Your address will show here +12 34 56 78
Website Design & Development
Did you know that, in 2021, an estimated 2.14 billion people shopped digitally? This is over 27% of the world’s population.  Are you looking to improve website usability on your Shopify site? If so, you’ve come to the right place.  This article covers everything you need to know about the user experience, so you can create the best website possible. You’ll learn how to implement SEO, utilize headers, increase loading times, and more.  Let’s begin!

Improve Page Loading Times

You don’t want to detract visitors from your site before they even load your page in its entirety. Part of the user experience is a website with a fast loading time, especially a Shopify website. You can test website performance by using things such as Google’s performance tool. You can also perform an audit using Google’s PageSpeed Insights.  If your site is slow to load, you may lose your visitors to competitor sites. To reduce page loading times, you can optimize images. Once you reduce the file size and scale them to the appropriate size before re-uploading them to your site, you’ll find that they load faster, along with the rest of your pages.  You can also optimize CSS files along and cache your browser to assist with page speed. 

Focus On Your Call to Action

Your call to action (CTA) is an integral part of SEO. It tells your customers to take action and helps show them what content is the most important. When you have clear action words, your visitors can navigate your page easier so they know how to get what they want, faster.  You can use buttons to aid in your CTA, but remember to use words that encourage your visitors to take the next step forward with their purchase. Aim for words with emotional tethers. Your words should be bold, stand out, and be time-sensitive so they know to take action immediately to take advantage of savings, a sale, a promotion, etc.  “Sign Up Today” and “Get Started” are great CTA words to use. 

Create a Uniform Website

You want your website to have a sense of consistency and uniformity. This is a vital factor and crucial for your website’s usability. When each page has a similarity to it, your visitors become more easily acquainted with your brand and product.  Stick to similar fonts and colors to keep a sense of cohesion from page to page.

Use Bullet Points

Bullet points are essential for any type of ecommerce UX. They help your visitors understand the key benefits of your product, how you can solve their problems, and key features. Bullet points help them determine this in a short amount of time. Don’t bombard your visitors with walls of text— make everything scannable and easy for them to read and quickly navigate.  There’s no shortage of neat icons available to use, so you can get creative when using bullet points and integrate your brand into them. You can also use images so your reader can visualize each bullet point (more on that shortly).  A mix of bullet points and scannable text sets your website apart from the competition. 

Incorporate Images

Images (in moderation) are your friend. You can even add alt tags to your images to help your website rank higher in Google Images. Plus, alt tags are a great way to help the visually impaired navigate your website, and if your images fail to load, your alt tags will keep visitors engaged.  When looking for images, avoid stock photos when possible. Use pictures of your product or services to help build trust with prospective customers. This isn’t to say that stock images don’t have a time and place. But it’s still a great idea to showcase your work whenever possible.  You can even create infographics to help visitors better understand your products and services. 

Use a Simple Layout

To avoid confusion on your website, it’s best to stick to a recognizable layout. Site visitors rely on a conventional navigation bar to help them toggle across your site. You should include links to your most important pages using simple terms. In short, make everything as user-friendly as possible and utilize a familiar layout so visitors feel comfortable when accessing your site. 

Utilize Headers and Subheaders

Headers and subheaders are key. As previously mentioned, walls of text might send visitors running to a competitor’s site.  On average, human beings have an attention span of 8.25 seconds. Break your text up into scannable paragraphs and use headers and subheaders to help your visitors navigate your site easier. Instead of forcing visitors to read walls of text, make it easy for them to locate the information they’re seeking. You can even create (and hyperlink to) a table of contents so they can easily click on the information they’re searching for.  Even better, headers and subheaders help with your SEO, as they help Google to better understand your website’s content. 

Highlight Important Features and Services

You should always incorporate a section that highlights all of your business’s products, services, and benefits. This is a quick, easy way for visitors to gather all the information they need. You can even use icons so your most important features stand out amongst the rest, along with images to illustrate your product’s benefits. 

The Best Tools for Website Usability

Now that you know how to improve website usability, you can implement the tips and tricks in this article to help you get the most out of your Shopify site.  Forge can help. We’ll work with you to create the best digital strategy for your business’s needs. Contact us today to get started.  

 

0

eCommerce, Website Design & Development

Did you know that over 600,000 businesses are founded in the United States each year? Not all of these go on to become successful companies, though, and it’s essential to understand the key factors that influence your longevity. One of the most important is your website conversion rate, which details how likely your site visitors are to convert into customers.

This is a key component of website design that you should not overlook, and conversion rate optimization is an essential responsibility you must handle as an entrepreneur.

Let’s explore everything you need to know about how to quickly increase it.

Streamline Your Landing Pages

As you might guess, it’s essential to remove all clutter from your landing pages. Your visitors should be able to see what you’re offering and how it can benefit them within seconds of arriving on your page.

Too much text, images, or videos can overwhelm potential customers and lead them to leave without taking action. To determine whether your landing pages have an effective design, ask yourself the following questions:

  • Is my value proposition clear?
  • Are my CTA buttons visible and easy to find?
  • Is there too much information on the page?
  • Can visitors easily navigate to other parts of my website?

If you’re not sure whether your landing pages are up to par, consider conducting user testing.

This involves showing your page to potential customers and asking for their feedback. This can help you identify design flaws that are causing potential customers to leave without converting.

This can also go a long way when it comes to helping you reduce your bounce rate. This is a metric that Google uses to determine if a website is high-quality. As the name suggests, it refers to a scenario where people immediately leave a website after visiting it, thus “bouncing” off of it.

Strengthen Your Call to Action (CTA)

Your CTA is one of the most important elements of your website, so it’s essential to configure it properly. Ideally, your CTA should be clear, concise, and offer a strong incentive for customers to take action. Here are a few tips for crafting an effective CTA:

  • Use persuasive language that urges visitors to take action
  • Keep your CTA short and to the point — no more than a few words
  • Use a CTA button rather than a text link
  • Place your CTA in a prominent location on your website

Make sure to test different CTAs on your website to see which ones are most effective. Try changing the color, location, and wording of your CTA to see if it has an impact on your conversion rate.

Offer Discounts or Coupons

Discounts and coupons can be a powerful motivator for customers to convert.

If you’re not currently offering any type of discount, consider doing so as a way to increase your conversion rate. Just make sure that your discounts are well-targeted and relevant to your potential customers.

There are a few different ways to offer discounts on your website:

  • Use pop-ups or banner ads to advertise your discounts
  • Include a coupon code in your email marketing campaigns
  • Promote your discounts on social media

If you decide to offer discounts, make sure to track how they impact your conversion rate. This will help you determine whether they’re a worthwhile investment for your business.

Make It Easy For Visitors to Contact You

If potential customers can’t easily contact you, they’re likely to give up and look elsewhere. Make sure that your contact information is prominently displayed on your website, and consider adding a live chat feature to make it even easier for visitors to get in touch.

It’s also important to respond promptly to any inquiries that you receive. If visitors have to wait days or even weeks for a response, they’re unlikely to convert.

Provide a Money-Back Guarantee

Money-back guarantees can be a great way to increase your conversion rate. They remove the risk for customers and give them the peace of mind they need to make a purchase. If you don’t currently offer a money-back guarantee, consider doing so in one of the following ways to increase conversions:

  • Offer a full refund within a certain time period (e.g., 30 days)
  • Offer a partial refund (e.g., 50% of the purchase price)-
  • Offer a store credit rather than a refund

Whichever option you choose, make sure that your money-back guarantee is prominently displayed on your website. This will give potential customers the reassurance they need to convert.

Test Different Versions of Your Landing Page

You can never be sure which version of your landing page is going to be most effective. The only way to know for sure is to test different versions and see how they perform.

A/B testing is a great way to compare different versions of your landing page and see which one converts at a higher rate. Consider the following when designing your landing page:

  • The headline
  • The copy
  • The images
  • The CTA
  • The layout

Try testing one element at a time so that you can isolate the impact that it has on your conversion rate. Once you’ve found a winning combination, you can be confident that you’re driving more conversions.

Improving Your Website Conversion Rate Is Easier Than You Might Think

Although the process can seem intimidating at first, it’s much more straightforward than most people expect. As long as you keep the above information in mind about how to optimize your website conversion rate, you shouldn’t encounter issues in the future.

Want to learn more about what we have to offer? Feel free to get in touch with us today and see how we can help.

0

eCommerce
The number of online retailers is growing rapidly, thanks to the changing consumer shopping behavior. Today, we have more than 7.9 million eCommerce stores in the world. The US is home to around 2.1 million of these stores. From these numbers, you can tell that the competition is pretty stiff. That’s why B2C venture owners look for Shopify store apps to enhance the functionality of their online retail platforms. For instance, some apps can assist with email marketing or adding customer feedback. However, the number of Shopify apps in the industry can be pretty overwhelming. Each one of them claims to offer the best features for free. To some extent, we know this is not true. Check out this guide to learn more about reliable Shopify apps.

1. Shopify Email

Nearly every online business relies on email marketing to promote its operations. Shopify Email is a great app that creates an email list and oversees your campaigns. For instance, you can access the email addresses of the subscribers on your Shopify admin. What’s more, Shopify email allows you to automate branded campaigns. The app comes with in-built templates that are easy to customize. Also, you can attach your brand logo and product images to the templates. This also includes product descriptions. Shopify Email gives you free 2,500 emails every month. Users then pay $1 for every 1,000 emails sent on top of this threshold. After sending the emails, you can track results for various parameters, such as clicks, opens, and purchases.

2. Get Oberlo App from Shopify Store

Does your business rely on B2B supplies to fulfill consumer needs? If so, the Oberlo app shouldn’t miss in your Shopify design. This app allows you to search multiple B2B suppliers and add them to your Shopify store. There’s more than that. You don’t have to handle products from other suppliers when selling them to your customers. Instead, you can dropship the product, and the supplier sends it directly to the consumer. Doesn’t that sound convenient?

3. TikTok Shopify App

Every internet owner knows that TikTok is the next biggest thing in social media. In fact, TikTok is number six in the apps with the highest consumer spending globally. For this reason, you would want to get the TikTok Shopify app to stimulate sales. With this app, you can have a greater reach to the millennial generation. The app is relatively easy to use, especially when creating ad videos. Even better, you can track the results of your marketing campaigns. On top of that, you’ll get a free ad credit in your account. You can use this credit to set up your first ad campaign and observe if the results are worth more investment.

4. Shopify Local Delivery

Generally, the majority of the consumers who shop online prefer direct deliveries to their local addresses. It can either be truck-side pickup or door delivery. Either way, your business should leverage this trend as much as possible to enhance customer experience. Shopify Local Delivery can help you achieve this. Even better, the app is free for all businesses, whether small or big. All you need to do is input the delivery addresses and charges for the Shopify admin. The app has several features that enhance the overall shopping experience. This includes the ability to optimize delivery routes and real-time push notifications. All these ensure you have timely updates on the order status.

5. Promo.com

Videos are increasingly becoming a vital tool for digital marketing. Videos are easy to create and have the potential to reach a bigger audience. Moreover, videos are easy to share across multiple social media platforms. Even better, you don’t have to pay anyone to create your videos. Promo.com gives you the best experience when creating ad videos for your Shopify store. Actually, the whole process of creating videos in the app is effortless. You only need to choose the video type that matches your business needs. After that, you select the product that you wish to promote. Promo.com does the rest automatically.

6. Fancy FAQ

Some Shopify tips that work in terms of stimulating sales include enhancing customer experience. For instance, customers should have clarity about their concerns every time they visit your Shopify store. You can achieve that by creating an FAQ section. Fancy FAQ app is a go-to option for stores that want to create user-friendly FAQ pages. With this app, you can boost your store’s credibility by giving instant answers to what the average consumer wants to know. This will increase sales in the long haul.

7. Advoz

Social media marketing is critical when it comes to running an online store. However, implementing and managing social media campaigns can be pretty challenging, especially if it’s your first time. Instead of outsourcing to a third party, you can leverage the Advoz app. Advoz app gives you access to certified digital marketing pros who can help optimize your social media campaigns. This saves you the time you would waste scouting for freelancers to do the same job. Also, you don’t risk working with a rookie. Professionals on Advoz can help you create custom ads for various social media channels. This includes Facebook, Instagram, and even Google. This gives you access to high-level leads that can turn into paying customers in your store.

8. BetterReplay

Do you worry about leads that never convert to paying customers on your Shopify website? Well, maybe it’s because the site is not that intuitive for many shoppers. BetterReplay app can help you observe the pages that consumers find hard to navigate on your site. With up to 5,000 recording sessions per month, you’ll have a more in-depth insight into the kind of experience your customers have. This can help you know the site’s areas that need improvement, whether it’s the contact form or the drop-down menu.

Enhance the Functionality of Your Shopify Store

The more functional your Shopify store is, the more you’ll get out of your business. Similarly, enhanced customer experience translates to more shoppers and revenues. Find the best apps featured on this guide that can help you achieve all these overarching business goals. Contact us today for digital marketing services that can help you realize all the benefits of Shopify.
0