Get your retail website up to scratch!

Running a small business can be a bit of a slog. It takes passion, innovation, and a grounded attitude to succeed. Whilst almost all retail business owners understand the value of the internet, it can be hard to figure out in what areas you should prioritize your efforts. The internet is simply so multifaceted. Should you improve your ordering system? Your security? Your social media presence?

The truth of the matter is that you need to improve all of these things in order to run a successful business. Improving your retail website can help across the board – a good website can act as a hub from which customers can access all of your online tendrils.

With that in mind, we have provided you with some tips for getting your retail website up to scratch:

Copywriting

The pen is mightier than the sword. The keyboard is mightier than just about anything else. The way you write your web copy will have a massive effect on the success of your retail website.

Writing copy isn’t for everybody. Don’t shy away from hiring freelance writers to advertise your business online.

Consult the Professionals

Sometimes you will need to consult the experts when creating small business websites. This is no bad thing. Web design is an extremely specialized trade involving expertise in branding, coding, aesthetics, and marketing. Accepting that you need help will give you more time to do what you love – running your business.

Curate Your Reviews

Review transparency can be a double-edged sword. Creating a public review system on your website can showcase the positive things customers say about your business, but it can leave you open to unwarranted criticism and trolling.

Make sure you have a system for vetting reviews as they come in if you plan on creating a newsfeed that includes customer opinions.

Never fake your reviews. Customers rely upon online reviews, and any fakery is both easily detectable and dreadful for your reputation.

Photography Matters

In the same way you would like to present a good shop front in a physical retail environment, you want to present a good face on the internet. Photography is one key way in which you can achieve this.

The first thing a customer will notice on a website is the imagery. Hiring a professional photographer to document your products in a commercially friendly way is a safe method of ensuring that you don’t present a messy image.

Keep It Simple

This is perhaps the most important tip we can offer. Customers do not owe you anything. If your website is confusing to navigate, contains countless labyrinthine layers, is painful to look at or chock full of unnecessary links then it will prove to be a failure.

Keep it simple, keep it safe. Make it easy to cross over from the reviews section to the retail section. Link to your social media accounts in the most straightforward way possible. Keep your website aesthetically and tonally as simple as possible.