As a website designer, I work with so many different product based and service based business owners to create websites that increase their sales. While my focus is on health and wellness I also love working with sustainable product based brands that want to make a difference in this world.

And, although each website I build is unique, there are a few special things to consider for product based businesses. My hope is that these tips will help you to create an easy to use website that converts visitors to money in your pocket.

So, here are 6 ways to skyrocket sales on your product based business website!

 

A Homepage that Sells

Think of your homepage as your digital storefront. It’s one of the first pages users will interact with so it should guide them to the places you really want them to visit.

First up what I call the “Hero Section” on your homepage. This is that top banner, photo, slider, or whatever you have at the very top of the page right under the main menu. This is where you’ll make that first impression and it’s likely to get the most clicks. So put your most important call to action here. I’d recommend showcasing things like new products/collections, any sales you have going on, or simply a link to your shop.

Further down the page, you can place another slightly less important call to action to direct traffic elsewhere. This is kind of a fallback because most users will click that top link. This could be things like your top 3 selling categories, a link to learn more about your brand or read your blog.

Although the goal is to sell your products you shouldn’t only link to pages with those products. This may come across as being too salesy and doesn’t give new customers the opportunity to learn more about your brand first.

Conscious buyers will what to get to know the face or team behind a brand before they purchase. Use your homepage as an opportunity to guide users to pages to do just that. Like your blog, about page, or an opt-in to join your email list.

 

A User-Friendly Main Menu

We just talked about how to build a user-friendly homepage that is primed to sell. But what about the rest of your website? It’s very important to think about how you can guide a user around instead of giving them TONS of options which only leads to confusion.

My biggest advice is to keep your main menu simple and to the point. I know it can be tempting to have these really complex drop-down menus that give your customers all of the category options up-front. But think about how you can get them where they want to go without overwhelming them with everything at once.

Maybe this means simply having a “Shop” navigation item that takes them to a page with all of the categories.

Or, maybe you want to divide things into categories such as Women, Men, and Kids and then a few select sub-categories in a drop-down menu like Shirts, Bottoms, and Dresses.

The rule of thumb is to keep your main nav simple and clean. Keep drop-down menus organized and only use them when they are essential.

An Easy Checkout Process

Let’s chat for a second about your checkout process. The easier you make this the more people will actually follow-through with buying things. And, this equals more money in your pocket.

Make you “Add to Cart” or “Buy Now” buttons easy to see by giving them a unique color that stands out on the page.

Make the cart icon or button easy to spot so people know where to checkout.

Once a user is in the cart they should see the following pages:

• Cart page where they can review everything and proceed to checkout
• Checkout page where they enter their billing, shipping, and credit card info
• You can either have them checkout on the page above or give them one last opportunity to review their cart. Personally, I prefer having the checkout and review page all on one page to simplify the process.

When considering the user experience of your website ask yourself how can I make this process even easier for my customers?

 

Share Your Core Values

As I mentioned earlier, customers today are very interested in learning about the brands they buy from. We are all conscious consumers who want to spend our hard earned money with brands who have similar values to us. So, make it obvious what your values are up-front.

Add your values to your homepage or about page so that customers can see them easily. This establishes trust and shows how important these things are to you.

Your values could be ethical:

• Fair-trade
• Consciously scoured materials
• Vegan/Cruelty-Free
• All natural or organic
• Ethically manufactured

These kinds of core values are ideal for green beauty brands, slow fashion, and similar brands with an ethical component. What makes your brand stand out? Why does your niche like to buy from you? These are the things you want to showcase here to connect with your buyers.

Your core values could also be customer or quality focused:

• A money-back guarantee
• Great return policy – stand behind your products
• How is the product made?
• What is the quality like? Are the fabrics or materials unique?
• Share testimonials or social proof about how amazing your product is.

All of these things build trust so that people want to buy from your brand. It shows that you stand behind your products and value your customers. While testimonials showcase how happy others have been with your product. It all builds up that like, know and trust factor.

 

Create Content

Creating content is essential for service based business owners but is often overlooked for product based shops.

Perhaps you don’t know what you should write about. Or, maybe you don’t understand how writing blogs posts, creating podcasts, or youtube videos could help sell your things.

But hear me out.

Creating content of some kind helps to drive traffic to your website. Without traffic, you have no one to sell to. End of story. Having a blog, podcast or youtube channel will help you to attract that niche that you want to sell to.

Start by creating content that they would find helpful. What problems does your audience have and how can your products help solve those problems? Brainstorm some content ideas and I bet you’ll be surprised what you can come up with!

And, since you are a product based business make sure that you share your latest offerings in your content. For example, this could be a try-on video showcasing your new collection. Or, a blog post with lifestyle photos and tips & tricks on how to use your beauty products.

You can also collaborate with bloggers and influencers to create content for your brand. This could be in the form of guest posting to get in front of a new audience. Or you might want to work with influencers by providing them with free products to test out or doing paid posts.

 

Have An Email Opt-in

Building up your email list means that you have the chance to jump into your potential customer’s inbox at any time. That’s such a powerful marketing tool!

Plus, by opting in these people aren’t just random website visitors. They are warm leads that are interested in your products and what you offer. If you aren’t growing your list you really need to start today.

Since we just talked about creating content, I’ll start with content upgrades. These are little freebies that you add to the end of a blog post to encourage users to join your list. For product based business, I find that quizzes, checklists, and how to guides tend to work best. In general, courses, workshops, and worksheets are better for service based entrepreneurs.

Another way to get users to join your email list is to offer a discount code. This works soooo well for product based businesses and is easy to implement using any email service provider. Try adding this kind of opt-in to your website’s footer or as a pop-up to give those who already want to buy an incentive to do so.

And there you have it! 6 things every product based businesses website needs. Now put these tips and tricks into practice and sit back and watch the sales role in.

If you need a little help, I’m here for you! You can learn more about my brand and website design services, right here. Or send me a project inquiry to get started.

Looking for more website tips and tricks? Grab a copy of my Wellness Website Workbook below. It will help you get clear on your business goals so that you can align them with your brand + website strategy. You’ll be all set to build a website that connects with the right people and brings in more money.