Adding Videos to Your Product Pages Is Easy & Effective

As eCommerce website developers, we often get asked the question, “What can I do to make my website stand out from the competition?”. While there are many ways that we can suggest for our clients to proceed in differentiating themselves, we often suggest that they add videos to their product pages because of its effectiveness and relative ease. However, we find that this advice rarely gets acted upon! My assumption is that many people think that adding a video to their product page is something very technical that they would not be able to do. Well, my goal of this blog post is to have you posting videos in your sleep.

What Can Product Videos Do For My eCommerce Sales?

Before I proceed with the explanation of HOW to add videos, I think I need to start with the WHY. Here at Web Design Solutions, we know that product videos will help your sales because we have seen it work for many of our clients and friends. But here are some cold hard facts if you don’t believe us…

• Customers that viewed a video on a product page are 85% more likely to buy (Internet Retailer, March 2010)
• YouTube second to Google as the largest Search Engine. Two million video’s are viewed per day (blog.shop.org, Jull 2011)
• eCommerce giant, Zappos, reported a 6%-30% sales increase on products where videos were added (Reel SEO, August 2010)

Obtaining Videos for Your eCommerce Website

Now that you are officially convinced of the potential power of adding videos to your site, your next question is “Where do I get these videos?” There are a couple ways that you can precede, but the most important step is to set up your own You Tube channel so that you can organize your videos (both borrowed and original). To set this up, please visit this YouTube page.

Now the next step really depends on what types of products you sell. If you feature products from a manufacturer that already has videos created, then most of the work is done for you! Simply search You Tube for the product videos and add them to your Playlist, by clicking the +Playlist button under the video (you must be logged in to do this).

Learn more about adding Playlists and Videos to your Playlist. You will want to avoid using videos that are created by competitors because it may direct traffic to their site (not what you want). I would suggest using manufacture’s videos or creating videos yourself.

This is the other option for adding videos to your YouTube playlist, creating and upload videos yourself. This avenue is much more time consuming, but it holds a lot of SEO value for both your product pages and your YouTube account. If you sell your own unique products or the manufacturers of your products do not supply videos via YouTube, this is the way that you will have to go. There are many inexpensive HD video recorders that come complete with software, such as the Flip video camera, that you can use to simply shoot and upload to your YouTube account with no editing required (a couple takes may be necessary).

Embedding a Video to Your Product Page

However you choose to acquire videos to your YouTube account is up to you, but regardless the next steps is so easy you will wonder why you waited so long to add a video to your product page. Here is the step by steps to embedding a video on your WSM product page…

1. Find the video that you want to embed from your channel , click Share, then embed
2. Copy the code that was created for you. It will look something like this...
   iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Yn99OnNhGfw" frameborder="0" width="560" height="349">iframe
3. Log into WSM and navigate to Catalog > Products. Search and find the product that you have a video for
4. Edit your product and scroll down the Extra Details section of the page
5. In the Title field type in ‘Videos’ in the Description field paste the code that you copied from YouTube
6. Click Save Changes!

You can now view your product on the front end of your site and see your Videos tab added. Here a customer can watch a video on that specific product without navigating away from your site!

Since metrics are so important in eCommerce, I would highly suggest testing videos on a few of your most popular products and monitoring the effect that adding a video has had. Once you have confirmed that videos have positively affected your product’s sales, then continue with adding videos to more and more products.

If you have any questions on adding videos to your products pages, please submit a Support Request and someone from our Customer Experience team will gladly provide more direction on this topic.

Content Driven eCommerce - Create and Manage Search Engine Optimized eCommerce Content

Lifestyle brands and enthusiasts alike come to us at Web Shop Manager (WSM) because they are passionate about what they do and need a vehicle to translate that passion to fellow enthusiasts. Their dream may be to turn that ‘hobby’ that keeps them up all night into a legitimate revenue stream. It is one thing to have a phenomenal eCommerce website designed for conversions, for fellow enthusiasts, but it is also incredibly important to articulate that passion in a way that helps the consumer make the decision to trust your brand.

Whether you are in the Automotive Aftermarket, Action Sports Retail, Travel and Adventure, Pet and Animal, or Powersports industry it is important to not only sell products that you feel passionately about in a beautiful branded package, but you will need to back that up with substance/content too.

Why would I focus on content for my eCommerce site? Shouldn’t I be concerned about conversions instead?

It is less about being concerned about content versus conversions. It is the marriage of the two that is most successful. Great content will help increase desirable conversions.

Content creation can help to differentiate yourself amongst your competition. Customers of Lifestyle brands are not impressed by giant warehouses or broker drop shipping arrangements. They want to buy from fellow enthusiasts that share their pastime. It is important to differentiate your brand from the big warehouses and big giant conglomerates which may or may not have a human that answers the phone. The case is different with your vision; you are a real human with years of hands on product experience, and ideas how you would handle it all differently if you only had the platform to do it. Those site visitors will never know what makes you different unless you tell them.

Content creation will help improve your organic search results.  Search Engine Optimized content will help boost your Google Page Rank helping you to ride up the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) organically!  Google would much rather have eCommerce websites pay for AdWords. However, with WSMs Automated SEO the more SEO friendly content, the more Google will have to index. Write something of value for both humans and search engines.

Content creation can help create an eCommerce website that will bring the same visitors back time and time again. Typically when looking for a new product to purchase it is unlikely that you will walk into a store and make a purchase the very first time you go in. You might notice what they have, take mental stock, and leave to continue your comparison shopping. However, let’s say that store offers free classes in an area that interests you, weekly newsletters that let you know about events in your area, and weekly in store specials, interaction with knowledgeable staff, you will be more apt to remember that store, and come back when you do want to make a purchase. This is NOT unlike the eCommerce customer experience. Create a “sticky” eCommerce website with valuable, interesting, and SEO friendly content which will allow you to become the store of choice with the time for purchase arises.

eCommerce Features for Creating SEO Friendly Content

When examining why shopping cart abandonment occurs there are a multitude of factors that can play a part and consumer confidence is certainly a notable one. The addition of content to your eCommerce site can help boost confidence while reducing the barriers that inhibit conversion. Utilize FAQ Pages to answer all the questions that might keep someone from ordering from you. When a customer calls in with a question, add it to your FAQ Page to help reduce call volume and lead site visitors to conversion 24 x 7. 

The Photo Gallery can be used to show gear being used in the field and then each image or content in the description could by hyperlinked to the product itself. Using real installation shots does wonders for relating to enthusiasts. It is one thing to see a shiny new truck accessory glimmering in a catalog, but is entirely different than seeing it installed on your dream truck.

Utilizing the News/Blog feature of WSM is one of my favorite areas to create SEO optimized content including Meta tags, and the ability to create a library of articles that are of special interest to your target market. From there you can link to additional site pages, do a top 10 list of gear for newbies, or experts, link to the products, or embed YouTube videos from your YouTube channel. Do not forget to blog about products that you not only sell but have used yourself. Why did you like it? Who would you recommend it to? Create a product review of your own products and establish yourself as an expert in your niche.

Resources and Links works similarly to FAQs, however in this case you can create pages of local, regional, or state specific resources for your enthusiasts. For example, related websites with descriptions of what can be found there can be helpful to have all in one concise location for your target market. This will keep them coming back to your site time and time again for you, their number one resource. Not to mention all those wonderful SEO descriptions using keywords and phrases you could use.

An eCommerce Site that is Constantly Being Added to is a Happy, Healthy eCommerce Site

Content creation is something that happens over time. Take a minute to look at your About page that you wrote when your eCommerce store was first launched two years ago. I bet there are a number of things you would like to write differently now. I bet there are also new site pages, blog posts, and FAQ pages that could be hyperlinked to from the About page that would help your customers keep moving around your site rather than bouncing off to a competitor.

As you spend time on marketing, allow for time to be spent on content that has already been created. Evaluate already written content for invaluable inspiration to keep moving forward with content creation

WSM is an eCommerce solution for enthusiasts. We work day and night to translate your enthusiasm into a successful eCommerce website that draws traffic in and increases sales. WSM is committed to walking each enthusiast through the web design, and development phase, answering any questions you may have as we go along. Becoming an eCommerce partner is our top priority because creating eCommerce websites that sell to enthusiasts better than any other eCommerce  company out there is what keeps us up all night.

If you would like help being set up for success, and having open dialogue with an eCommerce web design firm that has your best interest in mind, please schedule your free demonstration today.

Your new ecommerce website is attracting visitors in droves and you are getting more sales than you ever did before. This will keep you busy for awhile but eventually you will want to raise the bar even more. You can always increase you marketing spend to try and bring more visitors to your site, but what if you can just get more sales from the visitors that are already there?

The more information that you can gather from the visitors of your site, the more you can make your decision based on facts and less on intuition. As an e commerce website your #1 goal is to sell products! So wouldn’t you love to know how many of your visitors intended to purchase a product, but for some reason ditched their filled cart? A sales funnel can disclose this exact information to you. 

Understanding where within your funnel the sale was lost can help you understand where you should re-word content, improve images or lower prices. The remainder of this article will outline how to set up your sales goals and funnels within Google Analytics, if you have not set up a Google Analytics account yet please read our article on How to Set up Your Google Analytics Account.

Analytics Goals Are Great, but Funnels Are Better

To initiate the process you will want to log into your Google Analytics account and from your Overview page click edit on the account that you want to set up a Google Analytics Funnel. Next, find your Goals section. You will then select one of the four sets to set up your new goal in. You have four sets within your goal section and each set can have up to five goals, this allows you to have up to 20 goals per Analytics profile.

You will then want to come up with a name for your goal. Typically an e-commerce website goal will be a Sale, but you can set up additional goals such as a Sign Up or Subscription.  Make sure you set the goal to On so that Google will start tracking this goal. If in the future you wish to stop tracking a goal you can turn it off but still save all of your old data.

Your goal position is the order that it will appear in the list of goals within your analytics account. The type of your goal will typically be a URL Destination especially for ecommerce site. Once you click on the URL option, more fields will appear bellow.  You will want to select head match and enter the URL that appears when a sale or conversion is complete.

How To Get A Simple Google Analytics Funnel Set Up

Next you will want to identify what the steps of your funnel are. For a Web Shop Manager e-commerce funnel the steps will usually follow a funnel like this…

• Add product to cart - /cart.html
• Proceed to Checkout ex.url - /checkout.html
• Confirmation or Thank You - /thankyou.html

If you do not have a Web Shop Manager site, your funnel may include more steps such as Shipping Page and/or Billing page. In that case you will need to add additional steps to your funnel. Either way you will want to place a test order on your site to ensure that you are adding the correct URLS to your analytics funnel.

Once you have identified all the steps of your funnel you can begin to add them to your goal. You will add the url and an appropriate name for that step. You do not need to add the Thank You page URL to your funnel, since that was already added as the Goal when you first began. Prior to saving your page your Analytics page will look something like this…

Testing Your E-Commerce Analytics Funnel

Congratulations, you have now set up a Google Analytics Sales Funnel! In order to ensure that you did everything correctly I would highly suggest that you places a test order through your site and see that all parts of the funnel got tracked. I would then either clear your cache or ask a friend to begin placing another test order but to ditch their cart at some point. By complete these two tests you can see that your sales funnel is working correctly.

At Web Shop Manager, we passionately stay on top of all eCommerce trends to help our customers grow their businesses.   Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/webshopmanager to get updated when we post more guides and tips for using your website to its fullest potential.

Develop a Better Converting Web Shop Manager Website with Google Analytics

Information is power, and with the astonishing amount of information that you can get from a Google Analytics account you will start making better decisions for your company’s website. The purpose of using Google Analytics is to observe your website’s traffic, monitor your site’s goals as well as your shopping funnel, track your email campaigns, banner ads and social media efforts, create customized reports and dashboards and so much more!

If all of this sounds way over your head, do not get discouraged. Utilizing your Google Analytics account to its fullest potential should be an ongoing project. You do not need to try and figure out how to use all of its features in one day. The purpose of this article is to provide you instructions on how to set up your account, add the tracking widget to your WSM site and create site ‘Goals’ to be tracked.

First, you will need to set up your Google Analytics account. When entering your URL, make sure that you select HTTP or HTTPS depending on your site. Web Shop Manager eCommerce sites are HTTP sites.

Web Shop Manager Makes Using Google Analytics Easy

Now that your account is created and your profile is set up, it is time to start tracking! For all of our Web Shop Manager (WSM) website design clients, we have made tracking conversions with Google Analytics so easy. Typically you would need to add a tracking code onto every page of your site, but with WSM simply log into your site and edit the Template section of your site. You can find this page in the backend of WSM within the Content section. For most WSM accounts you will have one template titled Default, click edit template and paste this widget code {{google_tracker id='UA-XXXXXX-X'}} just before the </body> tag in your template. (see left image)         You will now need to replace the Xs with your UA number. To get your UA number from your newly created Google Analytics account go to your Analytics Settings page and click on Edit under the Actions column. (see below image)

Then click on Check Status on the top right hand side of the page. Your tracking code can be found and copied from that page.

Once you have added this code to your template page make sure to Save Changes. Now Google will begin tracking information from your website. Even though tracking has started, I would recommend allowing at least two weeks for it to gather data before you start making decisions based on these statistics.

Hints About Your Google Analytics Profile

Get the most out of your reports by updating your Website Profile correctly. Since your home page can sometimes get linked to as two different URLs you should add www.website.com/index.html to your default site so that Google does not track www.website.com and above as two different pages. You can learn more about Google Analytics default url on Google’s Analytics help page.  If you are an e-commerce site, then make sure to select YES to e-commerce reporting. These seemingly minor changes will help you analyze more accurate data from your new analytics account.

The Most Important Step to Setting up Your Google Analytics Account

Since the Goal of almost all eCommerce websites is to create conversions, we will need to set up analytics Goals to track your conversions. Conversions vary for different website owners. Most often they are a sale, but they can also be a request for more information, a Contact Us form fill or a sign up for your monthly eNewsletter.

Whatever your goal may be, you will need to determine what URL will equate a conversion for you. Examples of URLs triggered by conversions are a Confirmation Page, an order Thank You page, or any other page that can only be seen by those who have completed a conversion.

Now, go back to your profile page, click on your account name and then click Edit under the action column (you should be on a different page than where you retrieved your UA number).

Select one of the four goal slots available and select Edit. Enter your goal URL and goal name, (purchase, eNewsletter, Contact, etc) and then turn the goal ON.

Since you have already added your tracking code and now you have created a goal, you will not only be tracking visitors but conversions as well. There are a couple ways to see if you set this up correctly. If you typically get at least a few orders a day you can simply wait for an order to come in and see if your account tracked it. If you want more instant gratification, you can place a test order (or test eNewsletter sign up, etc) through your site and check to see if it got tracked.

Want More Google Analytics & eCommmerce Guidance?

Here at Web Shop Manager, your success is our success. We strive to stay on top of all eCommerce trends and to relay this information to our users. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/webshopmanager to get updated when we post more guides and tips for using your website to its fullest potential.  We will continue our ‘Help With Google Analytics’ blog series next month were we will cover Funnel Tracking!

What is Google PR and why should I care?

In a nutshell PageRank, often referred to as Google PR, is Google’s way of determining the “importance” of a web page by looking at what pages are linking to it, or the quantity of backlinks.  PageRank is defined by a scale of 0 to 10 with 10 being the highest possible score. Google PageRank determines the position of your eCommerce website on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS). PageRank is based on a complicated algorithm, with importance weighted on backlinks.  

From Google “in general, webmasters can improve the rank of their sites by increasing the number of high-quality sites that link to their pages.”

Building links with high quality, relevant websites is where you should concentrate. Yes, this is time consuming but so is updating your fantasy football league and you find plenty of time to do that!

Be sure to stick to best practice guidelines when partaking in link building activities. Just like all things you do online, make them genuine and sincere or they aren’t best practices. If the line begins to blur, or Google thinks that you are asking for links, you may be penalized. Think of it as building relationships versus just simply building backlinks. Here is a roundup of some of our favorite ways to build relevant backlinks online:

Directories & Bookmarking

You shouldn’t have to pay for your friends and you don’t need to pay to be added to directories either. There are many great directories and bookmarking sites out there which will be happy to include your url and company listing. Take some time to search for industry specific directories that may not be listed here.

Business Listing Directories

List your website in all the business or search directories like Google’s Places, Yahoo!, Bing, Yellowpages.com, Yelp, and Hot Frog. Be sure to add as much pertinent information as possible to these listing for both potential customers and search engines.

Encourage customers to leave reviews on directories for word of mouth marketing, and content value. In addition to fantastic content, these reviews can be used for keyword research.  Remember, it is what your customers would think to query, not what you, industry leader would use.

Search Directories

Add your listing to search directories where topics are organized by categories, a few of which include; DMOZ, Yahoo Directory, Squidoo, and Google Directory.

Social Bookmarking Sites

Social Bookmarking sites encourage linking to articles and websites that their users find interesting. Typically they are given tags and descriptions.

Establish a profile, with a link to your eCommerce website, and then encourage your faithful flock to bookmark your posts to find later on, and of course give you another link. Some popular Social Bookmarking sites include digg, delicious, and StumbleUpon. Each one of those Book Marking sites may be more or less popular for use in your industry. Ask your colleagues where they keep their bookmarks, or search for your peer group within the bookmarking sites to see which is the most widely used.

Social Media

Develop profiles on social networking sites like; Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. Providing valuable content is the most effective way to get the attention of readers and grow the amount of traffic to your eCommerce site. Use these profiles to promote blog posts, eCommerce products, and site pages. The larger the following the greater the chances for the buzz to generate incoming links for your eCommerce website.

Article Syndication Sites

Google Feedburner, ezinearticles and other blog syndication sites work like a syndicated TV show and will help you get exposure for all your hard work. Leverage a larger network than you would have with your own mailing list for instance. Once you have done the dutiful deed of writing fabulous content make sure to maximize your reach.  These submission sites will provide a link back to your eCommerce website in addition to helping grow your readership.

Online Reference Sites/ Industry Specific Sites

Each industry will have its own industry specific sites which may link to interesting content. Submit your work for consideration, and add your url to online reference sites like Wikipedia.

Write Content Worth Linking To

Writing content of value for your target audience is ultimately the trump card in link building. Interesting, helpful blog posts, and content pages that answer common questions, review products, and examine industry issues will become invaluable to your potential clientele. From within this content actively look for ways to link to other areas of your own eCommerce site using keywords or phrases as the “anchor text” (text used for the hyperlink) to help build relevancy within your own site. Well researched, thoughtful content may be used as reference material for other websites and will only further your relevancy and status as an industry leader.

Fresh and Re-Fresh Content

Update content often. Review stats and figures and what was the 2009 industry outlook can easily become the 2011 industry snapshot. Staying relevant with current trends will draw the attraction of potential customers and search engines alike.

Add URL to Collateral

If your url is not recognizable and everywhere, you will not get noticed. Add your url wherever you might add your phone number, or email address. Your well designed, easy to navigate eCommerce website is a reflection of the level of service your company will provide, so put your best foot forward on everything you do.  Get in front of people, over and over again. The more they see your website the likely hood that they will link to it will increase.

Give Away Information

Want your content to spread faster than a wildfire? Give it away for free. Ask only for a mention in exchange for the use of photos, content, stats and figures.

Blog Search Engines

Have a blog? Include your blog in blog search engines including; Technorati, Google Blog Search, and Ask.com Bloglines.

Cross Promote Collaborate with colleagues on co-authored blog posts in order to leverage both networks. Encourage respected “guest bloggers” to write blog post on your site about topics they are experts on.  Your audience will benefit from their knowledge, and the “guest bloggers” network is more likely to become familiar with your website. Similarly, you may suggest to a complimentary website, or blog that you would like to write a blog post for them regarding a specific topic that you are an expert on, hyperlinking your signature back to your website. 

Shopping Data Feeds

Find targeted leads for your eCommerce sites as well as increasing the number of backlinks. There are many comparison shopping sites, some work like PPC advertising, while there are several free sites that you should be aware of; Google Product Search, bing Shopping, and thefind.

Leave Comments

Well written blog posts are begging for a comment. Many blog posts have a field for your url when you sign in to leave a comment. Leave a url for future generations and a backlink to your website!

Use SEO Keywords and Phrases Whenever Possible

Use keywords and phrases selected to correlate with your target market to create titles, and content. Leave no opportunity for powerful keyword phrases unturned!

If you enjoyed these tips to increasing your Google PR, please be sure to sign up for the WSM RSS feed. We don’t want you to miss a thing!

Looking for an eCommerce design company that wants you to succeed and make money as much as you do?  Look no further than WSM for all your online hosting, web development, and website design needs.  Contact WSM today to see how we can help your eCommerce company thrive online.

Fashion eCommerce is a large and continuously growing market.  It is easily accessible for anyone with Internet capabilities.   This saves customers time and allows them to find things worldwide that they would not normally have access to.  Anyone can sell their fashion retail products online once they have an established website.  For more details on how to start a fashion website, please refer to our previous fashion blog post, “What to Know Before Starting Your Own Fashion Website”

Once you have a fashion website established, it is time for you to start thinking about how to market your products online and bring customers to your site to purchase those products.  Not only do you want to have your products listed, but you also need to find a way to set your products apart from similar products on other websites, for we all know there are many brands and businesses in the fashion industry.

What Features Help Sell Products on a Fashion Website?

Along with listing your products in a catalog on your fashion apparel website, it is important to find ways to further help your customer find what they are looking for, or help them find something similar.  If a customer can’t find what they are looking for within thirty seconds, they will leave your fashion website and look elsewhere.  We need to think about ways to prevent them from leaving.  Some eCommerce modules to consider include:

Live Chat which allows an eCommerce customer to click on a button on your website, which will alert your customer support, the customer can then ask the questions they may need to take the final step in purchasing a product. The customer support, in return, can answer questions as quickly as they are received.  If clothing is an item that will be sold on the fashion eCommerce website, it is important to know that the #1 reason why people stop short of purchasing is concern about proper fit.  If there is a customer service representative available to chat with the customer while they are looking at the product, they will have the ability to explain how it fits best and some things about the fit that they want to consider when buying.  Reassuring the customer will help to encourage the sale.

Ratings and Reviews offer an opportunity for new customers to see what previous customers thought about the product that they may be considering purchasing.  On each product, there will be a review below the description, which will show what the past customer’s opinion of that product.  This could help with a sale, especially when they are indecisive about making the purchase.  It will increase their confidence in the product and give them the extra push to follow through.  For example, if your customer wants to purchase a handbag online, they may want to be assured that the product is durable and nicely made.  If there was a previous customer who also bought that handbag and wrote a review, they would be able to see that the customer was very happy with their purchase and pleased with the quality.  This may be the extra boost that your new customer would need to make the purchase.

As well as listing your products on your own fashion eCommerce site, you also want your products to be searchable on other websites.  Shopping Data Feeds work on a “pay-per-click” basis, like Google AdWords.  Using Shopping Data Feeds, you pay for specific words that relate to your products or business based on your choosing the words and how much you want to pay for them per click.  You are only liable to pay for it if a customer clicks on it to go to your website.

Another option is using free shopping feeds like Google Shopping, which lists your product with similar products for your customers compare prices and products side by side.  This tool is free and beneficial for all products.  In addition, Web Shop Manager (WSM) automatically updates your product listings nightly.

Cross-Sell/ Upsell is a great tool to use when you want to show the customer a similar product to the one they are viewing.  For instance, if the customer is viewing a summer dress, you may want to recommend sandals that would work well with the dress, or you could suggest a different type of summer dress.  Cross-selling offers an opportunity to sell more than the one item that the customer was initially considering purchasing, which of course leads to increased eCommerce sales.

How easy is it to Manage an Online Shopping Website?

Deciding to start an online fashion website is a huge decision.  You are probably right where I once was, trying to figure out how you were going to juggle all the business, and creative tasks.  Learning to manage an eCommerce website can seem overwhelming.  Well, it could be overwhelming unless you use WSM as your fashion eCommerce Content Management System (eCommerce CMS).  I know you will be as amazed as I am at how quickly you can add content to your photo gallery, eCommerce fashion blog, and add events to the fashion calendar. 

When you are ready to start thinking about an eCommerce solution that includes fashion website design with a hosted shopping cart remember WSM.  Contact WSM today to schedule your free live demonstration to see for yourself how easy the WSM, our eCommerce CMS is to use. 

Brooke Nevins

Bcat Threads

Interested in a fashion (or fashion planning) website?

There are many reasons why someone may be interested in starting a fashion website, and all reasons are relevant.  Since the Internet is the fastest way to share information, you may be someone who is interested in following trends, keeping up with celebrity fashion, or looking for new ideas for your own wardrobe.  You may be a fashion designer or stylist yourself and need a website to easily show your design portfolio to employers, photographers, models, or potential clients. Or, you may already be established in the fashion industry and need an online presence or website.  Perhaps you own a retail fashion boutique and you would like to develop a way for your customers to be able to take a second look at what they saw featured in your store.  They may look online, find a piece they like, and then come to the store to try it on.  In any situation, having a fashion website is crucial to the development of your brand, and reaching a global audience.

How do I start my own fashion website (fashion website development)?

Before you begin your fashion website development, you should consider drafting a business plan that includes goals for the website.  Once you have established goals, you want to think about what content or site features that will be necessary to differentiate your brand.  In the fashion industry, some of the most important features to consider are a photo gallery, a fashion blog, event calendar, and quite possibly a Shopping Cart website to sell retail fashion items.  The photo gallery could be used to share photos of fashion events that you attended, highlights of seasons’ trends, photo shoots, and wardrobe ideas. 

Utilize your fashion blog to create an online journal of your experiences in the fashion world, to provide insights into your fashion business, show examples of mixing and matching looks, or as a roundup of area fashion events.

An event calendar can pinpoint fashion industry special events happening in your area, around the world, on television, or events where you will be in attendance.  You can list fashion shows, fashion design contests, the upcoming “Project Runway” episode, or new fashion related movies coming out in the theaters. 

How do I design my fashion website (fashion website design)?

Once you have a clear understanding of the goals of the website, and what features are essential to reach those goals, you can begin to think about website design.  Web design is as important as the content you fill the site pages with.  Website design is the first thing that your customers will notice and may be the determining factor in capturing their attention.  Keep in mind that too much clutter (too much text, too many pictures, etc) on your home page will drive a person away from your web site.  Develop a site that is simple, clean, and interesting to look at.  At the same time you will need a website that uniquely represents your brands vision and aesthetic.

If you don’t have a web design background, it is wise to consult an outside source to help you in developing your fashion website.  While most people in the fashion industry have a great eye, understanding, and appreciation for art, this does not mean that they have the ability to develop a tasteful fashion website.  There are people who design websites for a living and know what works and what doesn’t.  All web designers should have worked with both successful and failed websites and will be able to provide feedback about what appeals to the general population based on their previous experience.  So the saying goes “do what you do best, outsource the rest”. 

One of the best ways to find a qualified web design company is doing research on well established website design and development solutions companies who have received positive reviews from clients.  Web Design Solutions which developed Web Shop Manager™ (WSM) has a team of very creative web designers with a vast portfolio of work, who have designed a number of successful fashion websites.  With over 10 years of web design experience, and great reviews from clients, Web Design Solutions and WSM are the perfect solution for your fashion industry website. 

How can I create a successful fashion website (fashion website marketing)?

Once your fashion website is up and running, the most important thing to do is keep it fresh and updated.  Customers will become discouraged when they visit a website and find the same product, and content.  Customers may stop frequenting your website altogether.  Even if you are using your website as a design portfolio, but haven’t created any new work, you may want to change other elements.  This is why a blog is crucial for a fashion website - when you have a fashion blog on your site, you not only have the opportunity to talk about your own work, but you can also talk about related industries or topics that your audience may be interested in.  New blog posts will keep your audience coming back and exploring your website.  Another benefit of having an integrated blog is that you can create an online experience for your audience.  You can cultivate a social network of people who have similar passions, tastes, and styles to you. 

A fashion website will only be as successful as the tools it has to work with.  Make sure you are utilizing the very best web design, development, and web hosting company to handle your dreams and aspirations.  WSM our Content Management System (eCommerce CMS), are the ideal choice for fashion websites.  Eliminate the barriers that are hindering your success, and call WSM today to speak with an industry expert about your fashion website.

Brooke Nevins
Bcat Threads

Deciding that you want to sell your products or services online is exciting. Trying to figure out what you need to make it happen can be exhausting. Finding the right eCommerce solutions company and Content Management System (eCommerce CMS) for developing your site can be frustrating and expensive. I experienced all of these feelings and more when assigned the task to create an eCommerce website for my employer.

If you sell a product or service developing an eCommerce site may be critical to the continued success of your business. Businesses today can no longer afford to think locally. Instead, businesses must think globally, and an eCommerce site expands your business into the global marketplace like no brick and mortar business ever could.

1. Your eCommerce solution must be easy to use for the company and the customer. Find a program that will create a storefront, shopping cart and will process credit card payments with little or no web development on your part. It is always important to select a firm that offers a complete one-stop eCommerce solution. This will ensure that everything can be integrated properly without compatibility problems or relying on several different services or companies to work together.
2. eCommerce Solution Providers must offer exceptional customer service. It is important that you can depend on the company to be there when you need them most, when you have a question or a problem. Find a company with a great track record for reliability.
3. Includes functions for inventory and accounting. You need this to be fluid. Do not make more work for yourself ensure that the program includes features to maintain inventory and offers the ability to export data for use with external accounting programs.
4. Ensures the requirements for SSL, Merchant Accounts and your Payment Gateway are met (critical elements to a successful site). There are several technical and critical components you need to have for a functioning eCommerce site. I recommend finding a company that includes setting up and assisting you with the steps for accepting your payments for goods or services rendered online.
5. Supports and establishes your overall design and menu structure of your site. A company that includes a web design team will take your vision and make it a reality. Also, ensure they take the web design and establish the template for creating your entire site. You should also have the ability to change or add to your menus without creating or editing programming code.
6. Helps you reach your eCommerce goals within your budget and have options for monthly hosting fees. You need options and the options should include different levels for hosting your eCommerce site. These levels should be in line with the size of your business, but would not restrict your growth. Find an eCommerce provider that will allow you to start out small or large.
7. Offers tools to analyze your site activity, i.e. #number of visitors, searched phrases, and # of orders. You will need to review your eCommerce site for enhancements or changes based on visitor activity. There are many tools available for monitoring your visitors. Make it easier on yourself and find a company that includes this data.
8. Includes customizing functions to use for different views based upon the type of customer, i.e. business-to-business, business-to-consumer, or business-to-employee. If you plan to sell your products or services to different groups of people with special prices for each; then you will need to ensure that the feature to set up this type of structure is included in your site development program.
9. Includes features for developing customer friendly information, i.e. image gallery, FAQ, store locator, and news/blog. These eCommerce features engage your customer so they come back more often. They should be easy for you to set up and maintain.
10. Find an eCommerce company that has a track record of short down-time (times when your site is unavailable due to technical problems or not enough band width.) Just remember that bigger and cheaper is not always better. Find the company that has the hardware and structure to support their customers and have plans for growth as their client base increases.

After researching eCommerce solutions providers, get fresh, found Web Design Solutions and their program Web Shop Manager! Not only did their program have all the eCommerce features we needed to easily create our site, but they also have a team with exceptional customer service. Web Design Solutions guided us through every phase of web development and ensured we were ready for our launch. Our site and the tools available to create all the features exceeded our original expectations. Without Web Design Solutions and Web Shop Manager, our site may not have been as dynamic, easy to maintain, and user-friendly. They provided web design, hosting, eCommerce solutions, and Content Management System to let us control as much of the website as we desired whether it's managing our products, the checkout process, or informational pages.

We found that eCommerce website development is quite simple when using the right tools. You can see the results for yourself. Check us out at www.getfresh.net, and then visit Web Design Solutions at www.webdesignsolutions.com to get started on your site today!

Paulette Palladino, get fresh