Ecommerce Forum & Blog

In order to achieve a greater rate of conversions, a bold and clear ‘add to cart button’ should be added to each product page and it should be made to stand out from the rest of the content so that it is easy to locate for any shopper. Use reds, blues and images to display it so that is is easily noticable to the user.

It is also important to use the correct terminology. Using terms such as ‘buy’ or ‘order’ may scare the user into thinking they are commiting to the purchase right now, whereas ‘add to cart’ or ‘add to basket’ acts as a nice first step in the buying process where the user may only still be browsing.

The example above, taken from PFT Central shows a good usage of an ‘add to cart button’. It stands out using a bold red color, and by using button styles it looks ‘clickable’. The terminology is good and the small trolley icon is good for people who may not speak or read English. It is easily noticable on the page and the use knows exactly what it means so this is how I would reccommend doingthis type of button.

An annoying thing when shopping online is when you go to add a product to your cart and it tells you that you must be registered first. This means there’s an extra step in teh buying process which could seriously deter customers. Also customers don’t want to commit all their details to a website while only potentially ‘window shopping’.

The smart way of getting registration details is during the checkout stage where it can be disguised as simply adding shipping and billing details which the customer will accept as compulsory. This data can then be saved as an account for future visits. Doing it this way will speed up checkout processes, reduce cart abondonment and will ultimately increase sales. This really is such a simple tip that so many e-commerce web designers get wrong.

Once again it is Amazon who can boast the benchmark for e-commerce usability. Checkout the ‘proceed to checkout’ page of Amazon who give the customer two clear choices and even let the customer know that they will create a password later - saving them from worrying about it now when all they want to do is make a purchase.