The 'How We Do It' Blog

All too often people attribute a poorly-performing site with its (to them, lack of) looks. They see a competitor’s site which they feel looks ‘prettier’ or ‘more modern’ than their own, immediately perceive that to be more successful, and want their own to look exactly the same.

This is a classic example of the grass being greener on the other side, with a bit of ‘eye of the beholder’ and a nod to style over substance thrown in for good measure!

In reality there is no way to know whether another site is ‘doing better’ just by looking at it — your site may in fact be the superior one and you don’t even know it!

Let’s examine possible reasons as to why this could be the case, or not.

Looks

We all know the saying ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’, but let’s be honest and admit that we all probably do it anyway. Even if only sometimes! Similarly, people do and will judge a site by its looks, absolutely.

So yes, looks are important — to the extent that they may make or break a favourable first impression. But I’ll almost guarantee that you comparing others’ sites with your own on the basis of looks only, is you in the mindset of a casual visitor to that site. How does a customer compare sites? What do they see, and why are they there in the first place?

I can assure you as a mad plant-nut that I’ve seen plenty of old, awful-looking plant sites and plenty of pretty, modern-looking plant sites. And I’ve bought from the older sites just as much as from the newer sites. Without prejudice or favouritism.

Why? Because they have what I am looking for. If a site has a rare or unique something that no other site has, I don’t care how old or ugly the site looks, I’m buying that thing, and from that site, because that site and only that site has what I want.

In fact, you could make an argument that the older and uglier a site is, the more trustworthy and reliable it may be, because it’s been around a while and is still in business.

So while a casual, uninterested visitor may immediately click away to some other site, a person looking for information or to buy something is going to stay a little longer, regardless of how the site ‘looks’. This is because they aren’t there for looks, but for…

Content

Content, the one thing that determines whether a visitor leaves, sticks around a little longer, makes contact with you, or buys right there and then. The prettiest site in the world may be the most devoid of anything of interest, and its looks won’t ever be enough to keep potential customers there. The simplest, most amateurish-looking site packed with the best content, whether information or products, will.

There is a caveat, in that no matter how content-rich your site is, your customers still need to find what they’re looking for! How good is your…

Search-Engine Optimisation and Navigation

These two elements are crucial in attracting customers. Optimsing your site’s content gets your site in front of potential customers in the first place, and once on your site, good navigation helps them to stay and explore everything you have to say. Broken links and information buried in obscure and poorly-labelled sub-menus are not the best ways to turn visitors into customers.

Your Niche

You may feel that your site isn’t attracting as much business as you’d like. But if you’re in a very small or exclusive niche, you may well be attracting the lion’s share of that tiny market and not realise this. Are enquiries and sales coming in at a fairly regular rate, even if only once a week or less? That’s actually a good sign, especially if you’re new to that market. It shows that there is a reliable clientele you can work with, and that you’re already attracting them. Consider complementary products you can add, or other ways to value-add and add revenue to your business. Keep at it little by little and you’ll be amazed at how a once-weekly enquiry or sale becomes twice-weekly, thrice-weekly, and soon, a fully-fledged sideline or even business. (We have a lot of experience with up-selling and cross-selling — get in touch for a chat! — and have a knack for thinking up ideas that aren’t always obvious to people immersed in their business.)

In Conclusion

If you genuinely feel your site should be performing better than it is, please do look deeper than just its looks. Looks, after all, are only skin-deep. It’s what’s inside that really counts.

Do consider your customers and what they are looking for, and finetune your site to their mindset. Add content that speaks to them, and they will come with time. If you have what they are looking for, your site will be the most beautiful sight (!) to their eyes, and they will stay, and they will buy.

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Disclosure: Optimate Group Pty Ltd has a financial interest in Australian Botanical Art.

Background:
Australian Botanical Art is an ecommerce web site that was developed in partnership with artist (and relation) Maurice Hayler in 2012. With nothing but search engine optimisation, the site was selling consistently three months after the launch date.

The site originally offered a range of 35 individual prints, six diptych sets, and three triptych sets. Each of these were available in three different standard frame sizes (5″ × 7″, 8″ × 10″, and A4). Ordering was simply a matter of choosing the prints of interest, and the size required. The price changed in real-time depending on the size chosen.

Shortly thereafter we introduced the option of buying the same prints pre-matted and on acid-free backing ready to frame, in two standard frame sizes (5″ × 7″ with 8″ × 10″ mat and backing, and A4 with 12″ × 16″ mat and backing) and one non-standard size (8″ × 10″ with 12″ × 14″ mat and backing).

Suddenly ordering became more ‘messy’, as the customer not only had to choose a size, but whether to purchase with or without a mat and backing, and with the price changing in real-time on-screen depending on the choices.

The Problem to Solve:
The site continues to rank well to this day, but was becoming harder to navigate and less easy to use with an increased product range and purchasing options. The site would become harder again to navigate with the introduction of another five diptychs and the planned introduction of another two sizes with mat options.

It was vital that the site become more streamlined before these new items were added.

The Solution:
The site had always been organised by print, with size and mat listed as options. A Banksia print, for example, would display with a choice of three size options and whether supplied as a flat sheet or with a mat and backing. That was six possible combinations, for one item, on one page!

So I considered breaking the site into two, with a ‘Flat Prints’ section and a ‘Prints with Mat’ section. This left size as the only option to choose from when on a product page, and was an attempt to return to how the site was originally. But this still didn’t feel right. A customer, on seeing the home page, still had to decide which section to explore first, and would have to go back and change the order completely if they changed their mind. They may not even know those options existed should they land on a different page via a search engine result.

Then I realised that each print (and diptych and triptych) could be its own section! I knew straight away that that was the approach to take.

Implementation:
The solution was simple, but implementing it took three weeks of solid work — not in one block but spread over several months to fit around existing clients’ projects of higher priority. (This was our own site and thus took second-fiddle.)

This effort was well-worth it! The home page now lists an image of each print, diptych and triptych on one easy to scroll through page. A customer can now click on a flower of interest, without first having to decide if they want a flat print or one with mat and backing. Once they have selected a flower, they are immediately presented with some botanical information about that flower, followed by images of all size and mat options in one spot. All sizes and prices are visible from the outset, without having to select an option for these to update in real time. There is also a link to a size guide page for more information should it be needed.

In Conclusion:
The site is far more appealing and intuitive to navigate. The five new diptychs were added seamlessly, and everything is now in place for when we are ready to add the two new sizes.

Please get in touch if you’d like your own ecommerce site assessed. We won’t offer fluff on whatever the latest trends and fads in web design are, but offer sound advice on the far more practical aspects of user experience .

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