Give Your eCommerce Site a Fresh Feel in 7 Easy Steps
Many ecommerce business owners will place all of their focus on things like SEO, social media, link-building, etc. to increase conversions, while allowing their site and its content to grow stagnant.
In fact, one of the most effective and deceptively simple methods to stepping up conversion rates for your ecommerce business is to keep your site fresh and current at all times. This includes everything from design to copy to the products that are featured.
Consumers, both your returning customers and those who are seeing your site for the first time, are scanning for clues as to whether your business is reputable, current, and on top of things. There is no better way to show customers that you mean, well, business… than to make a conscious, obvious effort to make your page as relevant and up to date as possible. Fresh content, or lack thereof, could mean the difference between a conversion and a sale lost to the competition.
So if your site design and content is somewhat stagnant, use this article as a checklist to see what areas of your ecommerce store could use a little fresh paint.
1. Add New Products Regularly
Most online retail stores already showcase their new products on their landing pages. (SearchFit has a feature that will automatically aggregate your most recently added products.) If it is feasible to do so, you should be adding new products every week, and changing up which products are featured. Consumers are always on the lookout for what’s new, so use this technique to catch their eye and keep them shopping on your site.
2. Feature Products By Season/Theme
Try featuring products by season or theme. Not only will this technique drive conversions by letting your customer find relevant products, it will also give your store a fresh face. Try to rotate seasonally based product features monthly, if not more often. These features can also tie-in with e-mail campaigns to drive subscribed customers to your site to see new content and products. SearchFit allows you to customize product groups, so you can switch up your featured products easily and frequently. Be sure not to let out of date seasonal features languish, lest you resemble the design version of the guy who still has his Christmas lights up in February.
3. Change Design Template by Season
While it’s best to keep seasonal design changes subtle in most cases to avoid clutter, a seasonal template for your ecommerce site is a great way to keep the design looking fresh. This is especially relevant during the Holidays, when many online retail stores are decking the halls with thematic designs to get their customers in the spirit of the season. (Which is, of course, commerce.) If you are a SearchFit merchant, please contact us for more information about custom Holiday templates for your store, created uniquely for your store by our design team.
4. Give It the Weekly Once-Over
Once a week, you (or an employee) should go through your site and scan for outdated material. Look out for expired promotional copy, old product features, and any information that is not up to date. Check your return policy, your About page, your Contact page, and anywhere else that is likely to feature time-sensitive information. This is also a great opportunity to check for broken links, typos, broken images, and the like.
5. Watch Design Trends
Keep an eye on design trends, both within your niche and on a macro level. This is not to imply that you need to rework the design of your site every time a new design fad comes along, but giving your design a makeover to reflect modern aesthetics and trends could be a great way to let consumers know that your business is fresh and current. Keep in mind, however, that having a constantly changing site design or creating lots of extra features/clutter can turn consumers off. If you find a modern, optimally functional site design that works for your ecommerce business, hang on to it.
6. Blog Regularly
Studies show that regular updates to your blog are the biggest factor that consumers consider when determining the reputability of your blog, and by extension, your business. Update your blog as much as possible with relevant and current topics that consumers in your niche will be interested in. Keep your blog posts extremely current with topics on trends, issues, or events that are happening now.
7. Switch Up Promotions
Promotions can be a great way to increase revenue for your ecommerce business, and can be even more effective when they are time-sensitive and varied. For example, if you feature a promo for free shipping on all purchases through this Friday, your next promotion should have a different incentive, i.e. BOGO on sale items. Having regularly varied promotions that are tied in with e-mail campaigns and other marketing tools will keep customers checking back to find out about fresh deals, and the time-sensitivity will work as a call to action, generating sales from customers with FOMO (fear of missing out).
