Recommendations on improving my conversion ratio...

[barginboyrob]

Hi guys,

About a year and a half ago I was on this forum looking for someone to build my website...well it's all built now and I've had a few sales but my conversion ratio is atrocious

my website is midnightmi***rrors.co.uk

Would it be possible for some of you to give me a few bullet points on how/what I should change the site to improve conversions

I am ranking high for a few good keywords at the moment so organic traffic is not that much of a problem.

Also my prices are in general cheaper than my competitors I just noticed today...sometimes by up to £150!

Any help would be great and who knows, if you want a discount I'll give you one for helping me!

Thanks

[4thfrog]

Grey on black text? for expensive products? Oh Well. Try adding more information on each mirror, and an extra photo with a close up on detail.

[barginboyrob]

writing is white i thought, but ya, thanks!

now i have to find some better pictures lol and learn how to describe things properly,

thanks for your suggestion

[Jonesy]

Where's your "About Us" page and customer testimonials for starters? Secure site reassurances? Privacy reminders?

Also multiple image views would definitely help as they aren't cheap objects. How about a live chat function?

Finally your "add to cart" button is really obscure - I couldn't spot it for a minute! Make it much bigger!

I found this book (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Call-Action-Formulas-Improve-Results/dp/1932226397) a real help.

[Steve2507]

Grey on black text? for expensive products? Oh Well. Try adding more information on each mirror, and an extra photo with a close up on detail.
Yep that's definitely grey text.

[barginboyrob]

ahh i've just seen another problem actually , I've never checked it in IE before as I always use Firefox, all the paragraphs have messed up and I guess they've been like this for the past year! crap

[Easy Credit Mobiles]

I think more importantly you do not have an address on your contact us page. If i was spending that much money, i would want to know where you were.

Also, i see your only form of payment is Paypal or cheque. I would definately consider specialist online services if your are serious about selling online.

In your FAQ, the links for polished, bevelled, etc dont go anywhere.

As Obama says, YES WE CAN. Specials can be manufactured from drawings or pictures and to your own specificationsNot sure what American politics has to do with mirror sales and i thought it was Bob the Builder who said that, lol. I would also remove the underlining.

Just some thoughts, im not a web designer, just my opinion.

[barginboyrob]

thanks, hmm yeh, I took it down because it's my parents house

[davidshaw89]

I think your "add to cart" button isn't as clear as it could be. Maybe add some text into the link to fix this - wherever possible, never make your visitors think about how they can do something simple like adding an item to their basket.

Also, as others have said; address, reasurances such as "verified by thawte" etc are all essential.

Just to add that your registered office, company name and vat registration numbers are all legal requirements for a Limited company, as well as reasurances to customers.

[Easy Credit Mobiles]

One last thing

Midnightmirrors will not contact you again after the completion of the sale and delivery unless we have had your permission to do soI would LOVE a company to call after the sale or better still after delivery, just to make sure everything went ok. This is an ideal opportunity to gain vital customer feedback. If you cant or dont want to, then i wouldnt advertise the fact you wont.

Someone mentioned more info on each mirror. Try a nice description. You should try and sell the mirror via the description rather than expect the customer to want to buy it just from a solitary picture.

"This beautiful mirror is manufactured from the highest quality blah blah, finished in...." Try and get something from the manufacturers if you can.

[barginboyrob]

hmm i guess I could find a picture and link to this: http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/midnightmirrors.co.uk/summary/

[osicsophie]

A local business magazine had written an article reviewing the website designs of various local companies. As you may imagine, I read with dismay as the three-page article focused solely on graphic design. There was no mention of usability, conversion rate or site effectiveness (using actual metrics).

Unfortunately, I think this is all still fairly typical. When I meet people in a social setting and they ask what I do, I get the distinct impression I am instantly pigeonholed as a web designer. Granted, “web conversion strategy consultant” is somewhat of a mouthful, and an earful, but as soon as people learn I’m involved with making websites effective, they decide I must be a graphic designer. In the same sense, many business managers/owners I speak with spend 90 percent of their web budget (as well as energy and focus) on graphic design and only 10 percent on “the other stuff.”

To some extent, I understand this. Graphic design is obvious; it’s the part everyone sees. There’s no particular expertise required to appreciate good graphic design, and as we’ve discussed before, the all-important “first-impression” remains key. But beyond that, I think it’s a real shame. This attitude is the web equivalent of buying a $1,000 suit to make an important presentation, but only spending a few brief minutes planning what you’re going to say.

It’s not that I think graphic design is unimportant, I just think it’s less important than the attention it gets. Actually, I consider graphic design to be of critical importance, but I have some specific criteria by which I measure the effectiveness of graphic design. Essentially, I believe graphic design can (and should) accomplish three distinct goals:

* Create instant affinity.
* Establish credibility.
* Provide focus.
Instant Affinity

As web users, we’ve all experienced landing on a site and feeling right away that it was the sort of thing we were looking for. We’ve also rushed for the “back” button as we’ve hit a site that seems to repel us (anyone older than 25 who has landed on a site designed for teenagers knows exactly what I mean). This is the concept of “affinity.” It’s that somewhat un-quantifiable feeling the site we’re on may contain what we’re looking for.
Credibility

We’re all wary of scams, unfulfilled promises and poor craftsmanship, and there’s plenty of that available online. We tend to use graphic design as an indicator of trustworthiness. Good design sends a message of believability and reliability. Poor design sends a red-flag warning.
Focus

You probably recall a few years ago when Flash websites were all the rage. Sites that were highly interactive and highly conspicuous became somewhat commonplace. You might remember moving your mouse around in order to send icons flying, bouncing, whirling, and swooshing across the screen. Now don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with video games for the over-40 crowd, but are you sure you want your website to play that role? You see, when design gets too heavy, it crowds out the message, and that’s rarely a good thing.

Good design compliments the message, making copy easy and attractive to read. Headlines, subheads and calls to action are all pleasantly crafted to attract and not distract us. In other words, the visitor experience is actively enhanced by effective design, but the experience is not about the design. It is good design that compels us to spend more time considering the message of a product and service, which is why we believe graphic design supports rather than replaces a well-defined and well-implemented web marketing strategy.

Written by Mat Greenfield, transferred from practicalecommerce.com