Why so much time, effort and money are being invested by many e-Commerce business owners on the design of the website? The answer is quite simple, to drive customers to conversions. One of the most critical things on an online store site is the homepage as that’s the first place where customers will interact with your online business.
We all have heard the famous saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” and it means that a good picture can easily tell a story and convey the meaning behind it. Just like this phrase, a homepage of an online store should have the power to tell your customers who you are, what you do and what you have to offer during their first interaction with the site. Any time, if your homepage fails to impress the online shoppers, they will go somewhere else to buy what they are looking for.
Here are a few key elements that you store site homepage must offer.
An eye catching homepage banner
A website homepage banner is the first thing that will catch a user’s attention when anyone lands on your store site. Hiring a graphic designer to design some eye catching banners for your homepage is a good investment to make as it is pertinent to your online success. A rotating banner with a couple of images is a great way to feature new products and trends in your industry.
Brand identity and a relevant logo
Your homepage should clearly shout who you are and what you do. From your company logo to tag line and colors, everything should be powerful enough to reflect what you have to offer to your customers. Always keep one thing in mind that a good logo can make a big difference. It is far easier to remember a nice and unique logo instead of recalling some random words. So, try to see your logo as a face for your company as that’s the first thing people will remember in regards to your business. Make your logo prominent to your homepage and other pages of your website in order to promote your online business as a brand.
Search bar
The search bar should always be in the same place across all the pages of the website. The placement of onsite search option is quite important as majority of e-Commerce sites uses the website header for displaying the search box. This makes the onsite search option visible on all the pages of the website and hence easily accessible. It is important to keep one thing in mind, if you do not show your customers any option of your store site (or makes it difficult to find), they are not going to use it. So, make the onsite search clearly visible on your store site.
Your contact information
Putting your contact information on the homepage is a way to give your customers a surety that you are a legitimate and trustworthy online business. Make sure, your have a working “Contact Us” form that is easily accessible (or visible) on your homepage. This simple form allows your customer to get in touch with you to get more information about your product / services, complain about your product or simply tell you how great your product is. By simply adding a link to the “Contact us” section on your homepage, you can prove to your potential customer that you are real and running a trusted business.
Some other key elements
- If you offer free shipping, mention it clearly on the homepage
- Consider adding best sellers on your homepage
- If you are offering any discount or promotion, make sure to mention that on the homepage so that online shoppers are aware of it
- Always make sure that the shopping cart icon is visible and easily accessible on the header
- A user-friendly menu tabs on the header of the website is a must for homepage
In nopCommerce has a wealth of features and capabilities designed to create online store. This page provides you with a quick snapshot of its features and capabilities. We have included all the necessary tools required to build a successful ecommerce store. We're always adding to the list of features for nopCommerce, so check out our Roadmap or contact us to find out what’s in the pipeline.
Author: Lavish Kumar