Your website is the first impression your potential customers get from your brand. Its appearance has to be modern, easy to follow and it has to reflect your company’s personality. Consider your eCommerce website your main shop window. That’s how you draw attention.
Regardless of how old or new your website is, everyone can benefit from a “makeover”. Your online reputation can be improved with a few simple tricks and your visitors will absolutely appreciate it.
So what can you do to freshen up your website?
First of all, you need to review your current website and ask yourself if it really represents what your company is all about, if it has enough personality to stand out and if it’s appealing enough.
Second of all, create a list of things you are missing or elements that could be better. Here are some popular questions to add to that checklist:
- Is your welcoming statement unique?
- Do you have an “About” page complete, does it speak to the audience, is it friendly enough?
- Is there any proof of your expertise on the website – testimonials, reviews?
- Are you using original photos?
- Is your content correct (grammar and spelling)?
- Does the website have it have any broken links?
- Does the website have strong call-to-action-buttons?
Once you have the answers to these essential questions, you can start working on a plan to improve your eCommerce website design and user experience.
Top 10 tips to make your eCommerce shop look up-to-date and keep your visitors engaged!
The main banners are amongst the first thing your visitors see when they access your website. Updating them on a regular basis is a must, just to give the feeling of involvement into new elements in your eCommerce shop. Here’s some inspiration on how to create new banners.
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2. Change the color palette
The color palette is essential to create contrast and balance with the negative space. It’s imperative to design your blocks in such a way that they stand out by using solid colors and white space. The overall layout should be clean and elements should be easy to notice – especially call-to-action buttons.
In 2019, the trend is to use bold, bright colors. Don’t be afraid to use yellow, green, pink or blue. You can check out Coolors for fast color schemes generator or Canva’s 50 visually impactful websites to inspire your article.
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3. Add motion and animation
Animation is catchy and fun! It’s definitely a distinguishing element you should have on your website! You can create a .gif version of your logo or work on some animated main banners.
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4. Freshen up your content
Even though you probably spent time and effort on creating the original content of your website, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t update it every now and then. Check your content regularly and add new things about the company, the team behind it, events, promotions and other topics that are relevant to the visitors.
Regardless of what new sections you add to the website, you should consider adding new call-to-action buttons as well. Encourage your visitors to download a brochure, see a new demo, sign up to your newsletter or simply check out a new product. Replace images, add new marketing copy and lead your shoppers to key information on your website.
Just in case you don’t already have social media links on your website, add them as soon as possible. Be active on your social media pages, post about your activities, products, events and create visibility for your brand. Add regularly new banners on your social media pages, make sure the photos are original and they have a good quality and simply be present. According to 30 top digital agencies, everyone loves to see that you are interested and they want to connect with their audience.
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7. Add a blog
The benefits of having a blog are many, starting with SEO and ending with informing your customers about your products, company, events, promotions, activities. By having a blog and adding articles to it, you’re constantly having fresh content on your website.
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8. Create videos
If you don’t have any videos on your website, start by creating a corporate one. This will present your company as an identity, it will let the customers know more about you and your business and it will create a bond with them. Popular tools to help you with this is Bitable.com and Animoto.com.
Don’t stop there, though! Work on creating product videos, story videos for your social media posts and don’t be afraid to present your team using a video! The more personal you get, the more your shoppers will appreciate it.
You need to make sure your website is easy to navigate through, this is a winning factor for engaging website traffic.
The main navigation menu should be consistent and prevent confusion. Create separate categories with visual distinction. The main navigation should be easy to tap on mobile. Use a drop-down menu or a sandwich menu to avoid clutter. The search button should be visible and easy to find.
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10. Improve your transactional emails
The identity of your brand isn’t present just on your website. Every single email sent out by your website should be consistent with the website’s design.
Work on creating effective and clear email templates, with fun copy to entertain the customers. Abandoned cart emails are some of the funniest ones out there. Play around with words and make it suitable for your business and customers. Here’s an example of an original copy for emails:
Your eCommerce website is the best way to grow your reach, increase brand awareness and to promote your business. You don’t need to change it completely to get a new result. Small changes can do the trick. If you simply update your color palette, call-to-action-buttons, change up the content and the images, your website is already in a new form which will keep the visitors on your pages.
The experts at Helix Solutions have worked on a great number of eCommerce websites and have extensive experience when it comes to implementing best practices for website design and development. Our team can help you rebuild your website to modern standards, including the latest technologies in web development, and offer you support in what concerns digital marketing, SEO, PPC, and many other services.
You’re not alone in the fast-changing eCommerce world! Helix Solutions can be by your side to help you achieve your business goals. Contact us today to find out how you can unlock your company’s online potential!