While
getting less public handwringing than during holiday season, the
"abandoned shopping cart problem" continues to wreak havoc on
online sales. Recently I judged a raftload of sites for the Webby Awards (my
second time) and for the Inc. magazine Web Awards, as well as for my own
clients. Here are the five irritants and obstacles that most frequently
disrupt the visitor's shopping experience at e-commerce sites.
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1. Lack of quick orientation for first-time visitors. What does the site
sell? I've had to poke around for several minutes sometimes to understand
the focus of a site. Jargon is one culprit. Another is lack of context, like
an airline site that sells tickets not giving a single clue on the home page
in what countries or even what continent it flies.
2. Explanations that don't explain. What does the product do and not do?
Another basic, but it happens often that a site doesn't explain whether
their "Turbocharge VT27-Plus" is a one-time download, a
subscription, a Web-based service or something else. An alternative payment
system's site failed to offer a clear, systematic description of how it
works.
3. Missing prices and shipping charges. How much? You shouldn't have to
put something into a shopping cart or enter your credit card information to
learn how much an item costs, including shipping. Unfortunately, you still
find this mistake at sites that have had plenty of time to get their act
together.
4. Unreadable text. Say what? Creativity gone haywire seems to be the
hallmark of some Web designers. Orange letters on a blue background, olive
green on black, light gray on white and blue on blue were combinations that
sent me packing, as did lettering too small for over-40 eyes.
5. Inconsistencies. Huh? One site says, "To sign up, click on the
Sign Up link at the top of every page." But the site does not have any
"Sign Up" link, only "Sign In." Such carelessness wastes
the time of earnest shoppers and gets them frustrated and fed up, never to
return.
Blunders are equally rampant at well-funded corporate sites and those
from home-based businesses. The good news is that many of the errors are
extremely easy and inexpensive to fix.
About the Author:
Marketing guru Marcia Yudkin is the author of Poor Richard's Web Site
Marketing Makeover: Improve Your Message and Turn Visitors into Buyers, from
Top Floor Publishing http://www.yudkin.com/mmakeover.htm
and numerous
other books on marketing. She recently began offering Web site reviews for
just $40 http://www.yudkin.com/sitereview.htm
.
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