Making it easy to buy or enquire online
Published 27th April 2011
One in five of British online shoppers have abandoned a purchase because they could not find specific product information or could not ask questions.
Consider new and returning customers
Making the checkout process as simple as possible guarantees that new customers are able to follow the steps intuitively and the returning customers can order more quickly.
Don’t ask for what you don’t need
Reducing the number of fields on forms makes the task of filling in the form less lengthy. For example it is likely that the delivery address is the same as the billing address, so the customer shouldn’t be asked to enter the details twice. Similarly, an effort should be made to retrieve returning customer’s details to save them filling in the form again on subsequent visits.
Be helpful
Providing clean instructions and content for online forms can save the customers a lot of time and frustration.
- Text must be descriptive, but never use jargon.
- Text boxes should be long enough so that the user can enter and read the text, and error messages must be informative.
- Explaining why certain information must be collated will help the users understand the process better and a status bar will highlight the particular stage.
Avoid distractions
Advertisements or even navigation may distract the main objective on contact and checkout pages. It’s best to allow the user to concentrate on the task in hand; only when the process is complete and the confirmation message has been received should additional options be made available.
Speak to us
Mercurytide have the knowledge and experience to make your website work harder for you. Whether you are a small company wanting to take your first steps on the web or a more seasoned business wanting to raise your game to the next level, Mercurytide can not only help now but will keeping helping you at each step along the way.
To find out more on how to make the most of your website and to help your business grow, get in touch with Mercurytide.
