by Shelly Mcrae

Created on: January 01, 2008

Today, most home businesses are modeled on e-commerce and are dependent on an interactive website to advertise and sell its products and services. As a home business owner, if your website is difficult to navigate, slow moving, or fails to allow visitors to complete sales, you will soon be out of business.

If you are not familiar with e-commerce software or script for creating interactive sites, hire a professional. Allowing an e-commerce technician to create your website will ensure that your site promotes your business and returns a profit.

The better e-commerce sites keep it simple, and adhere to a basic format.

The home page should project your business identity
The home page should be the front lobby of your business. Keep the text, links, and graphics to a minimum. This allows your visitors to quickly find what they are looking for. The main elements of your home page are your business name and logo, a brief description of what your business provides, and a link to your catalogue.

2. The catalogue should be easy to navigate
Once a visitor clicks on the link to your catalogue, he or she should be able to find the kind of products they are searching for without having to click on several more links. For example, if you sell homemade quilts, give the visitor the option to browse by size, price, color, style, etc.

3. Customers should be able to buy more than one item
The virtual shopping cart revolutionized e-commerce. Visitors can select an item, see it on a summary page, and then continue shopping. This allows them to add to their cart, see calculations as to merchandise total and shipping costs, and decide when to check out.

4. Check out should be seamless
Once a customer clicks the check out button, he or she should only have to fill in their credit card information, confirm the shipping address, and provide an email address for receipt of email confirmation and future offers. He should then be directed to a printable confirmation page with a specific purchase order number, your contact information and a summary of his purchase. He should also have the option of returning to your home page.

5. The website should remember your customers names
Though you may or may not opt to retain credit card information, when a customer returns to your site, he or she will be relieved if they do not have to fill out all their personal information again. This courtesy goes a long way in customer relations.

The successful e-commerce websites are streamlined, efficient, and navigable. Too many graphics prove distracting. Long lists of links frustrate visitors. Checkouts complicated by pop-up ads and surveys often result in customers abandoning their carts and searching out other websites from which to make their purchases.

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