When you're trying to succeed in the world of ecommerce, there are lots of different factors to consider. Nowadays, most online shoppers expect ecommerce websites to meet each of the following criteria:

• Secure checkout system
• Appealing, mobile-friendly design
• Minimal loading times
• User-friendly site navigation
• Extensive product information (so that people know exactly what they're buying)
• Competitive prices
• Positive feedback from other customers
• Ability to contact the seller with ease

Consumer trust is key to the success of any ecommerce website, and you will probably need to tick all of the above boxes in order to earn the trust of the average online shopper in this day and age.

With this in mind, here are three helpful ecommerce website design ideas from the ecommerce experts here at Designer Websites:

Use engaging, good-quality product images.

Most people won't purchase something online unless they're certain of what they're paying for. Detailed product descriptions are important, but a picture is worth a thousand words, and a few good images will generally sell your product a lot more effectively than a few paragraphs of text.

Both quality and quantity are important here. You need detailed images that make your items look enticing, but you should also try to offer a variety of images for each product. Try to cover all bases: one no-frills image that clearly shows what the product looks like; one or two photos of the product in use; a picture to show what the product looks like in its packaging, and another to show what's actually inside the box. You get the idea - your product images should aim to answer every question the average customer might ask.

Of course, you should also ensure that the images on your website aren’t so large that they slow the whole page down. Loading speed is a critical issue for Internet users these days, and even an extra second or two can have a disastrous impact on your website’s conversion rate, so make sure those beautiful images are optimised for a smooth, speedy browsing experience!

Put lots of emphasis on customer reviews.

We all seek approval from other people, and this tendency can be clearly seen in the behaviour of online shoppers: by and large, we're far more likely to buy something if several other people say they did the same and had a good experience.

For this reason, you not only need to gather reviews from your satisfied customers, you need to put those reviews right where everyone will see them. Your ecommerce website design should ensure that every potential customer sees all the 5-star ratings and positive comments that your other customers have left. It should also be clear how many people have reviewed each product, since a 5-star average rating is a lot more persuasive if multiple people have given the product full marks.

Shoppers see positive reviews as seals of approval - they have a hugely reassuring effect on the potential buyer, so make sure those ratings and recommendations aren't buried way down at the bottom of the page.

Make it easy for users to find what they're looking for.

The modern Internet user is an impatient creature, and the more barriers you put between them and what they're looking for, the more likely it becomes that they'll leave your website and shop with one of your competitors instead. As we mentioned before, it's important to ensure that your pages load quickly, but it's just as important to make the journey from one page to the next as seamless as possible.

This can be achieved in a number of different ways:

• Make sure your website's search function works properly, and ensure that the search bar is easy to find no matter what page the user is on
  
  
• List 'related products' (or similar) on your product pages. That way, if the user decides that the product they're looking at isn't quite what they need, it's easy for them to find a suitable alternative.
  
  
• Put important information - your delivery options, your returns policy, and so on - somewhere that's reasonably easy to spot so users don't waste time trying to find it.
  
  
• When designing your site hierarchy (i.e. your categories and sub-categories), put yourself in the shoes of your average user and try to come up with a sensible structure that's easy to navigate even if you've never seen it before.
  
  
• Make your homepage as helpful as possible. It may be tempting to simply fill your homepage with the products you're most keen to sell, but this may not be best for the user. Again, you should endeavour to put yourself in their shoes: if someone arrives on your homepage, are they looking for a specific product or piece of information, or are they just browsing for ideas? Do they want to know about your company, or do they want to see the newest additions to your range?

Essentially, your aim should be to minimise the number of clicks / actions the user has to perform in order to achieve their goal.

If you need a bespoke ecommerce website designed by professionals, we at Designer Websites are the people to call. Request an ecommerce quote here!

With so many different advertising platforms available, it’s easy to not consider your everyday social media network as an efficient method of generating revenue. After all, Facebook is just for funny dog videos, right?

If you thought that you would be wrong. In fact, just this month, Facebook’s advert revenue topped $10.3 billion with their revenue per user reaching more than $5 for the first time. These figures are especially impressive when you consider Facebook also marked 2.07 billion monthly active users in their third quarter of 2017.

With Facebook publicly hitting milestone after milestone this year, many businesses are considering the prospect of adding Facebook advertising to their marketing strategy, but is it right for your business? To help you make that decision, we’ve put together a few things to consider.

More...

Ski season is upon us once again, and with many thousands of people set to hit the slopes between now and the spring thaw, Slide Candy - a ski equipment rental company serving the Méribel and La Tania resorts in France - wanted to make sure that their online presence was in peak condition.

The Slide Candy team asked Designer Websites to give their site a modern new look that would appeal to skiers and snowboarders of all ability levels. Their new and improved website is now live - visit www.slidecandy.com to view it.

Here are just a few of the features that we built into the new Slide Candy site:

• Responsive Design - Slide Candy were concerned that their old site was difficult to use on mobile devices. Our designers came up with a stylish new design that (in addition to looking great) is totally mobile-friendly, making it easy for skiers to book equipment and make use of Slide Candy's call-out service while out and about.
  
  
• Improved User Interface - The Slide Candy site allows snow sports enthusiasts to reserve their equipment in advance via an online booking system. While overhauling the website, we made this booking system better-looking and simpler to navigate, making it easier than ever to get the right equipment for your French skiing holiday. You can even choose whether to pay in pounds or euros.
  
  
• Product Information - On the new website, the products that Slide Candy sell (including skis, snowboards, boots and helmets) are conveniently sorted into four different categories: Blue, Red, Black, and Kids. This makes it easy to find the right ski equipment for your ability level, and the high-quality product images make sure you know exactly what you're hiring.

If you like the look of the new Slide Candy website and you want the Designer Websites team to create a responsive ecommerce site for your business, please get in touch today to request a quote.

Phew, Black Friday is finally over! So now it’s time to relax, right? WRONG. 

Do you run an ecommerce website? Well, you can sleep when you’re dead, my friend. Okay, perhaps we are being a little bit dramatic, but when you’re this close to Christmas it’s actually time to put more energy into your website, not less.

It’s the busiest time of the year for most retailers, and ecommerce has seen a huge increase in sales over the last few years. So if you are trying to make the most of your ecommerce website this Christmas, here are some tips.

Make it Mobile Friendly

These days it’s not uncommon for people to have multiple devices, and different people will favour each for different things. In fact, last year there was evidence to suggest that many people used their mobiles or tablets to browse and research products before making a final purchase using their desktops.

Whatever way someone chooses to access your website, you need it to perform perfectly - if your website doesn't work well on a platform it's not likely that someone will check if it does on another.

Be sure that your website is responsive across all devices, allowing everyone to have a good shopping experience whatever way they decide to buy. 

Deals on Delivery

We’ve all done it, one second you’re trying to get a new hoover and the next your shoulders deep in impulse buys including a TV you don’t need and gadgets that you won’t be able to work. But there they are, all ready for checkout… then suddenly, you’re struck by a delivery charge that snaps you out of your hypnotic-shopping-trance.

Willing to spend hundreds of pounds of stuff you don’t need? Perhaps… Willing to spend £5.99 on delivery for said stuff? I think not.

We aren’t saying delivery should always be free, but make sure you compare with your competitors. Up to 61% of people abandon during checkout because of extra costs. If they have seen your competitors offering better deals on delivery, it may be just the thing that gets them clicking away from your website.

Deals & Discount Codes

Similarly to delivery, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on what your competitors are doing here. Everyone loves a bargain, some people shop purely for the satisfaction of getting a good deal. 3 for 2 deals, discount codes, free next day delivery deals - all of these (and similar deals) give customers the impression that buying now is getting them the best value for money. Around Christmas this is particularly important, if you have a lot of people to buy presents for you'll feel particularly thankful for anywhere you can make a saving.

Another thing to remember is with SO many brands having deals on this time of year, you don't want to stand out for the wrong reasons. 

Email Marketing

T'is the time of year where your inbox is full of Christmas themed emails, but it really is a great way to remind customers that your website is worth visiting. Whether you're letting them know about a deal you're running, products coming back into stock, or sending a notification about an abandoned shopping basket (which have a 40% open rate), emails should attract attention and hopefully website traffic. 

It's important not to be too spammy, no one likes being bombarded with emails, but reminding customers your sale ends in a few days for example, is a great way to encourage them click directly through to your site. Make sure your emails are useful, engaging and to the point. 

Reward Loyal Customers

Everyone loves being rewarded, the satisfaction of a job well done! What did your customers do to deserve a treat? Well probably nothing in particular, but it's still nice, isn't it? Giving exclusive codes to those who have shopped with you before or perhaps those who follow you on social media reminds customers that it's worth being interested in your brand.

Ideally, you want to keep customers coming back and this is easy to do when they share good experiences with you. Peer to peer recommendations is also one of the best ways for your brand to gain trust, we appreciate our friends and family's opinions so it's always worth making sure every customer you have is happy with their service. 

If you need help creating an ecommerce website we are more than happy to help. Our team of specialists are experts in creating bespoke websites that best represent your brand and services. Request an ecommerce website design quote here.

With offices in both Cheshire and London, Sandison Easson & Co. are among the UK's leading medical accounting firms. Catering exclusively to clients in the medical and dental fields, the Sandison Easson team provide a wide variety of specialist services, including:

• Annual accounts
• Tax declarations
• Bookkeeping
• Business structure advice

The firm's clients include GP practices, consultants, registrars, and dental clinics.

Why did Sandison Easson come to us?

The Sandison Easson team got in touch with Designer Websites because their website was old, dated, and not particularly representative of the highly professional service they provide. We were asked to design and develop a responsive brochure website that would meet the following criteria:

• Design tailored to Sandison Easson's target audience (doctors, dentists, practice managers, etc.)
• Information about the firm's services presented in a clear, easy-to-digest format
• Emphasis on Sandison Easson's status as highly knowledgeable and experienced specialists

In addition to the mobile-friendly design and easy-to-use enquiry form, the new Sandison Easson website features a professional-looking 'Meet the Team' page, a client login function, and a blog where the firm will be able to share all their latest updates and insights. See the site for yourself at www.sandisoneasson.co.uk.

If you need a professional-looking website for your business, please don't hesitate to get in touch with the team here at Designer Websites. Request a free, no-obligation quote for your project here.