In today’s online global world, retail e-commerce accounts for over $4 trillion in sales. Your goal is to reach these potential patients — and your website/online store must have a straightforward, easy-to-navigate design. It’s essential that your buyers experience smooth sailing when they decide to make their purchase.
Successful e-commerce sites focus on ease of use, which means you must understand your user’s experience on your site. And your site must have cross-platform adaptability.
#1 - Keep your website simple
You may be tempted to use interactive features or graphics, but these can backfire — sending your customer away to another site, overwhelmed by the bells and whistles on yours.
E-commerce websites must have a simple design. You can’t expect patients/buyers to click through multiple pages – or multiple popups — or get lost looking for a menu. These design problems can send your customers running, and you’ve lost their sales.
In designing your website, you must consider the user’s journey. Would they easily locate the item when navigating your site? Is every item available with just one or two clicks? Are menus and buttons clearly and legibly marked? You must consider these in your store’s design.
Show the patient your product, clearly describe it, and guide them to the purchase.
- Simple design must also include:
- Simple fonts
- Clear navigation elements
- Easily navigable product categories
- Easily scannable content
#2 - Use images and color wisely
Large, high-quality images will showcase your products, drawing the customers’ attention and stimulating interest.
Images can increase conversion up to 40%, so they must be dominant. Patients want to know what they’re getting — and they want to see it from multiple angles. Clean, professional shots of your product will provide clarity and build trust.
Color psychology is a critical element, including the background color on the product page and the color of the “buy” button — these colors can drive conversions. For example, a red button can increase click-through rates up to 34%.
Certain colors can subconsciously increase feelings of trust, energy, passion. Colors can also be elements of your brand — indicating a serious tone, or whimsical. Black, dark gray, gold and silver convey luxury. Color can also create a contemporary (vs. vintage) tone.
#3 - Design your site for mobile (and increase speed)
Everyone is browsing the web on their smartphones today. Many people don’t even have a laptop or a computer, so their phones are their sole source of internet access. If your site operates awkwardly — or doesn’t load easily — you will lose sales.
Your site must adjust to smartphone screen size on loading, and images must load properly. Navigation links and buttons must work smoothly on mobile, just as on a laptop or desktop. Every function must work well and look clean — similar to your desktop site, especially your checkout page.
Your site must be fast. Lagging pages are viewed negatively, and can cost you sales. To avoid slow loading times, insist on a minimalist e-commerce website design. Don’t overcrowd your store pages with interactive graphics; don’t insert unnecessary text blocks — as they will slow your load times. Make sure images aren’t in a data-intensive file format. Choose high-quality JPG images; skip large PNG files.
#4 - Simplify the checkout process
Your customer should never struggle at checkout. Let them check out as a guest. Allow autofill, so they complete only a few data fields. Clearly label every data field. Let them review their purchase — with a product preview in their cart, and a description.
Show the shipping options and other fees as early as possible — not when they’ve hit “confirm purchase.” You don’t want the total to be a big surprise, as that can be perceived negatively. That’s when patients abandon their carts. Also, share return and refund policies, to provide peace of mind — and increase your site’s credibility.
#5 - Ask for reviews/ testimonials (and use them)
People always read customer reviews; that’s an integral part of their research. They want to see honest opinions — what other patients say about your service/products.
Your e-commerce website can include a rating system, along with a request for honest reviews. Respond to these reviews; especially if it’s a negative review, offer to make things right — and to take the conversation off-line for that purpose. Your testimonials should be visible to the public on your site, too.
An FAQ page that’s easily available on your website is another best practice. You can answer your patients’ most common questions. Consider setting up a forum to let patients answer questions as well.
Need help making these changes?
Somnowell Marketing can help.
Our team has helped many sleep industry companies like yours with website development. When you’re ready to build or update your online shop, our expert designers can create an e-commerce site that is patient-friendly — easy to navigate, attractive, with an on-brand design that turns prospects into buyers.
We can also help you market your brand/site via social media, blogs, and email — a comprehensive campaign that helps drive sales. If your sleep industry business could benefit from a well-developed e-commerce site, patient communications and marketing plan, let’s talk.
