As with any business, website owners wonder what exactly
consumers expect. When reviewing your website design, you may have pondered
whether you're meeting the consumers’ expectations. Ever wonder whether or
not you are losing business? Many website owners think that the size of the
company is a great consideration for consumers; however, that is simply a myth.
Take for example a 2004 consumer survey conducted by Hostway Corporation:
This survey uncovered that the size of a company isn’t
even a consideration for most consumers when shopping online.
There are however, five things that are of utmost
importance to consumers in deciding whether to do business with a particular
e-commerce company, all of which require the attention of your web design
company.
The number one concern, noted by 97% of respondents, is security.
Consumers want to know that their transactions are secure and that transmitting
their personal and financial information via the internet is not going to
compromise them in any way. How do you assure them? One sure fire way is
getting a
GeoTrust SSL Certificate. You can get one for as little as $119.95 or you
can invest a bit more and get yourself a security seal (sample below). Starting
at $179 you can get yourself a
GeoTrust
SSL Certificate with a secure site seal.
This GIF is a sample snapshot of the
QuickSSL Premium site seal. The actual site will display a
live date & time stamp.
The second most vital aspect, with 96% of respondents expressing concern,
is the protection of their privacy. Consumers don’t want to do business
with a company that’s going to sell them down the river by sharing their
personal information with spammers and other companies without their consent.
You'll definitely need to post a privacy policy.
Take a look at ours,
you'll see the first statement immediately addresses the biggest concern.
It's important to have a well written, easy to understand privacy policy that
assures your customers that you're legit. Back to the first issue, a
GeoTrust
SSL Certificate also assures your clients' privacy of their precious credit
card information on your checkout pages. If your website design doesn't
incorporate these two things, you could be missing out on a lot of business.
95% of respondents listed price as a deciding factor. People are concerned that
they might get the best value for their money. Now does that mean you should
have the lowest prices in town? Of course not. The key word here is
value. A well designed website will portray your greatest assets. Do
you have top notch support? Tell people about it! And not just on a back page
somewhere, people want to know that their not just buying a product, but the
sales support that they need as well.
The majority of consumers, 94%, insist on a website that
is easy to use. Sounds easy, right? Wrong! Your website is easy to you,
isn't it? How about the average Joe that has never been to your website.
Here's an example: A client of ours first came to us with a simple request. He
told us that a woman called up and wanted a bigger picture of one of his items.
He began to tell her to simply click on the picture for a larger image. "How am
I supposed to know to click on the picture?" she said. "I can't believe she
didn't know that, if she wouldn't have called I would have lost the sale. I
wonder how many other people have simply left my website." With the internet
still so new there are first time web users visiting your website all the
time. You need to make your website fool proof. Little details like
this never cross most people's minds because they just know how it works.
When working with a web design company, so many of them overlook the minor
details that can make or break your sales statistics. Here at PSI, you can
rest assured that we take every minor detail into consideration when making
your website. Whether you're looking for an
ecommerce website
package, or a
basic web design,
PSI will give you the edge over your competition every time.
Contact us today for a free proposal! 1 (800) 211-7619 or
click here to
request a quote.
