Electronic commerce, also known as ecommerce, deals with the distributing, buying, selling, marketing, as well as servicing of products over the Internet. This process involves such things like electronic funds transfer, e-marketing or automated data-collection systems. One of the keys to ecommerce success is providing the audience with an attractive website. Some of the important aspects to consider include the use of color, graphics, animation, photographs, fonts, as well as the amount of white-space on the website.

When creating an ecommerce website, an software that edits HTML or a pre-made web template can be used. The designer should keep in mind that a web users first reaction to the website should be favorable. Sometimes a visitor will not visit another time to give the website another chance. Below are a few suggestions for creating an ecommerce website that will grab a visitor’s attention and keep them coming back for more.

Pay Attention to Color and Fonts
Keep in mind that domineering color schemes and busy background patterns can annoy an online viewer. Background colors for text areas are easier to view when they are against white or pale colors. Remember that dark or black fonts are also easier to read, such as Arial or Verdana. This provides the best readability.

Avoid Large Graphics
Keep large graphics and animation to a minimum or the website will load too slowly. This gives an impatient visitor the chance to click away from the website. Large flash presentations also slow a page from quickly loading.

Use an Attention-Grabber
An interesting headline or question can grab the attention of a visitor to a website. More than often, it only takes a first-time visitor a few seconds to decide whether or not they will further investigate the website.

Use an Effective Main Message
The main message of a website should be geared towards the intended audience’s interests and needs. An effective website proves how the site or product can be of interest to a visitor. Information about the website owner or the business history should be available on a separate page.

Use Language That is Easy to Understand
The text and message of a website should be conversational. Technical terminology usually repels a visitor. Another thing to consider is making the website accessible to visitors who speak different languages. Adding links to Spanish and French translations could prove rewarding.

Avoid Grammatical Mistakes
Spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes are a turn-off for Internet users. To showcase your professionalism, special attention must be paid to avoiding text errors. Make sure the website is carefully proofread.

Utilize White Space
Present a clean website design by providing enough white space around graphics and text. This will increase readability. Paragraphs of text should be no more than five or six lines.

Easy Menus
An easy-to-navigate menu helps a visitor spend more time on a website. It is important that all of the links work properly and that all website pages are connected to one another. It shouldn’t take a visitor more than one mouse-click to get to another page within the website.

Pay Attention to Page Length
Larger websites demand a clean breakdown of content into easily navigable sections with relevant separate pages. The length of individual pages should be no longer than three screens.

Provide Contact Information
Any ecommerce website should contain the following: the owner’s name or company name; a physical address; an email link; as well as another contact selection, such as a fax or telephone number. This promotes confidence and communication between visitors.

Browser Testing
All web pages on a website that have been recently published, should be tested on several different browsers to make sure that the resolution is correct. Web pages view differently from one browser to the next. Tests could be made for Netscape Navigator, MS Internet Explorer, Opera and browsers for MAC OS .

These tips are meant to guide a beginner webmaster through the journey of ecommerce website design. After creating an ecommerce website, other questions may arise, including how to optimize a website for search engines, as well as how to understand the technology aspect of building a website. There are many resources and other online assistance that a webmaster can utilize.

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