Why your e-commerce website visitors are leaving your site without making orders? Your e-commerce website brings in some profit but can it bring more money? Sure, if you don’t have the issues mentioned in this checklist. Even quite large e-commerce websites make childish mistakes. So read about 10 reasons why you lose customers on e-commerce site and learn how to fix these problems.

1. Main page design is flat and boring

Ask yourself: what the visitors see on the main page of your e-commerce site? Can the visitor be 100% sure that your website is selling something? Is it easy to identify what kind of products are you selling?

The typical mistake is the neglecting of commercial design rules: too small font and no description, no center of composition, no distinction between primary and secondary design elements. Now and then I find websites with hundreds links on main page. Your site visitor get lost and better leave your site than make an order. People don’t have too much time to research your site structure or to understand your unique design vision.

How to fix it: don’t save money on web design. Look and feel, usability and user interface is no less important that the products you sell or technologies used in the backend.

2. Not accessible contact information, poor about page

While some customers would like to serf your catalog and choose the right product themselves, other prefer interact with people (or at least your automated help system) and ask questions about quality, price, how to make a choice, etc. Do you have an obvious option to call your representative or send email quickly? How many options to connect with you do you have on your website?

Make ‘About’ page as trustful and informative as possible. Customers pay a lot of attention to credibility of e-commerce site. As Google Analytics shows this page could get to the top of most popular pages for a small or even medium site.

How to fix it: Ideally your visitors don’t have to look up for contact information it should be always accessible. Don’t forget to put in the ‘About’ page everything that will give you more credibility: seller’s guarantee, address, map, stuff photos, company history.

3. Not visible payment or shipping options/not enough of them

Will visitor search through your FAQ and site map for payment and shipping information? If he or she can’t find all information related to payment and shipping on most visible position of your e-commerce website, visitor will leave it disappointed. Learn the needs of your customer and what kind of payment and shipping ways they want to use.

How to fix it: put payment and shipping information close to contact options on most visible place. Make sure that you provided enough payment and shipping options not only easy for you but for your customer.

4. It’s hard to find a product

Very often customers browse through catalog and don’t see products they need. Except catalog you need easy to use advanced search form. It’s better to integrate auto suggest feature and provide search results in the way search engines do it.

How to fix it: figure out and implement every single feature which could make product search easier for your customers.

5. Product page doesn’t sell

Product page is one of the most important parts of e-commerce website. On the product page customer decide either to buy your product or not. The design and usability of product page are as important as design and usability of main page.

Do you have descriptions detailed enough? Is the price tag easy to see? Are the product images of high quality? Is it obvious what to do to buy the product?

How to fix it: don’t save on copywriting; make clear the product price and actions to buy it. Make visible ‘Order’ or ‘Buy’ button.

6. Product availability is unknown

If you respect your customers you need to save their time. Tell them about product availability at once. Make sure that availability information is up to date and product available on the website is ready to be shipped.

How to fix it: make availability information real time and automate the process. If the product is unavailable or the visitor can’t find it, provide an option to subscribe for updates by email.

7. Shopping cart is hard to find

Shopping cart should be always with customer as it is in a real supermarket. But now and then there’re sites where you should make efforts to find shopping cart after you put some product there.

How to fix it: Do care about usability not less than about other things. Make the shopping process as easy and pleasant as possible.

8. Customers didn’t get response

Are you answering contact form requests within one business day? Do you have other communication options such as IM or phone? Is it easy to get through and speak with your representative? Does your system send confirmation of orders to customer? It’s hard to believe but I know many quite popular online shops which don’t bother answering customer’s emails.

How to fix it: check regularly all your communication channels and make sure they are working efficiently.

9. You’re not giving customer anything except order

Many e-commerce websites don’t give anything to customer after he or she made on order. Even if you’ll attach your advertising flyer or business card you’ll get advantage over competitors.

Hot to fix it: leave something to your customer.

10. You are silent both on positive and negative reviews

Do you check replies to your remarks on forums, comments on blogs? Do you use any reputation tracking tools? Reviews about your online business are conversations with your customers. Many of them will check up reviews and feedback before buying anything from you. Information about your e-commerce site based outside of your website has no less meaning.

Hot to fix it: Some people spend huge amount of money just to get some feedback. So don’t ignore it. And be thankful for negative reviews as well.