It’s the holly, jolly holidays, it’s potentially the most stressful time of year. I don’t know if there’ll be snow but I know how to keep your website from getting low, numbers that is. As an N.C. web design company, we’re well-versed in how to increase your web traffic and boost online sales this holiday season.

1. Make crisp, clean copy

Because people aren’t visiting you in person (they’re on your website after all), you have to recreate what they would experience (or will experience) when they’re in your store. Use some adjectives. Is your product fuzzy? Silky? Furry? Adjectives matter and will only help you when it comes to selling. So do pertinent details such as dimensions, colors, materials, and more. Is your web copy descriptive enough? It’s a small tweak that can make a big difference.

2. Vamp up your visuals

You know that saying, “A picture’s worth a thousand words”? Well, a picture’s worth a thousand words. Humans are visual creatures and we grok a lot more in an instant from an image than we do from entire paragraphs. That means you want high-quality images – nothing dimly lit, dark, or blurry. You want people to say, “ooooh” not “ewwwwww.” If you really want to vamp up your visuals, add a video because your clients or customers will get a better idea of the look and feel of whatever you’re selling.

3. Check your checkout

You did it! Because of your stellar web copy and gorgeous visuals, your online visitor has purchased one (or more) of your products or services! But, well, what’s that checkout process like? Are you asking for too much information? Can you streamline that process by syncing with PayPal or Google Pay so they don’t have to hunt for their credit card? The checkout process is the most important so test, test, and test some more.

Solicit friends and family to complete their purchase and cancel it, or to not go past the payment details page. And then ask them the following questions:

• Was the process simple?
• Did you run into any problems? If so, what were they?
• Was the checkout process better or worse than other websites where you shop? And can you be specific?

Another tip: Be upfront about delivery costs. I can’t tell you how many times I bailed at the last minute because I discovered shipping was going to cost me more than the product itself. Sometimes it’s worth it to eat the shipping cost a bit if that means snagging a sale. And if you want more help snagging a sale, get in touch with us. As a Charlotte web designer, we know all about this process and we’re happy to help.

4. Make it fast as lightning for user experience and SEO

Just this morning I waited for a website to load and it took forever so I said, “Forget it” and exed out of it. That’s why site speed is paramount. Not only does slower speed equal fewer sales, but it also means a lower ranking on Google, which essentially means you have not-so-great search engine optimization (SEO). We can help with Charlotte SEO, as well as N.C. SEO, southern SEO, heck, SEO for anywhere, and one of the ways we can help is by boosting your page load speed.

5. Prepare for the deluge

Related to site speed is bandwidth. You can think of bandwidth like lanes on a highway. Are you prepared for more people to visit your site, which is like having more cars on the road? Or will your site get backed up like the San Francisco Bay Bridge during rush hour? More visitors (aka, more traffic) can slow sites down or even break them, which is bad news for you, because again, if your site doesn’t load, your customers will say “see ya.” An easy fix is to upgrade your website’s hosting to support the extra demand.

6. Land new customers with a landing page

Your website doesn’t have to be static, in fact, it shouldn’t be. Change up the content by adding a fun and festive landing page. You could swap out a banner image for some snowflakes or twinkly lights. Or maybe showcase your employees in festive sweaters. Whatever works for you and your business, go for it! Now is the time to try something different.

7. Get ‘em with a giveaway

Maybe you have the opposite problem when it comes to traffic – not enough of it. An online competition is one way to drum up more business. It could be something simple like having people answer a question and fill out an entry form. If you want to be smart about it, you could tack on a task that requires contenders to explore your site. For instance, if your prize is a $50 voucher on your site, ask entrants how they’d spend that $50. What would go on their “wishlist”? That means contest contenders are browsing through your products and are more likely to buy something they see, even if they don’t win the prize. Smart, right?

8. Maximize website mobility with mobile browsing.

Did you know that about 85% of the population has smartphones? People are browsing the internet on their phones y’all. More than half (and counting) of online purchases take place on a mobile device. Is your website up to snuff? Do you know what your customers and clients are seeing? If not, check out the free Chrome plugin Responsive Viewer, which recreates the mobile experience. Another tool to try is Google’s mobile-friendly testing tool. It shows you how easily a visitor can use your page on a mobile device.

If your website is not mobile-friendly, don’t worry, we got you. As a Charlotte web design company, we handle that all the time. Get in touch with us via email or call (704) 336-9113.

And lastly, from all of us at Web Symphonies, we’re wishing you and yours a happy and safe holiday season.