Some Specific Ideas

To find some ways to improve the design of our site, and hence our conversion rate, let's look at some of the reasons why fish get off the line.

1 - The site's buggy and/or slow to load. This is one of the biggest deal killers known to e-commerce. Make sure that every page and every script has been thoroughly tested with all major browsers, including AOL (which is notorious for refusing to work with fancy features). Keep your order page simple, so that it loads quickly. This is no place for big graphics or kewl stuff.

2 - People aren't convinced that the business is reputable. A very valid concern with Web businesses. Most people aren't going to order so much as a pack of gum from a company that doesn't make their street address and telephone number public. I recommend putting this information right on the ordering page. You should also assure people that if there's a problem with their order, they'll be able to contact a real person, so a blurb to this effect should also be included. Anything else you can say to bolster your company's image is appropriate on your order page. For example, "In business since 1970, our client list includes Microsoft, GM, etc."

Various consumer organizations, such as TrustE, the Better Business Bureau, etc. offer memberships which entitle you to place their banner on your page. When a visitor clicks on the banner, they typically are taken to a page with details about your business, and some sort of pledge of your trustworthiness. These deals charge annual fees of various sizes, so it's up to you to decide which ones deliver the most bang for the buck.

3 - People still aren't convinced that online ordering is safe. Most sites choose to have their order forms encrypted, using SSL or something of the kind. As discussed above, if you use an encryption technique, make sure it's working perfectly, and test thoroughly to make sure there are no error messages or other funny business - if there are, it will have the opposite effect of what you want. Your order page should state that you have encryption enabled. In this litigious age, however, be careful what you say about site security. It's impossible to make a transaction 100% secure, so prudent site owners don't claim that ordering is "secure." The way I chose to phrase it on my site was "Orders are encrypted using SSL technology." True, the e-commerce cock of the walk Amazon (an excellent example of how to do things right) doesn't piddle around. They come right out and say that ordering from them is guaranteed 100% safe. But then they probably have a dozen security experts, and two dozen lawyers, on staff.

Some retail sites go so far as to include a little FAQ about e-commerce security. You might link such a thing from your order page with a link saying, "Worried about security? Click here." Or some such.

4 - People are afraid they'll get poor customer service from an online merchant. Customer service is a critical issue for online merchants, and will be the biggest factor in determining which e-commerce sites thrive and which take a dive. Make sure your customer service is the best it can be, and proudly trumpet the fact. If you offer a money-back guarantee, or a liberal return policy, give the details right there on the order page.

5 - People aren't sure what a particular link leads to. As previously harped upon in my article on navigation, always make it very clear what will happen when someone clicks on a link. Placing an order will normally require clicking through several pages, so be sure to explain exactly what is happening at every point. The link to the order page shouldn't say "Click here to order," because they aren't finalizing the order by clicking there. Some dense souls may fear that clicking there will instantly charge their credit card (although they haven't even entered the number yet). It should say something more specific, like "click here to go to the order page," or "click here to enter your credit card info." Make it clear that they can still back out if they want to. If you have a shopping cart on your site, be sure to explain very clearly how it works.

6 - People screw up the order form, so that the order can't be processed. Order forms should be carefully designed so that it is difficult or impossible for people to make a mistake. If not, you'll lose half your fish before they get to the boat. What if someone forgets to enter their street address, so you can't deliver the order? Guess what! They also gave you a nonsense email address, so you can't contact them to get the information. You've just lost a sale. In fact, even if you did have their email address, the chances are good that they won't bother to correct the order, but will just say the heck with it. Especially if your product is a low-ticket, "impulse buy" kind of item, any time that you have to contact the customer for more information, the order is more likely than not to be abandoned.

The order form should include a script that checks the information entered before submitting the order. If they leave out a field, they are prompted to go back and fix it. More sophisticated scripts can not only check to be sure that each field is entered, but also that each entry seems to make sense. For example, an email address must include a monkey's tail (@) and a dot, an address must be more than one character, etc. For fields that have a finite number of possible entries (state, country, card type), give people a drop-down list to pick from, rather than letting them enter text. People should be reminded to enter their name exactly as it appears on their card, and to check their entries carefully.

7 - An infinite number of other possible reasons. People are funny, and not even the world's greatest marketer can say exactly why certain things make people more likely to buy. Why does saying "Click Here" make people click so much more? Are people really that suggestible? I know of cases where changing the color of a button, or changing its position slightly, made a huge difference in the number of clicks. Experiment, and try new things with your pages, even if there's no particular reason to assume that they'll improve results. Of course, if the new thing doesn't work, bag it and go back to the old way. Carefully measuring results as you make changes is critical.

The Salesman vs. the Order Page
They're lookin, but they ain't buyin!
Conclusion