Design

     To a large extent the design of Web stores is still a new science (or art?) and much experimentation is still needed before it is possible to establish exactly what does and doesn't work. And what will work for you may be totally different from everyone else depending on the unique nature of your business.

     However, it is possible to lay down some guidelines that will help you design an effective Web store.

Fast loading
     Keep the HTML simple, the graphics small and forget about plug-ins and Java applets. Think carefully before deciding to use frames; if you do decide to use them then include a frame less version as well.

Keep it simple
     Don't let too many choices distract the visitor; research into interface design shows that users start to feel overwhelmed when faced with 7 or more choices on a menu so try and stay within this limit.

Use a shopping cart
     Virtual shopping carts enhance the shopping experience by allowing customers to select items for purchase and continue browsing the store before placing an order.

Good navigation
     Try and design your store so that customers can be at the ordering point within three clicks of entering your site. And remember that potential customers may enter your site from many directions (i.e. not just your home page) so make sure each page includes full navigation or a clear link to your home page as a minimum. Build into your site search capabilities that will let users sort by subject, item, or some other category.

Get global
     Remember that the first two "Ws" in "WWW" stand for worldwide and that your store will be accessible to people around the world. As a minimum you should include details of what the shipping costs and transit times to international destinations will be. Depending on the type of customer you are expecting and the product or service you are offering, you may want to consider having your Web pages translated into other languages.

Maximize ways to order and ways to pay
     Quite simply the more ways you can accept orders and payment the more orders you will receive. It is particularly important to offer secure processing of as many credit card types as possible.

Establish credibility
     Although Internet scams and rip-offs are greatly exaggerated by the media, they do exist and unless you trade under a major brand name you will need to convince customers that your not going to take their money and run. There are several ways of doing this, some simple and free others more complex and relatively expensive:

• Include details of your bricks-and-mortar address, telephone number and fax numbers.
• Include verifiable testimonials from previous customers
• Offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee
• Register your site with Verisign
• Register your site with TRUSTe

Offer a personalized service
     If you believe all the hype, Web stores offer a marketing nirvana where what customers see in a store is fine tuned to match their demographics and previous purchasing behavior. The reality is that this level of personalization is still not readily available particularly to lower budget ventures. However, it is still possible to provide a degree of personalization by collecting some basic data from your visitors and selecting and presenting information accordingly e.g. by producing newsletters with content tailored to subscribers preferences.

Pre-sales support
     Provide every possible piece of information about your product that a customer might need to reach a buying decision. Make yourself easily accessible should the customer require more information and respond promptly to e-mail (preferably within 24hrs but definitely within 48hrs).

Post sales support
     Maintain a high level of service after you receive the order. Try and provide the following:

• Acknowledgment of each order with a unique reference number for tracking
• On-line tracking of orders or a dedicated e-mail address for order progressing
• Confirmation of dispatch of goods
• An area within your site for ongoing product support

Realistic pricing
     Visitors to your store know that it is cheaper for you to do business over the Web than in a bricks-and-mortar store and expect to see this reflected in the price you are charging them. This will not be a major concern to you if you are selling in to a niche market, but if you are selling a commodity item you are going to have to price your products competitively.

Remember to sell
     Finally, remember that many of the selling techniques that have been proven to work in the real world will work equally well in your Web store. Contests, promotional discounts, coupons and aisle-end specials have all been used successfully within Web stores. However, don't neglect the basics - surfing through the Web it is amazing how many Web stores miss out on this, by not selling the benefits of their product or service or by failing to ask for the order.

Top

Choosing a Location

Laying the Foundation

Designing the Store

Receiving Orders

Getting Paid

Keeping it Secure

Promotion

Resources

Taking Orders

     Although most Web stores are probably set up with the expectation that the majority of orders will be received through the Web, the reality is that many customers prefer to use the Web to aid in the selection of a product and then to order by more traditional methods. You therefore need to ensure you are able to accept orders in as many different ways as possible.

Secure order form
     The most basic way to accept orders on the Web is to set up an HTML form where users enter the items they wish to buy, their shipping address, and credit-card information. Using a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) compatible server and browser will ensure that the credit card information cannot be discovered by third parties. Marketers Choice

     The use of an unsecured order form is not recommended. Even if you try to cover yourself with a disclaimer, the potential for litigation and bad publicity is too high should a customer claim (whether true or not) to have had his credit card details stolen when ordering from your site.

E-mail
     Provide a dedicated e-mail address for customer orders but ask them not to include credit card details unless using secure e-mail. It is safer to have the customer include a telephone number so you can call back and get credit card details later - but remember you will need to respond very quickly to these e-mails or risk losing the order.

Fax
     Design your Web store so that after your customer has completed their selection they have an option to print out a completed order form for faxing. Try and have a dedicated number for fax orders to minimize the chance of getting a busy signal when your customer tries to fax through his order. Better still, consider using a service that converts faxes to e-mail, for example EFAX (www.efax.com), UniTerra (www.uniterra.com), and Integrated Global Concepts (www.igconcepts.com)

Telephone
     Accepting orders over the 'phone is relatively straightforward, however the global nature of the Internet does mean that you can expect to receive orders 24 hours per day. If you can not justify manning a telephone permanently, you may have to rely on a simple answering machine or voice mail service. Alternatively, there are now a growing number of companies that will accept telephone orders on your behalf (for a fee, of course) and then forward them on to you for fulfillment.

     A growing trend is the integration of Web and telephony services. AT&T's "click to call" technology, for example, allows visitors to a Web site to simply type in their phone number and click on an icon to send the number to the Web site's call center agent. The phone number is immediately relayed to an agent, who then 'phones back to answer any queries or accept an order.

Snail Mail
     Many businesses still require to place orders through formal, paper purchase orders so make sure you include a physical address for this.

Top

Choosing a Location

Laying the Foundation

Designing the Store

Receiving Orders

Getting Paid

Keeping it Secure

Promotion

Resources