Picking a shopping cart for your online business is one of the most important decisions you will have to make when you launch your website. This graphic examines essential features of shopping cart software from many angles. From a usability perspective, this is possibly the best graphic we have ever featured on this site that can help you choose the best online shopping cart for your ecommerce website. Sure, we’ve had graphics to help you memorize the names of every pasta type on Earth, and graphics to make you aware of every nook and cranny on the cruise ship Oasis of the Sea.
But this graphic serves a real practical purpose. Say you’re a website owner. You need shopping cart software for your e-commerce site and you need it now. Where are you going to turn? This graphic, of course.
The graphic points out that web design is very important and that first impressions count a great deal. Grand web design has shown unequivocally to increase conversions. A pie chart on the graphic shows that 75% of web users make snap judgments on a company’s credibility based on its site design. Frankly, I find that rather sad, but that is the reality, and if you are running a website, that is a reality you have to cope with. A more haunting bit is the fact that 68% of users say they will distrust a website if its design isn’t up to snuff. That is very stat to keep in mind if you’re running an e-commerce site.
The graphic goes through a checklist of items that every shopping cart should have in order to be ready for prime-time, if you will. Here’s a brief summary:
–Support should be offered 24/7
–Account managers should be available for assistance at all times
–inventory controls are a must
–an affiliate program built into the software is ideal
–the cart should be optimized from a search engine optimization perspective
Alright, how does this graphic stack up from a grading perspective. Quite well, in fact.
Design: A-
There are fine design elements here! It sizzles! It pops! It makes you beg for more! The graphical elements are superb.
Content: B+
There is no doubt that the facts and opinions about what makes for a strong shopping cart are useful. We would have appreciated a bit more unusual facts to really push this graphic over the top and into “A” territory though.
