We just launched our new E-Commerce Site Today

[sweettractors]

Here are 4 options for the home page and going from there to the correct shipping zone. I will be pleased to have you choose. The option that gets the most votes before next Sat. is how I will set it up. Here are the options:

1. Leave the homepage as is.

2. Reduce the size of the Zone Map and put it at the bottom of the homepage with more featured machinery at the top.

3. Remove the Zone Map from the homepage altogether and add a button at the top of the Left Menu that says something like. "Choose Zone & Shop"

4. Make a intermediate page that would automatically go to the the map for viewing before it takes you to the implements and parts. (I am not 100% sure the software will let me do this 4th one)

Ken Sweet

 

[MasseyWV]

Here are 4 options for the home page and going from there to the correct shipping zone. I will be pleased to have you choose. The option that gets the most votes before next Sat. is how I will set it up.

With all due respect, you should be designing your e-commerce website utilizing proven design principals, not a forum poll which neglects your largest user base... the silent majority. For example:

5 Universal Principles For Successful eCommerce-Sites | Smashing UX Design

7 Essential Web Design Principles to Earn Trust. And 4 Things to Avoid!

The Principles of Good E-Commerce Website Design

 

[meburdick]

With all due respect, you should be designing your e-commerce website utilizing proven design principals, not a forum poll which neglects your largest user base... the silent majority. For example:

5 Universal Principles For Successful eCommerce-Sites | Smashing UX Design

7 Essential Web Design Principles to Earn Trust. And 4 Things to Avoid!

The Principles of Good E-Commerce Website Design

Excellent point, and very good information in those links, too.

One key thing I see in those links is that FAR too often, designers either "do what they know" (design every web site the exact same way changing only the logos and products) or always design for what THEY would want in the site. Understanding your customers and how they use your web site is key.

With respect to the comment about asking for CC information too early in the checkout process (in one of the links), I function that way. I don't care how much you want for the item - I care how much it will cost "to my door". If a web site asks for all sorts of personal information before they tell me that I'll have to pay a hefty delivery fee for an item that has a fantastic price, I'm done. I close the page and move on.

With regard to your extra large / heavy items... There are a number of ways you could tackle that.

- "Call for pricing". Personally, I won't. I've never called a vendor for a price as a result of one of these statements, and have actually ended up never buying anything from them (even stuff that has a price listed).
- MSRP with a note to call for better pricing if you pick up.
- "Real" price with a note that says there are extra handling fees associated with the item because it's large / heavy
- ??? Probably plenty of other ways too, but these get you thinking.

Which one is best for you? Ask your customers. Start polling the people that BUY those items and ask them what they thought about the process. Offer to give them $10 off for their time or something... That sort of information will be invaluable to you in the future.

 

[MasseyWV]

One key thing I see in those links is that FAR too often, designers either "do what they know" (design every web site the exact same way changing only the logos and products) or always design for what THEY would want in the site. Understanding your customers and how they use your web site is key.

Which one is best for you? Ask your customers. Start polling the people that BUY those items and ask them what they thought about the process. Offer to give them $10 off for their time or something... That sort of information will be invaluable to you in the future.

You're absolutely correct. I was overly simplistic in my previous post about e-commerce web design. While one shouldn't rely on solely forum polls to make design choices, that doesn't mean one shouldn't take customer behavior and/or feedback into account, which is where website statistics and customer surveys come into play. For example:

How do your customers use your website?
What are their entry/exit pages?
How much time do they spend on each page?
Do your customers have problems finding what they want?

and most importantly...

What do your customers think?

The last question can be very difficult to answer because most people will come and go without giving any indication of what they're thinking, especially if they have any problems with your website. You only get one chance to impress people, which only lasts about 10-20 seconds and is why making a good first impression is critical if you want people to stick around long enough to become paying customers.

Graph from: How Long Do Users Stay on Web Pages? (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)

 

[dstig1]

#4 makes the most sense to me. Menards (regional home center here) does something similar in their new web site. No prices shown until you enter zip and select a store. In your case, If they want a price, they can pick their zone, and then you show the prices.

My $0.02

 

[sweettractors]

#4 makes the most sense to me. Menards (regional home center here) does something similar in their new web site. No prices shown until you enter zip and select a store. In your case, If they want a price, they can pick their zone, and then you show the prices.

My $0.02

I am liking #4 as well. Ken Sweet

 

[murphy1244]

I am liking #4 as well. Ken Sweet

Tsc does the same.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Best of luck and this is the future. Kough's Equipment near me is doing more and more online.

 

[JJZ 109]

Maybe this is just on my end, but even with Roadrunner for internet it takes forever for that map to load. At least 3 to 4 minutes.
Maybe it's a browser issue. I have run into some sights that don't seem to like Google Chrome and work better with Firefox or Safari.
Edit: I tried with Firefox and the site popped up with no problem.

 

[sweettractors]

Maybe this is just on my end, but even with Roadrunner for internet it takes forever for that map to load. At least 3 to 4 minutes.
Maybe it's a browser issue. I have run into some sights that don't seem to like Google Chrome and work better with Firefox or Safari.
Edit: I tried with Firefox and the site popped up with no problem.

My Google browser took about 10-15 seconds to load the Homepage the very first time. IE about the same. Ken Sweet