Native Coffee Traders

[LauraB]

I would really appreciate some opinons/advice/input HELP with this one! We do the marketing for Native Coffee Traders http://www.nativecoffeetraders.com. I am at my wits end. I realize this is a highly competetive field. But traffic is bad, sales are bad and I lay awake at night feeling like a failure.

We did not design the site and sometimes have a hard time convincing the designer that search engine friendly design is good design. We finally did convince him to not use the original intro page (which still can be viewed via the click here to view animated header link).

He does not want to underline links, he says it takes away from the esthetics. I don't know what to do.:confused: Any help would be graciously accepted.

[Thewebdoctor(tm)]

First, your problem is not anchor text without unline decorations. People that focus upon that problem are not accustomed to what they need to be.

I reviewed the site and these are the problems I see.

1> You tell me nothing about the products. You simply restate the same information found in other sites. Take this thought and see what you can do with it - Pizza Hut, Papa Johns and Dominos all sell the same thing with virtually the same ingredients, but what makes them unique. Focus on your uniqueness and sell the products.

2> The products.html page has "buy me" buttons. Unless the buttons take the purchaser to the checkout with the item in the cart NEVER use "buy" when the button simply adds to the item to the cart.

3> Apply more focus on the Coffee Club. Promoting that and adding many more flavors will help improve sales. So far I feel I would have better options ordering from Starbucks.

I hope this helps.

[LauraB]

Thewebdoctor(tm), I appreciate your feedback and will pass it on to the designer along with test suggestions. I assume you favor add to shopping cart or some such language to the buy now buttons?

Again thank you for taking the time to look the site over.

[Thewebdoctor(tm)]

Well, some less astute students may say that this is a preference however I assure you it is not a preference.

Buttons, whether graphics, buttons or links, should state the function they perform. Therefore, when adding an item to the cart the button should say "add to cart".

There are times when your clients may wish to skip the cart and go directly to the checkout process. In this case, and only this case, should you even consider a button that says "buy now". "Buy now" buttons should take the shopper directly to the checkout page with the item in the cart. That provides for impulse purchasing instead of the hassles of going through the cart to get to the checkout.

This could be well exempliified by the example of a single product site. If you have one item and you don't want people buying more than one at a time, a "buy now" button would be most correct.

[LauraB]

Well, some less astute students may say that this is a preference however I assure you it is not a preference.

:eek:

well, okay. I do appreiate your input.

Thank you.

[Thewebdoctor(tm)]

LauraB,
No insult was intended. My apologies if you felt insulted.

http://www.site-report.com/shopping_cart.php

Often web sites insist that their visitors 'Buy Now'. This will deter a number of visitors from purchasing from you because the button implies more of an order than a request for action. By using an 'add to cart' button instead, the visitor will not feel as if they are making such a large commitment and are more likely to complete the transaction.

That's just one of the many articles on shoping cart usability. I didn't reference my article, but if you'd like to read it I can provide you a link.

I hope this helps.

[LauraB]

Thewebdoctor,

Thanks for including the url to the article. This particular site invites visitors to "add to basket", however a few other clients use the "buy now" and I am guessing that we will be changing that language soon.

Thank you again for your input.