5 Ways to Make Your Online Store Stand Out

Featured article by Peter McAllister, Marketing Enthusiast and Independent Technology Author

One of the biggest challenges online store owners face aside from increasing traffic to their stores is making the store stand out to visitors who land on the shop. While more traffic to your web store is good, it won’t mean much if the store itself doesn’t inspire trust and encourage people to buy what you are selling. So, how do you make your store stand out so visitors are inspired to buy from you?

Well, glad you asked. Here are five basic things you can do:

1. Choose a professional looking design for your online shop

The first thing people notice when they visit your online store is the store design. If your online store design is all over the place and difficult to navigate, visitors will be less inclined to buy from you. Choose a clean, user-friendly store theme or template if you are serious about your business. People want a smooth experience when buying online. A good design can guarantee that.

2. Reveal who you are on your ‘About us’ page

One of the most trafficked pages on ecommerce sites is the ‘About us’ page. People want to know who they are buying from. Sometimes they even want to know the actual physical location the online store is situated before they part with their money. Provide this information, who you are and your company info on the ‘About us’ page. Oberlo offers inspiring ideas and examples of ‘About us’ pages you can use to create your own about page that reassures customers and encourages them to buy from you.

3. Provide supportive online shopping elements

Small supportive elements like free shipping or fixed special shipping prices on some particular orders can make your web store stand out and positively meet all your customers’ needs. Other technical things like having a mobile optimized web store can help lure and retain customers who prefer making purchases on-the-go using their mobile devices.

4. Give discounts and deals

Deals and discounts offer customers some special product price for a limited period of time. A daily deals strategy, for example, presents customers with the opportunity to save money daily on your web store, which they will love. Customers will probably always come to your store for their next discount purchase. Calculate your average profit margins to determine how much discounting is possible and offer a loyalty program to set your online store apart from the competition.

5. Offer a variety of payment methods

Some online stores bind their customers to standard payment options only, sometimes making the grave mistake of only allowing credit or debit cards. Stand out from the competition by giving your customers a variety of online payment methods, including popular solutions like Amazon Payments, WePay and Braintree. Also provide wire transfers, money orders, e-checks and maybe even bitcoins.

Start applying these tips today. They will go a long way in encouraging prospective customers to buy in your online store rather than go to the nearby brick-and-mortar store.

About the Author

Peter McAllister is a marketing enthusiast, interested in exploring and researching how to scale businesses and increase their customer reach. He lives in Scotland, UK and can often be found at industry conferences and networking events.