Like this article? We recommend
Other Site Elements
So much for home page specifications. A number of general site elements are also important to a web storefront:
- Provide a complete About Us page for visitors to read. Include who, where, what, why, and when on this page:
- Who you are—a description of your company
- Where you're located
- What you sell
- Why a shopper should by from you (here's a chance to promote your unique selling position in a more detailed manner than on your home page)
- When you can be contacted by phone
- Give 'em the FAQs. A Frequently Asked Questions page is a quick way for shoppers to find answers to the most-asked buying questions and gives you another opportunity to present your unique selling position. This is a valuable addition to an eCommerce site that gives you the chance to state—and meet—the buying objections that a shopper might have in his or her mind.
- Provide a full Contact Us page with multiple ways for the shopper to contact your company: email, phone, fax, and your full mailing address.
- Include a separate Privacy Policy page that states your full privacy policy in non-legalese. The Direct Marketing Association site can automatically generate a privacy policy in HTML. Just answer the questions, generate the page, and copy the HTML code provided into your Privacy Policy page.
- Before you ask the customer for a credit card to complete the order, be sure to specify the full cost of shipping and handling. Online consumers don't like surprises.