How to create an eCommerce homepage that doubles conversions
Are you thinking about starting a Shopify store? If so, you’re probably wondering how much it’s going to cost. The truth is, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. The cost of your Shopify store will depend on a number of factors, including the size and complexity of your store, the features you need, and whether you choose to hire a professional to help you set up and design your store.
In this blog post, we’ll outline some of the key factors that will affect the cost of your Shopify store. Armed with this information, you’ll be able to make an informed decision about whether starting a Shopify store is right for your business – and if it is, how much you can expect to spend.
Imagine you walk into a store. It is chaotic inside. The shelves are untidy. The salesmen are dishevelled, unhelpful and bored. You search endlessly for your favorite brand of shampoo but cannot find it. It is lost in the clutter.
What would you do?
Leave as quickly as possible, right?
Well, similarly when customers reach your online store they don’t want to feel confused. They want to find what they’re looking for as quickly as possible. Unfortunately most eCommerce sites try too hard to showcase every product and offer they have, resulting in a homepage that looks too crowded.
Despite having great products to sell and a lot of marketing effort most eCommerce sites have a low conversion rate. The average bounce rate of an eCommerce site is 45.68%.
Want to convert more customers? Want to offer your customers a seamless buyer journey?
Follow these tips. They shed light on converting customers and increasing sales in the easiest way possible.
10 super-easy ways to convert your homepage into a sales magnet
1. Underline your USP
What is your USP? How do you differ from the rest?
Don’t know what your unique selling proposition is? No worries. Ask yourself these 5 questions:
What problem does your product solve?
What made you believe in this idea?
What benefits your customers get by buying from you?
What are the aspects of your business that nobody can imitate?
Answer your customer’s major question, “what’s in it for me?”
Ask your customers what they love the most about your brand. Identify your unique value proposition. Use it on your homepage. It will tell your visitors, right off the bat, why they must choose you above the rest.
2. Have a neat navigational structure
A study by Baymard reveals that poor site navigation makes shoppers jump to wrong conclusions. If they cannot find the product they’re looking for, most shoppers assume you don’t stock that product and abandon your site.
Time for damage control.
Have a clear and intuitive navigation bar that will take visitors to their target page in a single click. Make your navigation bar highly visible and place it at the top right corner of your homepage.
List the most important categories. Ensure all categories and subcategories are easy to follow. Destination links should be clearly visible. Use a familiar structure that your visitors would be comfortable with. Minimize the options in your header to avoid confusion.
3. Eliminate fancy carousels
Do you have a rotating carousel on your website? Get rid of it. Carousels or any element on a webpage that moves on its own is a huge distraction. And distraction is the last thing you want on an eCommerce site.
Distractions delay purchasing decisions. That is why it is important to eliminate every element in your layout that may distract shoppers. No matter how visually captivating it is.
People are busy. They want instant information and activity. No serious shopper is going to wait for images to change.
Also when you use 4-5 high quality images in the carousel it is going to take a longer time to load, especially on mobile.
If you don’t want your carousel to go make it more impactful.
Some of the best eCommerce sites use a continuous slider. It is a slider that doesn’t redirect anywhere. It is one block of content divided into 3 slides.
This way you can convey more product information.
4. Flaunt the ‘free shipping’ offer
People who shop online consider this to be one of the key factors that incentivizes them to make a purchase.
9 out of 10 shoppers expect free shipping offers before clicking on the ‘add to cart’ button. It is a major selling factor in online retail. Big box brands right from Adidas to 6 PM use the free shipping option to drive more sales.
It is the simplest way to convert leads into engaged customers.
It is as clear as daylight. Display your free shipping offer prominently in the homepage.
5. Communicate key information clearly
This is where it becomes mission critical to think from the perspective of your buyers.
Do you know that 67% of shoppers check your returns policy before buying from you?
Most eCommerce sites make the mistake of displaying their bestsellers and offers prominently. Nothing wrong with that. But is is also equally important to think from the perspective of shoppers and display what they’re most likely to check out, in your homepage.
To multiply sales returns policy and shipping info are the kind of details that play a huge role in influencing decisions.
Displaying them at an easily accessible location in your homepage vastly improves the two magic words that can make or break businesses : Customer Experience.
People shop online to save on time. And by not being ambiguous you save truckloads of their time. A returns policy that doesn’t require a detective to find out, convinces shoppers on the fence to make a purchase. It reassures them.
6. An omnipresent search bar
Your search bar is your biggest assistant. The smiling salesperson who’d take your customers to the right destination quickly.
Display your search bar as prominently as possible in the upper center section of your homepage. When products are difficult to find your search bar should offer an easy solution.
Display both the lens icon and text field. Keep your search field long. 27 characters long is the ideal size. If you want to save on space experiment with an expanding search box.
As with all important homepage elements. Verify whether your search box is displayed perfectly on mobile devices.
Using auto-suggestions help users locate what they are looking for effortlessly.
7. Optimize your footer
It is common practice to put contact and about information in the footer. People expect to find them there. Like how you expect your watch to be in the side table. So, don’t get creative with your footer!
Your footer must contain your business address, map, phone and fax numbers and email ID. Feature your social media buttons distinctly.
Place site navigation links and encourage visitors to subscribe to your newsletters or mailing list.
Copyright information, terms and conditions and other important links that protect and prevent fraud and abuse, should be noticeably displayed in the footer section.
By paying attention to your footer you make your homepage more user-friendly and navigable.
8. Establish site security
Screaming headlines about security breaches and credit card theft have left people wary of sharing personal information online. You need to allay their fears.
And your homepage is the best place to do that.
A study by Baymard says that 17% of shoppers abandon carts because they don’t trust a site.
Have trust seals, certifications and badges at all important touchpoints.
Ensure your site is SSL certified to prevent Google from flagging your site.
9. Feature customer reviews
Do you know who your potential customers turn to for advice? Other customers like them. Testimonials and customer reviews build trust value. And trust is the currency of all thriving businesses.
Positive customer feedback adds credibility and strength to your brand.
Feature authentic customer reviews on your homepage. It is the easiest way to increase credibility and boost conversions. Client recommendations are the #1 sales secret.
10. Pitch your discounts and offers
Discount mammas and bargain hunters are going to look for cost-saving offers. Don’t let them down. List out your biggest discounts and loyalty rewards program in the homepage.
Create a one-stop bar for your discounts and the different ways shoppers can claim their discounts.
Cost-saving offers are the biggest promotional tactic there is! If you want to jazz up your homepage and increase conversions flaunt your discounts.
To sum up…
The online marketplace is teeming with brands trying to attract the attention of shoppers. To survive you need to offer exceptional customer experience. Revamp your homepage and make it more customer-oriented, easily navigable and uncomplicated.
Give your shoppers a beautiful, simplified buying journey. They’ll keep coming back for more.
Need help in boosting conversions and sales?
It can be incredibly difficult to convert and retain customers. Whether you want a quick-fix solution or a long term eCommerce sales strategy to safeguard your business, talk to our marketing experts. We offer tailor made solutions aligned to your business needs.
Nash, The Business Guru
Do you want to convert your eCommerce store’s homepage as a lead magnet? Our eCommerce marketing expert Nash Ogden will help you multiply conversions and sales. Get in touch with him today and get an answer to your biggest conversion questions and bottlenecks.
