Ten Tips to KISS Your Way to E-commerce Success

Here are 10 easy tips to think about when setting up your e-commerce website. You found a product to sell on the Internet and you need to set up your webpage. Here are 10 tips that I have used to successfully sell products online. There are some tutorials, technical tips, and examples using the KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid Principle online. One article that has tutorials is here. My article features tips that I have used successfully.

#1. Keep the page simple and page load-time low. Some people don't have high speed internet and will not wait for heavy graphics and animations to load. They are fun to create and showoff, but you are after sales, not how unique your pages look.

#2. Forget about flash and don't use frames. Use simple fonts. Some people's browsers have difficulties with fancy fonts. You want to present your information to anyone with a web connection.

#3. Keep any hyperlinks to current conventions - underline them with blue text. Now is not the time for using chartreuse hyperlinks. Your income stream is counting on this.

#4. Navigation - all pages must have hyperlinks to bring them back to at least your home page, more of your items, or to your shopping cart.

#5. Use PayPal Shopping Cart for an easy-to-use way to have shoppers pay for their purchases. You can easily download "pay now" buttons and personalize your pages to make it easy for consumers to buy your product. Don't forget to add text like, "preview your purchases" or something like that because they will want to see the total with shipping cost before they commit to buying. Give clear and simple instructions. After they have bought, give them a link back to your home page.

#6. Link to your "testimonials". Any positive feedback that you have received will be read by the consumer, especially if you are a brand new entity on the web.

#7. IM capability - Many times I have been online and received questions from an interested person. The instant messaging capability assures the person that you are a real person or company and they will feel more comfortable in buying from you.

#8. High contrast text with a lot of white space. Remember the KISS Principle - Keep It Simple Stupid. Make it easy for anyone to read. Be concise and clear at all times. You are trying to build trust and get the sale.

#9. Link to another method of ordering. Mail or phone. Some people are still uncomfortable using PayPal. Some don't have a PayPal account, and would like to send a check or money order. Link to a page that they can print and mail you their order.

#10. Link to an "Idea Page". Let them see other ways to use your product. Give them more reasons to buy. For example, if you are selling handmade glass beads, tell them that they can sell their creations on eBay. Say that they can buy your beads to create all their Christmas gifts this year. Show pictures of different projects using the beads. Show them that their children may need the beads for school or scout projects. Show example of other purchasers' projects or hold a contest. This will build repeat customers.

These are some ideas that I have used in selling products online. Your toughest job will be to find your own product. The website you create should be designed with the KISS Principle - Keep It Simple Stupid. You will succeed with almost any product if you keep these things in mind!