#177 Make your featured product carousels user-friendly
This is how Amazon implements product carousels (on their homepage) on desktop. Some observations: Clicking a Previous or Next button scrolls by several products, not just one The scrolling bar makes it much easier to scan quickly through the products A common shortcut on desktop for horizontal scrolling is shift+mousewheel, but that is not […]
#169 Offer personalized recommendations
Those can be based on their previous orders and interests. NN/g recommends prioritizing them over more generic recommendations. Put that ‘Recommended For You’ section high up on the homepage. (source) Specify how you came up with those personalized recommendations. A good example is Netflix: Amazon suggests products based on products you viewed: […]
#99 Add sub-sub-category links to help users decide which path they should take to find the product they want
It also helps returning users bypass intermediate pages and go directly to the sub-sub-category they want. I looked at 55 of the top ecom stores, and haven’t found a single one that is doing this. However, most of them have at least a thumbnail to illustrate the category, and several of them also added a […]
#65 Add urgency elements and feature sales on homepage
The decision to offer sales depends on your industry and brand. Too many sales and discounts can devalue your brand. Urgency elements include limited quantity, limited time, and contextual offers.
#35 Make your homepage long and rich, while optimizing for loading speed
#32 Add social proof and build trust
Unless your store is a big established brand that most people already know about, building social proof and trust is a must. On the homepage, you can add elements such as: site-wide testimonials (not product-specific) “As Seen On” logos facebook likes number of customers number of reviews how long you’ve been open awards On […]
#30 Optionally feature some of your products AFTER your featured categories (on the homepage)
User-controlled carousels are usually good for this.
#28 Feature your top categories (with images) right below the fold on the homepage
After getting introduced to your value proposition with a ‘hero section’ at the top of the homepage, the next step is to help them decide where to go on your site (which category to open). A list of main categories serves that purpose. I recommend: Putting it directly below the hero section, or at least […]
#27 Avoid automatic carousels in your homepage’s hero section
Opt instead for user-initiated carousels, if any. On the homepage above the fold, avoid carousels altogether. What I usually recommend is to either have a static background image or a slowly moving background video, especially if it is well-integrated with the text & CTA(s) above. I wrote an article on my blog about the […]
#25 Unique selling points should be specific
For example, “60 Days Return Policy”. Typically, it’s a good idea to present two or three selling points above the fold.