5 Questions to Ask Yourself If your Online Business isn't making ...

Many set out with the assumption that setting up an online business is affordable, easier than running an actual business premises, and once the site is live, the hard work is over. However in reality, the cost of running and online business and getting it set up to begin with can be hugely costly depending on the type of business you run. The hidden costs include photography, SEO, web design and development, and model photography.

If you do take the plunge, you can expect hard work, months/years of testing and tweaking and you will have to continually update your website.

If you find your website is making you very little return, it is time to stop and investigate what exactly if going on.

Is your website easy to navigate?

Every time you explore your website, you must imagine you are visiting it for the first time and that you don?t know the products. In your honest opinion is it easy to find your way around the site? Can you find the delivery information easily or is it hidden away? Do you have a returns section so that doubtful customers have their questions answered?

It is essential you cover any and all potential questions. In a shop customers can wander over to the retail assistant and easily gain an answer. With an online shop, there is no one to ask, and emails take time, and it is likely your customer will go elsewhere if they can?t find the answer to their questions.

Not only that, you must make it obvious where they will find this information on your site. Ambiguously named menus and poor layout leads to frustration and customer drop offs. People have very little spare time to give so make sure you make it easy to get around your website with easy menus, well labelled, and well categorized so that it makes sense.

If you aren?t sure if your site is clear enough, look into user testing. A user tester can be set challenges by you, and as they complete their challenge, they will film their screen and narrate as they navigate around your site so you can understand if they are having trouble, or have some better suggestions. Challenges can be anything from find out the delivery costs to your address, or find a specific product, to sign up for our mailing list.

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Source: http://designyoutrust.com/2012/09/5-questions-to-ask-yourself-if-your-online-business-isnt-making-money/

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