eComm website review

deepriver

Hi,

I would like to post this website for review..

Any feedback is welcome but bearing in mind its a shop so I'm particularly interested in feedback around the UE and transaction flow and any issues that might effect / block a sale.

So for example would you make a purchase, is there any reason you wouldnt (not enough company contact details or product reviews, creating an account too time consuming, shopping cart too clunky, payment options limited etc)

Its build using oscommerce

+/- feedback welcome

thanks
S

tricky D

First, the logo would be better as flat colour without the palm tree and cloud background.

Some of the text on the slider panel has poor contrast against the background. Try something like a dark outer glow on the text.

I would have the slider a bit smaller.

You have products ready to buy with prominent prices on the homepage which is good.

You have no incentives on the homepage like discounts, reduced prices, special offers or free stuff/delivery which would be good.

The Sale link should be Shop.

The grey text in all the site is hard to read. More contrast is needed, make it much darker.

You should have a contact page, it is vital for trust. Burying the info in Shipping & Returns and Conditions pages is no good.

You are required by law to list your RBN. I see it now but again it is buried.

Delivery charges are not displayed well, they should have their own page separate from Shipping and Returns or be organised and displayed better on the page.

The sizing chart should not be a twitpic but a page link beside the select field or better as a revealing div or best in the select field like Eur 40, M 7, F 6.5 (you have enough room for this).

The Add to Cart button is too small and I find orange is the best colour.

On the What's in my Cart page I would move the Checkout / PayPal right under the Sub-Total.

Creating My Account:
Male/female, do you really need this?
Fax is not needed.
Newsletter tickbox should be off by default. Why would I want a newsletter anyway? (If yes, give reasons and links to previous newsletters) I wouldn't have a newsletter at all as there are better ways to do remarketing.

Some people don't like using PayPal. More options would be better.

You could do more work on your SEO. A bit more on keywords and change the URLs from nameslike product_info.php?cPath=23&products_id=61 to kaki-pique-espadrilles.html. Fortunately, there isn't too competition for your product so you appear to be listed high on search engines.

hope that helps and good luck

deepriver

Hi Tricky,
Thanks for the feedback, very comprehensive and all noted. Although I did develop the website, I'm not from a development background so a lot of the cosmetic changes are a bit out of my reach although some of the UE stuff I should be able to change.. sizing guide, shipping terms etc
thanks again

Fanny Cradock

I don't see any links to Facebook etc. on the main page. Perhaps an icon or two should be placed in the menu.

Think about highlighting your sale section more. Whether this is simply changing the "sale" text in the menu to red and bold or having some larger reference on your home page (images, for example), I think you need something.

I'll disagree with Tricky D and say that newsletters are fine for marketing. Just keep them short, colourful and don't send them too often.

Fanny Cradock

Additionally, you should work on increasing your Facebook profile. It's a great way of keeping in touch with potential customers.

Get a landing page to encourage people to like you and consider running some prize draw or some such for those who have. Just a thought but perhaps even down the line you could think about doing some sort of mutually beneficial tie in with another small fashion company.

deepriver

Thanks Fanny - the facebook links our kinda buries on the about us page.. it would make sense to get them on the homepage with some more promotion around sales!

tricky D

Fanny Cradock wrote: »

I'll disagree with Tricky D and say that newsletters are fine for marketing. Just keep them short, colourful and don't send them too often.

I think you are missing the gist of what I'm saying. Newsletters are a super channel for remarketing, but not always as in this case.

There are 2 methods available here: pushing product updates and after sales support. The issue is which is the most appropriate channel for each function.

Twitter and especially FB are great channels for covering product updates in this kind of case. Updates mainly confined to small product range additions is not compulsive enough content for newsletter marketing especially given the huge amount of image stripping and blocking in email.

Using the after sales support channel would involve sending a follow up personalised email after a certain number of months asking customers are they happy, suggesting they write a review and tell friends by email or social media. The product updates can also be included in these mails.


Your tie in suggestion is great.

Procasinator

You should have a contact us page, preferably with an address and phone number too.

This helps gains trust in the company.

Another thing is that reviews would be better integrated into the actual product page. At present, there is a reviews link. It would be nice to have 3 or so reviews on the actual product page.

Another idea might be to have an article on what Espadrilles are and what benefits they have over other footwear. Might seem obvious, but a quick article on their history, materials, etc. would help people learn about them + help improve search engine rankings (more indexable content) and make the site look like an authority or knowledgeable/passionate about the area. A site that seems to have product knowledge behind it is always comforting as it's easier to perceive the items are of higher quality then a store with no personality (by personality I mean content, not attacking the sites design).

Another thing I think you should do, which is outside of a website review really, is setup an eBay store. I think this will help you draw in additional customers and suits your product line. There is obviously a cost to doing so, but you could find it's a stronger sales line then the website itself (though they can complement each other).

deepriver

Thanks Procasinator, that makes a lot of sense.. the product is a relatively new concept in footwear in this market, that makes a lot of sense.. I should also bring up the contact details..

Interesting point about the ebay store.. I did set up an ebay.ie account and found next to nil traffic.. I have avoided an ebay store as I am avoiding the overheads and also I am really at this point only looking to the Irish market, would an eBay store generate Irish sales? Would be great to get some more feedback in that area..
thanks

Cianos

Are you underpricing the product? 12 quid seems very cheap for what many would see as a specialist product.

tricky D

Sush now you. I'm thinking of buying some.

cormee

Only having a Register and Login option on the shopping cart are a big no-no. Would you shop in Dunnes if they required you to be a member of their club?

Customers want to buy your products, not form a relationship with you. So you need to give them the option of buying without registering.

Have a read of this http://www.uie.com/articles/three_hund_million_button/ the company in question (I believe it's Amazon) increased takings by €300,000,000 when they gave users the option to purchase without registering.

Also why are sizes only in European sizes (or did I miss the UK size)? I've no clue what UK 11.5 (;) @ teh ladies!!) is in European sizes.

Trashbat

Hey OP are you getting much Traffic through at the moment?

I notice your checkout option is quite complex. Do you have a cart abandon program in place? Where someone fills out their details and doesnt complete a sale, you can follow up with them.

montreal2011

tricky D wrote: »

First, the logo would be better as flat colour without the palm tree and cloud background.

I like the logo with the sky and palm tree background! Lots of feedback there so I think you have covered it all! All I noticed is that giving a language and currency drop-down select with only once choice is a waste of time for now

tricky D

montreal2011 wrote: »

I like the logo with the sky and palm tree background!

There's more to it than just liking it. Using photographic elements is not recommended in logo design guidelines as they almost always cause problems. The legibility of the last few characters of the website logo and the reversed out version used for the insole sticker demonstrate this. If the palm is to be used, it would be much better as a separate non-photographic element so the legibility of the text is not reduced. As is, it detracts from legibility which is crucial for any brand's visual impact.

montreal2011

Yes, it's true that it's not the best idea as it might not be as legible as it should be. I guess that a graphic designer is needed as having the palm tress and sky is a good idea, but not in the text.

{^Syntax^}

It's fast. I like fast.

Mr. 2

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