Tell Site Visitors What To Do

Your site visitors make all the choices when it comes to browsing the Web.

No other medium gives users, readers or customers such control over their own experience. TV, radio and print present information in a very linear, controlled way. But on the Web, there is no telling how your next visitor will experience your site.

Where will they click? Which pages will they visit? It's hard to tell.

Being sensitive to the fact that the user is in control, many sites simply present as many options as possible on their home pages. The thinking apparently being that the more choices you show on page one, the more likely you are to present something that connects with as many visitors as possible.

Perhaps this was the strategy behind Ford.com.

While a considerable improvement on how it looked a little while ago, the Ford homepage still offers almost forty links to other pages on the site.

In addition, no particular priority is given to any one individual or group of links. The choice is left to the user.

No emphasis or priority is offered. Ford is sitting back and saying, "You decide."

The trouble is, when they take that position, they are asking the visitor to do all the work. The visitor is now required to scan those forty links and try to figure out what to do next.

Does anyone smell conversion drop-off?

Now look at a site that takes a very different approach. Take a peek at GetSmart.com.

They offer a variety of different ways into the site. But they also present some clear preferences.

Dead center on the page they say...

* Refinance, Home Equity, and more...
* Pay virtually ALL your bills online
* Organize all your online accounts
* Consolidate debt, auto loans, and more...

Four simple choices, three of which open with an active verb. In short, they tell you what to do.

Click on that first link. You're taken to another page, with a variety of options. However, once again, they show a preference and tell you what to do.

* Refinance your existing mortgage
* Consolidate your debt
* Home Equity financing
* Purchase a home

For another example, visit TravelNow.com.

Again, you'll see clear directions on what to do.

* Search for Hotels
* Search for Cars
* Search for Flights
* Stay Drive Fly

These sites support their users by offering clear instructions on what to do.

Does this preclude someone from taking his or her own path through the site? Not at all.

But for many users, particularly those who are there for the first time, finding these simple instructions comes as a huge relief.

Here is the heart of it. Just because your visitors enjoy an unprecedented level of control over their experience at your site, doesn't mean that they don't want some help.

Don't simply give them numerous, passive options. Don't leave them to do all the work.

Help them out. Express a preference. Tell them what to do.

You're not being pushy when you do that. You're being helpful.

Nick Usborne is a copywriter, author, speaker and advocat of good writing. You can access all his archived newsletter articles on copywriting and writing for the web at his Excess Voice site. You'll find more articles and resources on how to make money as a freelance writer at his Freelance Writing Success site.

FCC's broadband plan may help ecommerce development EDL Consulting According to Internet Retailer, the increased availability of high-speed internet will aid ecommerce on two fronts. As small businesses in rural areas begin ... and more »

ZippyCart

OpenSky Making Progress With Relationship Based Ecommerce Model ZippyCart By the ZippyCart Ecommerce Software Content Team There are many variations for the basic ecommerce model of offering up products or services for people to ...

Vast majority of small businesses do not take part in ecommerce EDL Consulting Soren von Varchmin, vice president of ePages - a provider of web space and ecommerce solutions for small businesses - reported on Thursday that 89 percent ...

600000 people now work in ecommerce in the UK InternetRetailing.net ... as it releases statistics on the number of people now working in ecommerce in the UK and on the likely future growth of staff numbers in UK businesses. ...

Chase Paymentech and Kount Join Forces to Combat Fraud for eCommerce Merchants MarketWatch (press release) DALLAS & BOISE, Idaho, Mar 15, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Chase Paymentech, a leading merchant acquirer and payment processor, and Kount, a Boise, Idaho-based ... and more »

Cart of the Week: BigCommerce Practical Ecommerce "BigCommerce is the SaaS [software as a service] version of our licensed ecommerce platform, Interspire Shopping Cart," said Harper. ...

7 Quick Tips for eCommerce Drop Ship (press release) (blog) If you are an ecommerce entrepreneur, you are probably always looking for new ways to improve your site as well as your sales! 1. Make your website friendly ...

EBay Slashes Pay For Top Executives Wall Street Journal ... packages reduced compared with the previous year, as the ecommerce giant slashed stock and option awards, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. ... and more »

Profit From Ecommerce in the Cloud, with ePages Web Host Industry Review He begins with a bit of an overview of the German market for ecommerce, saying that only about 11 percent of the country's small businesses are selling ...

Magento and PayPal Expand Relationship to Drive e-Commerce Innovation MarketWatch (press release) Magento is one of the fastest-growing global e-commerce solutions. Its open source product gives merchants complete flexibility and control over the user ... Magento Integrates PayPal into Ecommerce Selling SolutionAuctionbytes all 26 news articles »