EBizInsider

Combat the Clutter and Debunk the Junk!

It’s been months since your New Year’s Resolutions. Are you one of millions who resolved to get more organized? Any progress? Relax: Spring Cleaning time is here!

In e-commerce lingo, Spring Cleaning means clearing the clutter from your website. We’ll review common problems and solutions. Best of all – no nasty chemicals, latex gloves or trash bags!

1. Can Users Understand Your Navigation?
Half of website visitors will use the search box to find a product. The other half will use navigation. Those who point and click while shopping could get frustrated if your navigation is difficult to follow. Examine your left hand navigation menu. Are there too many categories? When visitors click on a category page, are they taken to one subsection page and then another? If visitors have to click on more than one or two links to get to the item page they want, you risk losing them.

To Clean This Up:
Condense your main categories. For example, if you are selling computers, your menu should say “Desktop,” “Laptops,” “Accessories,” and other parent categories rather than, “Dell Laptops,” “Gateway Laptops,” “HP Laptops” in the main navigation. Keep your main categories within your menu and use features like Cascading Menus or Expanding Navigation to make finding the section pages easier. An easier shopping experience leads to better conversions, higher orders and more repeat business.

2. How Long Are Your Item Pages?
On too many websites the item pages go on and on… while this information is helpful and relevant, it can be messy. Users may get tired of scrolling to get the information they need. Big blocks of text often hide pertinent information. Big selling points could be missed and a sale could be lost. If your item pages require lots of scrolling, organize them better.

To Clean This Up:
The Tabbed Product Display can make a huge difference on your item page. With the Tabbed Product Display, you can nestle the pertinent information in an organized manner. The visitor can click on each tab to find what he or she wants and then click on the next tab for more information. Only one tab is showed at a time. This is valuable in vertical industries like electronics where there may be numerous specs, instructions, etc. Examples of tab titles could be Description, Directions, Ingredients, Care Instructions, Warranty Information, Sizing Chart, Specs, etc. You can also put downloadable specs or product reviews within a tab or sell corresponding accessories.

3. Are there too many Featured Items on Your Homepage?
The Featured Items section on some websites contains dozens of items to scroll through–on the homepage! While featuring items on the homepage are a call to action, half of internet shoppers use the search box and the other half use navigation. Few scroll through your homepage to make a purchase. A crowded homepage is not only distracting, but defeats the purpose of making certain items appear special.

To Clean This Up:
Simply limit the number of item IDs displayed on your homepage. Solid Cactus offers a simple feature called Randomly Displayed Best Sellers that will do this for you.

4. Are You TOO Animated?
In e-commerce, there are places for flash and animation, however too much of it is distracting. You want people to land on your site and know exactly where to go and what to do to get to that “add to cart” button. If the homepage is cluttered with flashing banners and graphics going down the entire right hand column (we see this a lot!), your visitors will become distracted, if not annoyed. You have less than ten seconds to make a first impression. Limit the flashy graphics.

To Clean This Up:
Consider a Randomly Displayed Graphic option. You can still show special offers such as free shipping, money back guarantee, etc. Simply reserve one spot on your site and have the messages rotate. Incorporate some of these store-wide benefits into your header to keep it top of mind and on every page.

Clear the clutter from your website and your visitors will thank you the best possible way—by becoming customers.

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