# Basic things in a site



## theinc (Jul 1, 2008)

What would be the basic functions that I need to include in my site. I know that I need the actual store and the home page, what else?


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## SunEmbroidery (Oct 18, 2007)

Basic elements:

contact page
privacy policy
return policy
sitemap
testimonials
payment information
shipping information
about us
FAQ
Samples of works (if not obvious in Store)

You may also want to inlude a links page & an information collecting form if you want to gather customer information for a newsletter or to advertize specials

Back End - some type of stats such as Google Analytics (free)


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## Catbox (Oct 3, 2007)

check out a website you like that sells similar products... and see what they have...


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## theinc (Jul 1, 2008)

thanks alot for the replies, but to SunEmbroidery I don't really see a need for a testimonials page.


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## SunEmbroidery (Oct 18, 2007)

Its your choice but many online merchants including Amazon believe that testimonials/ reviews build seller credibility which inturn increases sales. I also think this type of customer participation makes it more fun to shop for people who like to write reviews. Testimonials can be used as another way of describing your product, customer service and clientele to prospective customers, thus distinguishing you from your competitors. Testimonals help build buyer/seller trust which leads to greater sales and profitibility.


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

*Hi. Most important thing for any site is easy navigation. Visitors need to be able to find what they want very quickly.*

*Your home page needs to links to your product pages, ordering information, an 'about us' page and a contact page. If they don't find access to all those pages, they'll almost certainly move onto another web site.*

*From a customers perpective they are (hopefully) giving money to a an unknown person, so your site needs to have a sensible business structure, behind the graphics and the glitz.*


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

SunEmbroidery said:


> Its your choice but many online merchants including Amazon believe that testimonials/ reviews build seller credibility


As a seller, I have no idea whether testimonials work or not.

As a buyer, I assume all testimonials are fictional, and for me personally that harms the credibility of the store. To me it's an indication the store believes their customers are gullible. It makes a shop look old-fashioned. There's also an unpleasant cheesiness to it. The same goes for reviews on small sites; on large sites I give the benefit of the doubt that they're user submitted, but even then I'm assuming they're heavily censored (as they are on Amazon for example).

I don't know how many buyers think like me, but my experience as a buyer means it's not something I'd encourage as a seller.


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## hoperator (Jun 20, 2008)

I also think testimonials are not believable on small sites. Because you know they would have culled any reviews that were bad and are only showing the good ones that their mum and family wrote.


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

*Likewise, I've yet to read any testimonials on a site, that leave neutral comments. All those glowing testimonials sound more self congratulating on the part of the site owners, than of any real benefit to the customer.*

*People buy on product ranges and prices. Up to you, but I'd leave the testimonials page out too.*


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## SunEmbroidery (Oct 18, 2007)

If a seller decides to include testimonials one technique that adds credibility is to include a link back to the reviewer's web site. This could be seen as a trade-off: a backlink inexchange for a good review but it does help establish credibility. 

The effectiveness of testimonials may vary according to who you market to and what you sell. We market to businesses. We do business locally and I attend networking events at various local chamber of commerces. These meetings are attended by an older, fairly conservative people. The two most common questions I receive are :

1.Where are you located? (They want to know if we have a brick & mortar)
2.Who have you done work for?

For my business, including testimonials helps answer question 2.

One might argue that this isn't as important to web customers but I know from my web stats that viewers visit our View Works page so I must assume that there is some interest in our past work. I would guess that the average age of our web customers is less than our local customers but I really don't know. Our site is designed to market to local and nonlocal customers.

I believe there are a lot of elements that help establish web seller credibility including the general look and usability of a site, customer correspondence, past works, product familarity and local accountibility. If I was in a business where I thought that testimonials weren't preceived positively then I wouldn't include them. It's up to the seller to know who his potential customer is and what will encourage this person to buy. 

As a buyer I read testimonials/reviews and when I purchase something expensive. The seller reviews influence my decision but I admit I would be less concerned about purchasing a smaller ticket item because it would be less of a financial loss if I was displeased with the product. I think the amount of financial commitment and whether the buyer is purchasing for themself or a group also makes a difference.


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## CUSTOM UK (Jun 28, 2008)

*The importance of testimonials on a web page, is only truly valid for business to business web sites. If a testimonial is left by a company name, it is relatively easy to research that name, contact someone at that company and validate the testimonial. If the web site is aimed at retail customers however, Miss Q, in XYZ City would not be so easy to validate.*

*Interestingly I came across a site a few weeks ago, that had an entire page of glowing testimonials. By chance, I also found out that they traded extensively on EBay. The unusually high proportion of neutral and negative feedback painted a somewhat different picture though.*

*A lot does depend on what your selling and to whom your selling. The web site needs to be designed, with your customer base in mind. Above all else, it needs to be functional and to serve a useful purpose for you.*


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

SunEmbroidery said:


> 2.Who have you done work for?
> 
> For my business, including testimonials helps answer question 2.
> 
> One might argue that this isn't as important to web customers but I know from my web stats that viewers visit our View Works page so I must assume that there is some interest in our past work.


A portfolio of past work/clients does interest me - again speaking only for how I think, I put more stock in that being truthful (that is, if someone says they've worked for X company I tend to believe them, unless the claims seem particularly unrealistic or otherwise suspect) than I do testimonials. I may or may not follow up from there ("ok, they worked for X, but was the work they did for them any good?").

As you said though, it does vary from customer to customer (and I too can see it being more important to the demographic you described than it is to me).


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## theinc (Jul 1, 2008)

my thing is that you don't need a testimonials page in a clothing company website simply because they are not needed. A customer is gonna buy the shirt based on whether they like the design or not. They don't care what other customers say because we all like different things.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

theinc said:


> my thing is that you don't need a testimonials page in a clothing company website simply because they are not needed. A customer is gonna buy the shirt based on whether they like the design or not. They don't care what other customers say because we all like different things.


You didn't include what kind of site you were planning on building in your first post, so the help that was given was just more "general".


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## theinc (Jul 1, 2008)

yea that's right I missed the most important part, its a clothing company website but I think that it should already be obvious just by remembering what site you are at right now.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> but I think that it should already be obvious just by remembering what site you are at right now.


Actually, it's not that obvious. This site covers EVERYTHING in the t-shirt industry. So your site could have been for a screen printer, embroiderer, t-shirt manufacturer, DTG manufacturer, dye sub, heat transfer, etc, etc, etc, _as well as_ those starting a clothing line.


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## ajo (Apr 7, 2008)

I used to think a testimonial page was a good idea but I agree with 'TheINC'. Your clients will buy your products if they like the designs.


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