however, buttons are still best.
46. Daddiesboardshop.com Wins Site Review, by Mitch Bettis, Practical Ecommerce, 5-30-2007 Introduction to a 5-part e-commerce website review that examines what Daddiesboardshop.com is doing right and wrong, with suggested fixes in areas including general Internet presence, pay-per-click advertising, search optimization and site search. Use the links under 'Related Articles' on the right to access the rest of this review.
47. Search: No Results Equal No Sale, by Jack Aaronson, ClickZ Experts, 4-20-2007 What happens when a visitor to your site gets no results from a search? On most e-commerce sites, that's the end of the session, and the potential customer goes somewhere else. Create a helpful 'no results' page to steer visitors back into your site.
48. Converging Search and Browse, by Jack Aaronson, ClickZ Experts, 5-4-2007 Discussion of designing search and browse functions on e-commerce sites, suggesting some ways to think about merging the two functions to meet the needs of shoppers and drive more sales.
49. SEO Report Card: Error Pages Create Big Issues, by Stephan Spencer, Practical Ecommerce, 5-14-2007 Blow-by-blow critique of Modernmini, a small business webstore selling children's furniture and toys. Suggested improvements include a revamp of the URL structure for better SEO value, and creating a useful 404 error page to direct stray traffic back into the catalog.
50. Conveying Trust with Your Webstore Design, by Stuart Lisonbee and Neal Jenks, SiteReference, 4-4-2007 Provides bullet-point lists of factors that must be in order in an online store to produce trust in potential customers.