Looking for Feedback on my Online Store

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I have had this current site up for two months, and have yet to make an online sale.
I built this with the html5 editor in Wix.
However, I cannot afford their MANDATORY cadillac package for e-commerce, so I am now rendering it (with a developer this time) it into WP.
It has its own domain name, but I let the wix caddypack expire in prep for the new site launch.

What I need is to know what about my site design is turning people off?
I don't want to repeat the mistake in the new site.

Please remember, the new site will be in WP, so it will be laid out entirely different (with sliders and such)- but I like the "feel" of the site and the overall simplicity...

I could be missing something obvious... or be wrong about it entirely.

Thank you for any insight you can provide!
M

Montou
#feedback #online #store
  • Profile picture of the author ContentWritingPhD
    Banned
    Montou,

    You asked this:

    What I need is to know what about my site design is turning people off?
    First off, may I know the URL of your site so I can give you my feedback regarding its design?
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    • Profile picture of the author cra16
      Pointless people giving you feedback on this site if the new one is going to be "entirely different".

      However, here's a quick tip for when you start your new one.

      • Your images need to look more professional. Being hung up in front of a white sheet is fine for selling on ebay etc. But if you plan on having a store you need them to be modeled or pictured on a manikin with a clear background.

      If your moving to WP I recommend you purchace a theme from woothemes and use their plugin woocomerce. This will make your life a lot easier and they have some great themes. I reccomend 'Canvas' as its very simple to customize.
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      • Profile picture of the author MtheMagnificent
        Originally Posted by ContentWritingPhD View Post

        Montou,

        You asked this:



        First off, may I know the URL of your site so I can give you my feedback regarding its design?
        I am sorry, I hyperlinked the word "Montou" to the site.
        Click Here---> An Online Thrift Store

        Originally Posted by cra16 View Post

        Pointless people giving you feedback on this site if the new one is going to be "entirely different".

        However, here's a quick tip for when you start your new one.

        • Your images need to look more professional. Being hung up in front of a white sheet is fine for selling on ebay etc. But if you plan on having a store you need them to be modeled or pictured on a manikin with a clear background.

        If your moving to WP I recommend you purchace a theme from woothemes and use their plugin woocomerce. This will make your life a lot easier and they have some great themes. I reccomend 'Canvas' as its very simple to customize.
        I am using a developer who has done custom CSS work for me. I am only a little ways off from flipping the switch.

        What I am asking for feedback on is:
        Are my product descriptions useful? Easy to understand?
        Is the Navigation easy and clear?
        How does the environment around the products make you feel?

        I am aware of the short-comings of my product displays. Unfortunately, all my money is tied up in the site at the moment.

        Even though it is being rendered in WP, the backgrounds, click-able pics, basic flow and general feel will all carry over.
        This is what I really need insight on, from people who see a F*ton of websites. :thumbsup:
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        • Profile picture of the author ReferralCandy
          Originally Posted by MtheMagnificent View Post

          This is what I really need insight on, from people who see a F*ton of websites. :thumbsup:
          You called?

          First immediate impression: This site is unprofessional. The main image is blaring and noisy. There's too much text. I have to scroll down to see some pictures. The alignment of the text and pictures are all out of sync. If I landed on this site at random, I'd click away almost immediately without reading the text at all.

          Recommendation: Bold the important text. Summarize. "MONTOU: Thrift Store Finds!", or "We dig through thrift stores so you don't have to!". Keep it really succinct. Don't make your visitors take more than a second or two to read what you store's about.

          Get rid of the distracting background images, they make it harder to see the product images and the prices. If you're selling things at cheap prices, emphasize that. You might want to be a bit sneaky and do things like anchor a high price and display a lower price. Slash $20- only $5! You're selling stuff cheaply- emphasize that.

          Also, take better pictures. I wouldn't buy anything from here, the products don't look very appealing and the overall design feels like there's a lack of attention to detail.

          Cheers and good luck~
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          Measure, manage and incentivize customer referrals with ReferralCandy.

          PS: Looking to get more repeat customers for a physical store? Check out CandyBar's digital loyalty cards!

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          • Profile picture of the author Lelando
            Originally Posted by ReferralCandy View Post

            You called?

            First immediate impression: This site is unprofessional. The main image is blaring and noisy. There's too much text. I have to scroll down to see some pictures. The alignment of the text and pictures are all out of sync. If I landed on this site at random, I'd click away almost immediately without reading the text at all.

            Recommendation: Bold the important text. Summarize. "MONTOU: Thrift Store Finds!", or "We dig through thrift stores so you don't have to!". Keep it really succinct. Don't make your visitors take more than a second or two to read what you store's about.

            Get rid of the distracting background images, they make it harder to see the product images and the prices. If you're selling things at cheap prices, emphasize that. You might want to be a bit sneaky and do things like anchor a high price and display a lower price. Slash $20- only $5! You're selling stuff cheaply- emphasize that.

            Also, take better pictures. I wouldn't buy anything from here, the products don't look very appealing and the overall design feels like there's a lack of attention to detail.

            Cheers and good luck~
            I have to agree on this one. The whole layout of the site looks wrong. Maybe you should have a look at template monster and buy a decent theme.
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  • Profile picture of the author wakeforce139
    I would second putting your site on a real ecommerce platform. My favorite, and I push it more and more, is PrestaShop. It's free with an active community and has everything you need out of the box. You can upgrade it later but you need sales first. If you use PrestaShop I suggest going to a 2 column home page layout.

    Someone brought this up, but it's key. Let your site's home page speak for itself without all of the text. You need a menu with categories across the top, a banner slider, and featured products. That's really about it. Then you can put all of that text in your "about us" page, people that are curious will go there.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andra el
    ..
    Originally Posted by MtheMagnificent View Post

    What I need is to know what about my site design is turning people off?
    I don't want to repeat the mistake in the new site.
    Montou
    if you want many people "like" your website, your website design must be eye catching, it doesn't need complicated algorithm, and you need just simple website, if you unable to design eye-catching website, so you have to pay someone to do that, you can find it via internet.
    wish you luck
    Andra el
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  • Profile picture of the author Andra el
    Originally Posted by MtheMagnificent View Post

    What I need is to know what about my site design is turning people off? Montou
    brother sorry, after reviewing again your question, i think your main problem is not on your design (whether it's eye-catching or not) but SEO, your design have to SEO friendly, first you have to onpage optimise your website, then you have to offpage optimise your website. but if you have more bucks, just onpage optimise your website and get traffic from adwords.
    Sorry ... for my last incomplete answer
    Andra
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  • Profile picture of the author lastreporter
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author OnlineStoreHelp
      Originally Posted by lastreporter View Post

      Seems like you've taken quite a beating. But then you did ask for a critique.

      You need to start over and get a real ecommerce platform. If money is a problem get a free storefront at eCrater.com, or some other site that offers to host a store for you.

      If you can't afford real models, consider just taking simple, clean photos of items, accompanied by crisp, clear descriptions that make potential customer want to buy the items.

      One last thing. Don't give up and don't be discouraged by the critiques. You are not alone, I have been where you are. All things are possible with a positive mental attitude and a determination to succeed!
      To follow up on this, you can go ahead and edit your pictures at Pixlr, use the magic wand to remove the background and it will look much cleaner, clean white background. Also, try taking your pictures outside where the natural light will help you more.
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  • Profile picture of the author smileverse
    I have visited your site, here are my points:

    1. Design style: simple and clean style will be more professional for visitors. You can get templates on professional ecommerce platforms, such as Shopify, Bigecommerce, including wordpress platform.
    2. As mentioned above, the photos are not so eye-catching. For ecommerce site, photo is very important for users to judge the quality of the product.
    3. Online customer service: you can add live chat to your ecommerce site, which enables you to track visitors in real time and engage them proactively. It helps you improve customer satisfaction and sales conversion. There are many wordpress chat plugins, such as Comm100 Live Chat, Live Person, etc.
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  • Profile picture of the author ReferralCandy
    OP: Don't be disheartened! Nobody gets anything right the first time around. There's a lot of good, actionable feedback right here in this thread, so incorporate it into your store (or start over from scratch) and watch your sales rise. Aim to keep things simple, tidy and legible.

    If possible, get a friend or family member to look through your site. Stand over their shoulder and watch them click around. You'll realize things that you didn't realize before.

    Good luck!
    Signature

    Measure, manage and incentivize customer referrals with ReferralCandy.

    PS: Looking to get more repeat customers for a physical store? Check out CandyBar's digital loyalty cards!

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    • Profile picture of the author MtheMagnificent
      I am grateful for the informed feedback.
      I am at a point in the new site where I needed some direction as to what should carry over, and this thread was very insightful.
      The negatives were helpful- but some positives would be good. If you care to see the bones of my new site, click here----> MontouNew

      Unfortunately, it will be a while before I can do anything about the product pictures. As I stated before- I am aware of the issues.
      However, I cant tackle the expense for mannequins until I finish the new website.

      Does anyone have anything positive to say?
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      • Profile picture of the author keyon
        Originally Posted by MtheMagnificent View Post

        Does anyone have anything positive to say?
        Absolutely! You obviously have the tenacity and drive to get a website put together made live. That's a big job that most people would really struggle getting completed.

        What puzzles me though is why you didn't simply copy the basic layout of other clothing store sites. There's no need to reinvent the wheel here. If this were my project, I'd have taken a look at what the big clothing retailers are doing and come up with something similar. Sites like J.Crew - Cashmere Sweaters, Women's Clothing & Dresses, Men's Clothing & Kids' Clothing and LOFT: Women's Clothing, Petites, Dresses, Pants, Shirts, Sweaters for example.

        First thing you'll notice about these sites is that the products take center stage, not the website.
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        • Profile picture of the author MtheMagnificent
          The answer to that question is long, and involves the big idea behind my business.
          But as the saying goes, "You have to start somewhere."
          And I can't build what I want, without making some money, somehow.
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  • Profile picture of the author OliverTrent
    The background is really overpowering, takes attention away form your text, and your categories. the categories on the homepage also seem poorly aligned, with the image/text alignments seeming kind of random and uneven.
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  • Profile picture of the author AllYourContent
    Can you move the text up so that there is not a big gap between your header and your welcome?
    Phrases like "dirty work" and "last stop before landfill" seem out of place for a high-end accessory site. Alter so that you create images of luxury and fine things.
    Also, use a headline to grab the eye before going to your text.

    Luxury for Less!
    Look like a $million$ without spending big bucks!

    Many thrift stores have great bargains. But who has time to shop?
    Montou brings high-end brands online for shopaholics who want to look their best without breaking the bank. Ralph Lauren, Ann Taylor, Nine West are all here. (And so are their competitors.) Save time - and a lot of money!

    Accessorize without guilt!

    Maybe a line or two will spur your own ideas. Best of luck.
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