OK, so the title isn't strictly true there is one important factor in ecommerce shopping cart design and two things you have to do achieve it. The goal is to make people purchase your product. The two things you have to do to make them buy is to help and persuade.
When you design a site you need to pay serious attention to it's usability and it's persuasive abilities. The aim of a good eCommerce solutions is to gently (or not so gently) persuade the sites user to purchase the product they want to make sure that they find this as easy as possible you need to make sure that your website is as usable as possible. There are thousands of usability and persuasive design methodologies and we don't intend to cover them all in this article. We have identified a couple of the most important factors in both areas and given you some tips and guidance to help you tailor your shopping cart software to increase sales.
Usability Design
When a customer lands on your internet store they will only have a certain amount of patience, once this all runs out they will give up and leave your site for one of your competitors. The easier your site is to use and the less they have to think about how it works the longer they will stay on your site, and the more likely they will be to purchase from you.
With the increase in the use of CSS and the increasing accessibility of graphic manipulation packages people are able to completely customise the way the 'things you click' on their web-site look, the limit it pretty much their own imagination. Unfortunately this can lead to some confusion for users who have to think about what is clickable and what isn't, this will cause them to get frustrated.
With text links it's best to follow HTML tradition, keeping links in a contrasting colours and keep them underlined. Users also like to know where they have been, so keeping links that have been visited in another colour is good practice.
The best course of actions with buttons is to .. well .. make them look like buttons. I know it seems patronising but a lot of people forget this when they have spent a lot of time making sure the buttons on their site fit in with the design. Raised looking buttons are difficult to make look nice and clean without them looking a little '2001' but it's really worth spending a little time thinking about your buttons.
One of the easiest way to lose customers is to actually lose them. If you customers can't find their way around your store, or can't find their way to wherever they want to be they're not going to buy from you.
What's the best way to achieve this? Well it's probably by using tabs. they give a good idea of where the user is, and how they can get to where they want to be.
Tag Lines are frequently dismissed from modern website design in order to make at design look less cluttered, and certainly there are situation where removing a tag line will do no harm but generally there are useful. It is important that a customer know as quickly as possible if your site will sell the product they are looking for. A good example of this is Amazon when they first launched they used a tag-line similar to 'Online Bookstore' because when customer landed on their page they would have had to think a little to work out that a company called Amazon was in fact an online book store. However as Amazon are now so well known they have removed it as it's no longer needed.
Persuasive Design
Once you've addressed the Usability of your store and your visitors can find their way around your site easily and find their way to where they want to be, you must then consider the second important part of the design. You need to make then go to where YOU want them too, the order confirmation page. Below are 3 tips for making this happen.
Once the user has put some items into their cart and clicked on the checkout button there is a good chance that they really want to buy something. So whatever you do make it as easy as possible for them to put their credit card details in and click the order confirm button.
A design practice that we implement is removing all unnecessary links from the order process. For example all links to the home and search boxes are removed. If the user goes searching for other products then it's possible that they'll get side tracked and forget that they were going to buy your products. But make sure that the user still has access to the information about the product that they're buying, we try to implement this by including all the information on the shopping cart page, or by linking to pop-up with the info in, we do not link back to the original product page as this could lead to further distractions.
Long checkout processes with multiple pages is also something that should be avoided. Only ask the customer for information that you really need.
One of the main ways that people will look for products on your site is by using the search box. Rigging (or Mapping) your searches will allows you to map products to keyword, so when a customer searches for a word related to a product that does not include the keywords in the title or the product text you can make sure the products show up. This is just like a customer asking a shop assistance for a product when they know what they want the product to do, but are just not sure of the name of the product.
You need to make your product descriptions and products images as descriptive as possible, do not ever assume that your customers are as well versed on your products as you are. If there is something they want to know and you haven't covered they will do one of three things:
- Ask you, which happens a lot less than you would imagine.
- Go and look on a competitors web-site, if they have the information then it's likely you've lost a customer.
- Give Up.
Also the more information that you include the more 'spider food' there is got the search engines, writing the product descriptions is a good time to focus on Search Engine Optimisation.
Following a couple of these simple guidelines you should see a marked increase in the conversion rate for your store. There are also many other usability and persuasive design models that you can apply and we defiantly recommend searching for some more to apply to your shopping cart.
Related Articles
Ecommerce Shopping Cart Software Usability, are your Customers Frustrated?
By: Philip Bennett | 27/10/2007 | ECommerce
If you have compeitors for your online store then you need to make sure the visitors to your site are as happy as possible, to do this you need to make sure your site is as usable as possible. The harder your site is to use, the more frustrated your customers will become and the less likely they will be to buy your products.
What is an Ecommerce Shopping Cart?
By: Philip Bennett | 24/10/2007 | ECommerce
Do you want to sell your products online? Are you not really sure where to start? It is more than likely that you’ll need to get yourself some shopping cart software, or develop your own. This software is the backbone of any online store. It allows you to display your products online and let potential customers make purchases from you.
How to Minimise Shopping Cart Abandonment
By: Philip Bennett | 26/10/2007 | ECommerce
Have you spotted customers on your site adding to their shopping cart but never finalising their purchase? This is called shopping cart abandonment and there are ways to stop it and increase your turnover.
E-inbusiness Expands Senior Team With New Head of Projects
By: JDALeeds | 17/07/2008 | ECommerce
Leading multi-channel full service eCommerce & eMarketing agency e-inbusiness has expanded its senior team with the appointment of Tuan Ngo as Head of Projects.
Tuan, who joins e-inbusiness from Fujitsu Services, has been appointed to oversee all eibCommerce technology projects and delivery with an immediate focus on creating a best-of-breed Project Delivery Strategy.
Ecommerce: Naming The Solutions
By: Scott Lindsay | 04/02/2007 | Internet
The world of ecommerce is filled with fascinating technology and significant possibility. The move from a brick and mortar store to online sales may feel like being exported to a foreign country. You may not understand every issue involved in developing a winning website, but you CAN adapt. The end...
Ecommerce - Make it Easy on the Customer (part 2)
By: Lee Siemon | 05/10/2007 | ECommerce
In the first part, I discussed the problems with many do-it-your-self ecommerce websites, in part 2 I give you ideas on what to look for in your own site
E-inbusiness Expands Business Development Team With Two Key Appointments
By: JDALeeds | 17/07/2008 | ECommerce
Leading multi-channel full service eCommerce and eMarketing agency e-inbusiness has expanded its Business Development Team with the appointment of Andrew Fowler and Nick Pawley as Business Development Managers.
Improving The Odds Of Success In Ecommerce
By: Scott Lindsay | 05/02/2007 | Internet
Technological advances have allowed a series of potential revenue streams in the world of ecommerce. Certainly the technological revolution has allowed brick and mortar commerce to open its doors to international clients. And while this is a rather large tip on a rather large iceberg it's not the sum total...
Got a Question? Ask.
Ask the community a question about this article:
Frequently Asked Questions
Online shop requirements
By: razk | 10-06-2008
what are the technical requirements of creating an online shop?
Online shop requirements
By: razk | 10-06-2008
what are the technical requirements of opening an online shop?how do i attract surfers to my online shop?
Social Bookmarking Submission Service
By: fantasia236 | 17-05-2008
It is a popular fact that and major search engines like Google, MSN and Yahoo give more weightage to content in a website. Therefore it is likely that the more places you have for your content the greater traffic you are can generate. Hence submitting your site manually into social bookmarking sites like blogthis , Digg, orkut and others will not just generate a greater volume of direct traffic but will also help increase the SERP (Search Engine Results Page) of your website.
What is the website of Ronald A. Katz?
By: DavidAv | 26-04-2008
What is the website of Ronald A. Katz who is described inhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_A._Katz
Better than bluehost? Is there any?
By: denen | 21-04-2008
Better than bluehost? Is there any?
Invalid Domain Specified. Domain already in use by ...
By: rajabasha | 14-04-2008
Invalid Domain Specified. Domain already in use by another hosting customer. How to solve this problem
Q&A Powered by:
Latest ECommerce Articles
The History of Web Design in a Nutshell
By: Paul Edison | 23/07/2008
The Internet was created in the 1960s as a way to transfer data between computers via telephone lines. By the late 1980s, the Internet was being introduced as a means of communication for anyone with a computer, modem and telephone line. Web design has been divided into "generations." Today's websites are considered the fourth generation.
The Evolution of the Online Storefront
By: Andy West | 23/07/2008
Online stores have come a long ways from the mid-nineties, when major companies such as Amazon and eBay entered the playing field.
Initon Introduces New Software to Increase Sales by Relisting Items Automatically on Ebay
By: Mariann Levai | 23/07/2008
Initon today announced new Aerolister Pro 7 3.4 software to make sellers’ daily work easier and more comfortable on eBay.
In Smoking the Advantage Is…
By: Emma | 23/07/2008
The pages our discount e-shop to give an opportunity to large selection of cheap cigarettes: Marlboro, Camel, Winston, Kent, Parliament, and Davidoff. Our cheap online shop produces a broad spectrum of tobacco to gather at the best plantations of the world. Smokers will be satisfied a Good Services together with top-quality goods. Our cheapest shop in Internet will deliver cigarettes directly to your door. The price structure and quality is ideal. Pick-up!
How To Make More Money Online
By: Obinna Heche | 22/07/2008
Looking to start a business, but do not know how? Looking to make some money online like everyone else seems to be doing, but do not know where to start? Its as simple as using one of the all inclusive commerce business opportunity services that puts everything together for a new business and even sends out the products to those who buy them.
Is a Merchant Account in Your Future?
By: Jim Osterman | 22/07/2008
Where is the future audience for your online business coming from?
Learning How to Get People Who Want to Buy to Your Website!
By: Tim Nides | 22/07/2008
Getting people to come to your site who want to buy what you want to sell.
Create Your Own Niche Website
By: Robert | 20/07/2008
If you have ever wanted to make money online, then you should consider Making your own niche website.
More from Philip Bennett
Ecommerce Shopping Cart Software Usability, are your Customers Frustrated?
By: Philip Bennett | 27/10/2007 | ECommerce
If you have compeitors for your online store then you need to make sure the visitors to your site are as happy as possible, to do this you need to make sure your site is as usable as possible. The harder your site is to use, the more frustrated your customers will become and the less likely they will be to buy your products.
How to Minimise Shopping Cart Abandonment
By: Philip Bennett | 26/10/2007 | ECommerce
Have you spotted customers on your site adding to their shopping cart but never finalising their purchase? This is called shopping cart abandonment and there are ways to stop it and increase your turnover.
Little SEO Tips for your Ecommerce Shopping Cart
By: Philip Bennett | 25/10/2007 | ECommerce
Getting traffic to your eCommerce shopping cart can be expensive, search engine traffic is free and is some the highest quality traffic available. Use these tips to put your site at the top of the search engines.
What is an Ecommerce Shopping Cart?
By: Philip Bennett | 24/10/2007 | ECommerce
Do you want to sell your products online? Are you not really sure where to start? It is more than likely that you’ll need to get yourself some shopping cart software, or develop your own. This software is the backbone of any online store. It allows you to display your products online and let potential customers make purchases from you.
Internet 
