Facebook web addresses allow you to easily promote your business, brand or organization’s presence on Facebook with a short URL. The web address can be used in your marketing communications, company website and business cards.

An example of a Facebook web address is http://www.facebook.com/fbsitegovernance.

Has your ecommerce website witnessed an explosion in sales this holiday season? Why are we asking this question? Well, according to experts, compared to 2010, online sales, this holiday season, went up by more than 15%. If your website hasn’t been at the receiving end of the online shopper largesse this year, then maybe, just maybe, there is something wrong with it.

There must be something wrong with the design of your ecommerce website, which might be interfering with its potential to generate sales. Let’s take a look at how you can improve the sales of your ecommerce website.

Design Should Allow Shoppers to Find the Product

No, it’s not that shoppers find your products expensive, or don’t like the visual appeal or design of your website or that they don’t really want to buy your products in the first place that is the reason behind your website’s failure. You will be surprised to note that, one of the primary reasons why shoppers don’t purchase a product from a particular ecommerce website is that they are unable to find the product that they want. Does your website conveniently guide users to their desired products? Be honest with yourself.

If it doesn’t, you need to improve it. A simple, clear, and convenient navigation should be able to do the trick.

Design Should Cater to Different Kinds of Shoppers

Believe it or not, there are different types of shoppers that your ecommerce website design must cater to; it must be the one size fits all, kind of design. It must cater to the requirements of the power shopper, the recreational shopper and also the reluctant shopper. Let’s take the case of power shoppers first, the kind of shoppers who know what they want and don’t want to waste any time when they shop. For them, an intuitive search bar is a great idea as it will keep providing suggestions as they type. All, in all, for them, the design must be able to make shopping quick and convenient.

Now for the recreational shopper who has all the time in the world when it comes to shopping and has a tendency towards impulse buying. So, a series of featured products, great products visuals, and unbeatable discounts will go a long way in vowing them. And now for the most difficult kind of shoppers; the ones that are reluctant to buy anything only, because of various concerns. Your website design has a better chance of converting them into customers if their fears regarding privacy, security, customer services and trustworthiness of the products are dispelled.

Conversion through Product Details Page

If and when, your website attracts the attention of shoppers, it needs to hold their interest. This can be done through many different ways. One of these ways is using high quality photography to showcase the products on the product details page. Something else you can do is sweetening the whole prospect of buying the products, for the prospective shopper. Some early bird discounts or reward points will definitely attract prospective buyers. It will also be a good idea to make your site more engaging by offering reviews and ratings; this also makes your ecommerce website achieve credibility and forge a solid reputation.  These are just some of the many ways that can help you showcase your products, in a way that is sure to captivate and convert.

But, It Doesn’t End Here

With the tips given above you have not just attracted prospective customers to your site, but the shopper centric ecommerce website design has ensured that they have added a whole list of products to their shopping carts. But don’t pop the champagne just yet. They still need to take the shopping cart through the checkout process. This is when the deal will be sealed. The payment process of the shopping cycle must be quick and painless and one of the ways of doing this is by offering one page checkouts. A long drawn out checkout process is never enjoyable, so cutting down on those pages makes perfect sense. Another great idea would be to do away with the need for registration, if the shopper wants to buy products on the site.

Tips are easier to read and very difficult to incorporate. When it comes to the website design of your ecommerce site, the tips given above are not going to be a cakewalk, but they aren’t impossible to implement, either. If you are looking for ecommerce success, it makes sense to put in some efforts in website design. The dividends will be fantastic.

#1 Make It User-Friendly

This is number one because it is the most important. The site must be designed so that it is easy to use, so that it actually helps the user succeed. If things are difficult or confusing, users will turn away. They have too many options to fight through a confusing site.

#2 Not Make It Polarizing

Do not make the site too unique. You want it to stand out, but making it so that some people hate it and some people love it is a good way to drive off half of your prospective clients.

#3 Use Simple Text

Fancy texts are hard to read, especially on a screen. They also make the site look like it was designed by an amateur. Use the basic, traditional font styles. They are traditional for a reason.

#4 Use Colors, But Not Many

You cannot ignore colors or your site will not look up-to-date, but do not use too many. Pick a color scheme of three or four different colors and try to stick to it at all times. Use other, bright colors only for the purpose of occasional highlighting.

#5 Provide Information

People often give up when they cannot find the information that they want on your website. They rarely call to ask questions. Provide everything that they could ever be looking to find. If you really want to draw them in, you must give them the things that they are looking for.

#6 Reduce Work For The User

Make the site simple. Make it easy to find the links and easy to navigate between pages. Remember that it has to be easy for a person who did not design the site, who does not know it inside and out.

#7 Remember That People Do Not Read Traditionally Online

Instead of reading across, they scan all over the page for the keywords that they want. Place related information in places where they will see it.

#8 Cater To All Internet Speeds

Using too many pictures and videos means that users with slow connections will be alienated. You can use some of these, but do not use too many.

#9 Not Overdo The TechnologyJ

ust because you can make flashing graphics and hundreds of animated GIFs does not mean that you should. Keep these things to a minimum or the site will look cluttered and chaotic.

#10 Use Short Blocks Of Text

People do not want to read whole pages of information. If they did, they would read books. Try not to put up blocks of text that contain much more than one hundred or one hundred and fifty words.