Question
Hi
I spent the past few hours checking out e-stores/web sites.
Why do some not fit into the screen? Most do. A few I have to scroll from side to side to view things. (Is that a problem with cart software?)
I also noticed some have intro pages. I have to click to enter, maybe click again to finally get to what's for sale. (notice I used sale and not sell )
Does that bother you? Having to navigate several pages to get to the goodies?
Is there an x amount of "clicks rule" before you loose someones interest?
I noticed a lot of sites are outdated. Old info, old stock no longer available etc. Is it hard to update an e-store? How often should they be updated?
Answer
From everything I have been taught, it's a 2 click rule. Click to the website and then click into a category. Those with landing pages are often adding another click.
The easier and faster you can make it for buyers to see your widgets, the better off you are...again, according to what I've been taught.
Jo
Answer
Some webmasters (those are the people that design websites, update them, etc.) choose a larger format for their sites since many people have larger screens. Others design their sites with a small "size" (width) for those that have smaller screens - and therefore, they experience "no scroll".
Usually, either the webmaster, perhaps in some cases even the software used, but most likely in most cases, the "width" of the website page is dictacted by the majority of website visitors/buyers. So if 99% of the folks that visit a particular website have a larger screen, some will design "for them" and cause the remaining >1% of visitors to scroll.
Into pages are, imho, a waste of bandwith from the website owner's perspective, and a PITA for visitors. (Some still use the intro page to conceal nothing more than a massive list of keywords - called "keyword stuffing". (Against many search engine "rules" which may cause one's site to be penalized and tossed further down the "search list" - which is NOT good!)
Websites should be updated near immediately upon a chage in information.
Out-dated information should be removed, etc.
Not all (websites/webmasters) do.
Again, it's a turn-off to visitors.
Answer
Those landing pages really annoy me. If its a site you visit more than once, or even often, its nice if you can opt out so you don't see the page again. If I have to do more than one click to get to the main page or information I want, especially if I'm subjected to graphics and music and a bunch of junk I couldn't care about, and don't care to have my time wasted with, I will lose interest really FAST. Usually, there isn't a site I'm sufficiently interested in to put up with all that extraneous crap, that was particularly true when I had dial up, and now even with DSL, I have no patience for it. If you are creating your own web site, don't annoy people with all that extraneous garbage, don't waste their time and easily divertible attention span.
I read in a book about website design several years ago that if people can't load up a page in a couple of seconds, they are extremely likely to click back and go somewhere else. I find myself doing this. So if you're designing your Ebay listings, don't include music, don't include dancing bears and a lot of flashy graphics, don't include large pictures that take a long time to load up (remember some potential customers will have dial up), don't clog the listing with more pictures than necessary. In this age of instant gratification, keep it all to a minimum, where they can get the necessary information and pictures to see if they are interested in the merchandise.