Your Online Store Front

Your products and services are unique and inspiring, but how are they presented to the world on your website? Think of your website as your store’s front window. It needs to be eye catching, informative, and artfully balanced all at once.

Too much signage and your most important message is lost. Too much color (or a lack of color) and it’s an eye sore. Too much clutter and customers can’t focus on whats important. Your company’s website should be unique or you’re just another fly on the wall.

Your Online Store Front

So you are ready to open shop in a giant strip mall known as the web. At first glance you notice your top three competitors:

Store A is obviously top dog here, with the longest lines out their door. You notice they have a big inviting front window, with 4 products proudly show cased inside. A nice back drop obscures your view of the rest of the store, but tastefully helps keep your eye on the featured products.

Store B has covered their window with black paper and has tossed up many confusing sale signs for various products in their store. Neon signs compliment the chaos with an air of blinding authority and just for kicks it looks like they tossed in some Christmas lights to jazz it up.

Store C looks exactly like 10 other stores you've passed in this strip mall, with only the name to give you a clue as to what makes them different.

How Do You Stand Out?

Store C is the easy solution. Copy/Paste the same design that millions of other stores in America use. Tried and true this has obviously worked in the past with fair success right? Yes, but you aren't gonna draw business away from Store A when you look "run of the mill" next to the Ritz over there.

Store B is tempting. You have plenty of left over Christmas lights, lava lamps from college, and left over cans of paint you've been dieing to use somewhere. But just because you have everything and the kitchen sink in your window, doesn't mean its pleasing to the eye. If no one can decipher the chaos then no one will want to walk in the door.

Store A is obviously drawing in large crowds, but with the right unique look and a little bit of help with marketing you can easily snag business from them. Tasteful editing of your online store front needs to focus on the main goals or the featured products of your business or website. You need to provide current and intriguing information which is relevant to what your customers are looking for. Finally give your customers something unique to look at and they'll be curious what else lies behind your front door.