Website Review of VapeLiquidUK.com Requested! Do your worst!

[antropy]

Hi all,

As we're a paid member I thought it might be worth asking for a review of our Vape Shop:

Vape Liquid UK

Vape Liquid UK strives to provide the very best, genuine: e-liquids, disposables and vape kits to our customers in the UK.

www.vapeliquiduk.com

So do your worst, tell me how rubbish it is - but be specific and if we agree we'll change it!

Cheers!
Paul

 

[The Byre]

The abbreviation for milliamp hours is mAh.

 

[antropy]

The abbreviation for milliamp hours is mAh.

Indeed, where did you see a problem?

Paul.

 

[The Byre]

You have written MAH on the batteries and it took me a while to realise that you meant mAh. Also the 'About us' is very sparse - if people are to put something into their mouths then they must trust it and that means telling a story - i.e. fans, not just customers!

 

[antropy]

You have written MAH on the batteries and it took me a while to realise that you meant mAh.

Do you mean in the titles on this page https://www.vapeliquiduk.com/vape-battery ? If so I think it's pretty clear that the style of the titles is ALL CAPS.

On the battery page itself the correct capitalisation is used: https://www.vapeliquiduk.com/vape-battery/aw-18650-3500mah-battery-13405

Paul.

 

[fisicx]

Homepage categories should be in two columns on a phone - reduces scrolling.

I clicked on a category and the breadcrumbs said I was in the e-liquid category. Which was confusing.

The filters push the products way down the page. And there is this checkbox selector thing that makes no sense. Hide the filters unless selected.

The name of the product is at the bottom of the page.

The three tabs are on 2 lines.

The images look fake and the zoom arrows don’t do anything.

Most visitors will be using a phone. So optimise for that device.

Suggest removing your footer link. Google doesn’t like them. I know one developer whose ranking fell until he removed all his promo links.

 

[AlanJ1]

Your "Newsletter" Pop-up is a waste of space / time. Nobody signs up to "Newsletters" anymore, offer an incentive, tell the customer to sign-up because they will be the first to know of knew items etc.

You have no phone number on display, maybe you don't want to take calls but it puts me off as if I have an issue I would rather call.

Your category page is sorting by "default" what does that mean? Typically best seller works best here unless you have a manual sort and pushed product to the top?

Product pages have huge amount of dead space on desktop.

You have blogs with 1 blog, seems amateurish.

Special offers has nothing in it.

Inconsistency in your filters, first few boxes I ticked shows 4 products to show but only 3 show up. Also takes a few seconds to load a filter?

All above on desktop if I have a chance will look on mobile later on today.

 

[KM-Tiger]

It seems good and fast and straightforward.

But it seems aimed at people who already vape and know what they are looking for. If I wanted to try vaping, I would not know where to begin, and there is nothing on the site by way of guidance.

 

[The Byre]

The abbreviation for milliamps is mA and not MA. MA is Master of Arts or Massachusetts. And the all-caps style is somewhat irritating (IMO). There are all sorts of studies into print styles and regular with small serifs is the most readable for most people. Helvetica is seen as less serious - hence its use for tabloids, whereas the broadsheets use one of the many derivatives of Times New Roman.

I also second what @KM-Tiger wrote. Why vape? What is it good for? Advantages over smoking? Health dangers of vaping v. smoking - etc.

 

[Shopclicks]

Next to zero SEO effort. Don't need it?

 

[UKSBD]

To be it looks like a white labelled cart/content/products system waiting to be embedded in a template

 

[MBE2017]

I did notice some of the images did not seem very sharp, a bit fuzzy around the edges. Your site is like most others trying to sell, which is not necessarily a bad thing, people like to understand what they are looking at.

I think my main criticism would be your site feels like a vanilla painted wall, a bit bland. Have a look at say Screwfix homepage for ideas of building call to actions into your copy. I am not being too critical, I understand how much work is involved in making a good looking and functional website.

I’m sure the experts will have better advice.

 

[Fagin2021]

Well, I thought the site was fine - assuming you're targeting existing vapers and not newcomers to the habit. Easy to navigate, choose and buy from. Just a couple of points...

1. Flesh out the 'About' page. It's your chance to build customer trust.
2. Put a little (just a little) work into page titles and meta descriptions. It'll pay dividends if your site appears in the organic search results.

I never use filters so can't comment on their effectiveness or otherwise. Every site has some niggles and I'm sure the usual suspects will be delighted to point them out. But for me, fine.

 

[antropy]

Next to zero SEO effort. Don't need it?

We'd love to improve the SEO, what suggestions do you have?

Paul.

 

[antropy]

I did notice some of the images did not seem very sharp, a bit fuzzy around the edges.

Unfortunately we can only use the images the supplier provides and they are indeed not great.

I think my main criticism would be your site feels like a vanilla painted wall, a bit bland.

We went for a clean, minimalist look, but that's not to everyone's taste!

Paul.

 

[antropy]

To be it looks like a white labelled cart/content/products system waiting to be embedded in a template

How do you mean?

Paul.

 

[Shopclicks]

We'd love to improve the SEO, what suggestions do you have?

Paul.

Product category descriptions, Descriptive meta title and meta description, faster page load speeds (you won't pass Core Web Vitals), Make use of text links to your product categories from supplementary pages.

 

[fisicx]

We'd love to improve the SEO, what suggestions do you have?

Fix the categorisation! Category pages are some of the most important on an e-commerce site.

Then work on the product descriptions. You have almost zero content.

The page structures could also be improved.

 

[JamaC]

Instead of listing the different types of flavours etc on the homepage you are probably better off listing the different categories that are hidden in your hamburger menu. This will give instant access to the different types of products you have. Utilise horizontal scrolling (on phone) to display different items/flavours in each category.

Also help your buyers chose a product. You have a lot of options which can cause cognitive overload for your users. Add sections like most popular/ best sellers, new in, etc

And as someone mentioned above the site seems to be be tailored to the pros, what about someone new to vaping?

Maybe add a few pages to help educate those new to vaping, plus if done correctly this will help with seo to gain organic traffic

 

[antropy]

Thanks very much for the feedback everyone, keep it coming, we're working on implementing! ?

Paul.

 

[TPC_UK]

Hi all,

As we're a paid member I thought it might be worth asking for a review of our Vape Shop:

Vape Liquid UK

Vape Liquid UK strives to provide the very best, genuine: e-liquids, disposables and vape kits to our customers in the UK.

www.vapeliquiduk.com

So do your worst, tell me how rubbish it is - but be specific and if we agree we'll change it!

Cheers!
Paul

I'd use a better site search plugin, I can highly recommend Searchanise but not sure it supports Open cart (not worked on that platform since 2012!)

Also implement live chat - Re:Amaze is the best value (Gorgias is another option, but I went with the former for multiple websites because it's the most intuitive), it integrates with social channels so you can manage all comms under one platform. Will help massively with conversion and offers premium features like chat bots and product based coversation cues.

Reviews are missing (but guess new business) - a work around here is to get a few reviews, then create a banner and display the same reviews across all product pages on a carousell.

H1 titles are correct, can't see any conflicting H1, I'd put some work into SEO meta titles for product categories, as well as add descriptions below the product grid so it doesn't impact store layout and keeps products above the fold (here for example https://www.vapeliquiduk.com/e-liquids/nic-salts is missing meta title and description).

Product images all missing alt tags, product titles could do with some sort of branding.

Overall design is great, love the images. Not tested mobile layout but the above will be a good start.

hope that helps ?

Edit to add - love the main navigation, clean and minimal, product categories are clear and easy to follow. I like the account links in header.

Could do with a lead magnate of some sort, to capture email addresses - basic discount in exchange for email works. Also work in some sort of retention deal, using referals, affiliate links, guest blogger pages. The site needs a blog of some sort, or if it has one needs to be linked in the footer.

 

[fisicx]

Why does it need a blog? The only reason anyone will be on the site is because they want to buy the products. If you want to write about the products do it on the page or category.

 

[TPC_UK]

Why does it need a blog? The only reason anyone will be on the site is because they want to buy the products. If you want to write about the products do it on the page or category.

Need to create a content strategy to capture SEO organic traffic. Every website should have a blog if they wish to gain organic traffic as any given niche has thousands of topics to cover multiple different search intents (research, transacational, purchase, etc etc), that wouldn't be possible across product / category descriptions.

Simple place to start is Google suggest - entering "how do vapes..." gives a selection of research topics you can use to build out a blog to capture research traffic interested in vaping. The trick is to click on one of those suggestions, look at who's on page 1 and write content that is better optimised (in terms of technical SEO, internal link structure, etc), is better quality (written in a way that engages so to improve page dwell and CTR) and offers more value to the reader.

Hope that makes sense.

Edit to add - I've seen blog posts generate over £250k in converted leads, I wrote a blog post targetting the floristry niche that generated £15k in ecom sales in one year. If you have a product or service that has multiple potential customers, you can have a single product or category page and link to it from different blogs from within niche specific blog categories.

For example, we sell cardboard boxes, we have multiple content categories that are targeted towards different customer avatars - such as consumers looking for cheap removal boxes, or large businesses looking for high volume bespoke cardboard boxes for product dispatch.

I asked AI why it's important for ecommerce sites to have an active blog and it said this (although no mention of quality content, a well written blog post has the potential to drive significant growth to any businesses bottom line). Note I'd advise against using AI for blogging, Google has been shown to mark websites down that make use of it in comparative tests (at the very least rewrite AI content before posting live).

One of the essential components of a successful ecommerce website is an active blog. A blog is a platform for companies to communicate with their customers and engage with them effectively. There are several reasons why an ecommerce website should have an active blog:

1. Boosts SEO​

An active blog helps improve the search engine ranking of an ecommerce website. Search engines love fresh content, and regularly updating a blog with new content provides an opportunity to use relevant keywords and phrases that customers are searching for online. This, in turn, leads to better search engine rankings and increased website traffic.

2. Establishes Credibility​

An active blog is an excellent way to establish credibility and authority in a particular industry. By sharing informative and educational content related to the products or services offered on the website, companies can demonstrate their expertise and build trust with their customers.

3. Drives Traffic​

An active blog helps in driving traffic to an ecommerce website. By regularly sharing high-quality content that is relevant to the target audience, companies can attract potential customers to their website. This, in turn, leads to increased brand awareness and more significant sales opportunities.

4. Encourages Engagement​

A blog is an excellent platform for companies to engage with their customers and build a community around their brand. By encouraging comments, feedback, and social shares, companies can create a dialogue with their customers and gain valuable insights into their needs and preferences.

Conclusion​

In conclusion, an active blog is an essential tool for any ecommerce website. It helps boost SEO, establish credibility, drive traffic, and encourage engagement. By creating and maintaining a blog, companies can create a loyal customer base and increase their chances of success in the online marketplace.

 

[Shopclicks]

Simple place to start is Google suggest - entering "how do vapes..." gives a selection of research topics you can use to build out a blog to capture research traffic interested in vaping. The trick is to click on one of those suggestions, look at who's on page 1 and write content that is better optimised (in terms of technical SEO, internal link structure, etc), is better quality (written in a way that engages so to improve page dwell and CTR) and offers more value to the reader.

I would just add, check search volumes, no point using a title or meta nobody is searching for. And add a CTA with maybe a 10% discount code on the blog page.

 

[TPC_UK]

I would just add, check search volumes, no point using a title or meta nobody is searching for. And add a CTA with maybe a 10% discount code on the blog page.

Yeah volume is a good metric,, but for new sites such as this going after high comp keywords with high volume isn't feasible. Look for "long tail keywords" with specific intent to begin with, write content that gives value (ties in with Google's "Helpful content" alogorythm update) and is likely to be referenced (organic backlinks) and include stats etc.

I suggested using Google Search Suggest as it's an easy first step for topic ideas that people are actively searching for within any given niche.

I agree, a strong CTA in the meta description is important for improving click through rate ?

 

[fisicx]

My post regarding the need for a blog was a little tongue in cheek. The key here is getting the right content on the site to generate sales. The AI reasons are very outdated and not that accurate. There are billions of blog posts covering every possible topic. Adding another blog about vaping isn't going to boost SEO or credibility. What will generate sales is adding searchable content on the product and category pages backed up with information pages.

I agree some blog posts can lead to sales but most don't. There are better ways to publish content. I've not written a blog post in years but I still rank well around the world. Where blogs do still work really well is for local SEO where you tell stories. Which might be an angle for @antropy - get customers to talk about the products and why they like them. Google likes stories.

The trick is to publish the right content for your target customer. This might be a blog or it might just be a structured set of pages (think information flow).

 

[antropy]

Reviews are missing (but guess new business) - a work around here is to get a few reviews, then create a banner and display the same reviews across all product pages on a carousell.

There are reviews at the very top of the page.

Overall design is great, love the images. Not tested mobile layout but the above will be a good start.

Thanks you!

Could do with a lead magnate of some sort, to capture email addresses - basic discount in exchange for email works. Also work in some sort of retention deal, using referals, affiliate links, guest blogger pages. The site needs a blog of some sort, or if it has one needs to be linked in the footer.

Nice ideas, added to the list, thanks!

Paul.

 

[antropy]

Which might be an angle for @antropy - get customers to talk about the products and why they like them. Google likes stories.

You mean like free vapes for people who will do a social post about how much they're enjoying the vapes?

Paul.

 

[fisicx]

You mean like free vapes for people who will do a social post about how much they're enjoying the vapes?

Yes. But why just social?

You want the stories on the site first and a link to the story from the socials.

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

Vape Liquid UK strives to provide the very best, genuine: e-liquids, disposables and vape kits to our customers in the UK.

I mean.....you don't sound very confident! And that's pretty much the first thing you see. Why not:

Vape Liquid UK: Delivering the very best in genuine & high quality vaping products across the UK since 2012

I made 2012 up obviously....but why not say you DO deliver the best, not just TRY to!


Also, I can only echo whats said above. I am actually looking into vaping or heated tobacco now as my smoking has gone from a few evenings a week in the pub, to every night of the week and the occasional daytime fag too now. But I genuinely know nothing at all about it and your website does nothing to help. I don't know what a pod is, or a mod for that matter. A mod to me sounds like a modification, something I might want but don't need. But on clicking it that seems to be the main part of the e-cigs (but maybe i'm wrong). I clicked on "vape kits" although that just seems to throw up what looks like a load of disposables to me and with 520 options to go at, not a lot to narrow it down.

Unless you specifically ONLY want experienced vapers, then right now I'm your target market as I'm looking to get set up with everything I need - and I'm afraid it's a no from me as there's no guidance as to what would be best for me.

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

Whoops, just seen the thread is several weeks old! ?‍