E-Commerce Website Review With Elle Brands
In today’s website review, we’re looking at ElleBrands.com to see how we can make this Shopify e-commerce site convert better.
Alexis of Elle Brands was so gracious to allow us to record while we review her Shopify website. Just a note, this was the first time I've been on the website so everything was fresh and new to me.
Right when I landed on the site, I got a pop up.
Pop ups are great, because they convert, but sometimes they can be a bit annoying. I would suggest that your pop up wait for at least 30-40 seconds to allow the user to browse the page.
You can also have your pop up appear once the user begins scrolling. I would suggest the pop up to appear 25%-40% down the page so the user has enough time to digest what you're all about.
At that point, the pop up can appear and the user is more apt to put their information in to receive something off their first order. Make sure to always provide something of value in exchange for an email address.
Asking for just an email address or an email address and first name was great! It’s short and not too personal. Don’t ask for too much information unless you’re ok with the user opting to not fill it out.
The call to action on your pop up is also important. I like a direct call to action such as “activate discount”. Try to finish the phrase: “I want to…” I.E. “I want to sign up.” and “I want to activate my discount.”
Remember to also include a thank you for subscribing message. Show the discount code on the thank you message or redirect the user to a thank you page to show them the discount in some way along with sending an email with the discount code. If the user doesn’t know the discount code right away the user may think “Oh well, man, I was really interested in such and such product. But I guess I'll just wait for later to come back” and then they might not come back. Keep them on your site and keep them shopping.
Having a search option on your website.
The next item I look for is a search feature. The font of this website’s search feature is a little small so I would check to make sure this font is correct for accessibility purposes. You can use a color contrast checker for your website. These tools allow you to put in the color code of the font and the color code of the background and the tool will show you if it passes or fails as well as suggest what size text to use.
Navigation on an e-commerce website.
Your menu should never have a Shop tab. An e-commerce website’s navigation should have the high level collections/categories, such as, Womens, Mens, or Bottoms, Tops and Dresses.
On this particular website, I also recommend moving miscellaneous pages to the footer, or bottom of the site. These include the contact and FAQs tabs.
I also recommend reducing menu items to one word as much as possible. For example, “Elle Brands Gift Cards” could be just “Gift Cards”. This will save you some space on the navigation bar. If you’re still lacking space, typically shown by elements/tabs being squeezed together or 2 lines, you’ll want to remove the home link (if it’s there) or make the logo smaller.
How large should your logo be?
The Elle Brands logo might be a little too large in this space and is pushing down the main section of the page. I’d reduce the size down a bit. Keep in mind that the user doesn’t want you to shout your own name when they are on the website.
Think of when you walk into a boutique. You got there somehow, Google Maps, saw the sign when walking by, and know the name. It would be rude for the employee to greet you by shouting out the boutique’s name. Instead, they should welcome you by telling you what the latest fashion or sale is and point you in the right direction.
Sometimes, the logo doesn’t really need to get smaller though. It just needs to be rearranged horizontally. This is usually pretty easy and your designer can help you with it. It’ll save you valuable space on the site and not make anything smaller.
Sliders on an e-commerce website.
In my experience, sliders don’t work too well on a site. People are usually scrolling by the time the 2nd slide is fully in and if you have multiple calls to action, the ones after the first slide won’t get much, if any, attention.
Something that website owners can do is remove the slider and simply use the other images to do a weekly change up. Photography is hard to come by and can eat at the budget of a small boutique, so save the images. Plan out your hero section (aka top part of the web page) on the home page on a schedule. Let’s say you have 4 amazing images for a spring line. Spread them out via the months that you’re looking to promote the line and just change them up. This will bring freshness to your website, keep things interesting for returning customers and help you get the brand across.
On the Elle Brands website, the slider also has no call to action. This is a major flaw. As soon as someone lands on a page, especially the home page, there needs to be a next step in the user journey. Don’t let the user decide what they’ll do.
Think about:
What product do I want to feature this week?
What collection/category should I showcase?
Am I having a sale?
Am I pushing to get subscribers?
Am I looking to clear out the sale section?
Do I want to create anticipation for Black Friday or another holiday?
Font sizes on a website.
Font sizes and colors can often make or break a website. Choose a font that’s got too much personality and it’ll be hard to read when small. Choose a color that’s low contrast on the background, and it’ll again be hard to read.
On the Elle Brands website, I recommend increasing font sizes in multiple places and double checking the font color on a contrast checker. Just add the font color code and background color code and try to get a passing grade.
Layouts on the website.
I do like how the bestsellers are listed on the home page but I wish the images were cropped differently. For a cleaner and consistent look, I suggest that each be image the same shape and size. You can do this by uploading all of the pictures into canva.com and placing each image into a square template. Going forward as you take more pictures of your product I would suggest that you keep the square shape in mind.
I love that you have the about the owner section. This is one of the best sections to have on your website, e-commerce or not, when starting out. Brands need a story and a way to connect with their followers.
I love that there is a section with testimonials on your website. Getting people to say you’re awesome gives proof and trust to the user. The only note for the Elle Brands website is to remove the slider/carousel effect. Place the reviews on their own and sprinkle them throughout the home page and website. For example, one review placed in the middle of the page and another towards the bottom goes further than expecting people to sit and stare at a slider.
One thing to consider adding on your e-commerce website is an announcement bar. You can use it for contact information. It’ll be one of the first things people see and gives trust in your business, even if they never call or email you.
Contact pages are a must have on websites. For e-commerce websites, Contact pages can go in the footer, or bottom, of the site. These should have a contact form, email address and phone number for inquiries. Your contact information should also be on the FAQ page so that it’s easy for your users to find.
Gift cards on e-commerce sites.
When possible, gift cards are great to have on your e-commerce website. For Elle Brands, I suggest trying to place your logo on a mock gift card or adding a different image rather than the logo.
Subscription boxes for recurring revenue on e-commerce websites.
Subscription options are a great addition to websites. The only change I’d recommend for Elle Brands would be the images. Show me an example of the box open, perhaps with other open boxes behind it. You could have multiple shots where there are different items in each box.
Action items for this e-commerce website.
Overall, this website is in pretty good shape but here are the top items I would suggest updating:
Edit the navigation.
Check the font with the contrast checker to make sure it is easy to read.
Tweak the logo to save vertical space.
Choose one call to action on the hero section and take your user on a journey.
Let me know if you have any questions or if you’d like a review of your website.
You can find Elle Brands on the website, Instagram or Facebook.
