Website Usability and Conversion: Can Your Site Sell?

Here is a small exercise that you can try to see if your website can really convert visitors into sales:

Think about a product/service that you are selling; let it be the product that you want to push most. Now, with a fresh mind, open your home-page. Apply these simple checks:

1. Can you easily find the product?
2. What are the questions that come to your mind about the product? Are all the answers there and are they easily accessible? Has even the seemingly most insignificant question been answered?
3. If it is a product - Can you find images of the front, rear and side views of your product. Further, are you giving the option of high-resolution images of your products?
   
4. Ask yourself, 'who are these guys?' Go on to your 'about us' page/s and 'contact us page' and see if all the information you desire is there or not. If it is not there, do you have options for contacting in real time?
   

Ok, the product has been found, the questions have been answered, you like the looks and the guys look trustworthy. You are convinced. Try to purchase the product now.

You can try these steps:

1. Is the shopping cart friendly enough?
2. Do you have assistance options on every page.
3. Further down, are the transaction pages secure with an acclaimed certification like Verisign to your credit.

Now ask at least two or more persons to repeat the exercise and give you their feedback. If all of you could make it through, your site can sell.

Time to do some SEO and Website Promotion!

Article last updated: 15th Oct 2004.

Copyright © Jagdeep. S. Pannu 2004

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