What would you like to see in an online shop? Any help?

Terrytibbs

I'm getting a website made for my shop and it would be great to see what kind of things people would like to see in an online shop.

Sites such as Wiggle and Chainreaction, they have everything you need but I eprsonally thin the design is a little heptic and not too great. Do people feel the same about this, are you bothered? Or is it just a case of everything being there so you're happy.

So what would you like to see?

Lots of pictures?
Easy navigation?

Would you like to see more than just a bike shop? would things like an online community integrated be good? Maybe have videos and images on a media page?

What would keep you the customer keep coming back to the site? Regular updates, just for a browse, regular special offers?

On a category page (say when you click on "hubs" and all the hubs come up available) Would you like to have just an image and price or overload the page with info like availablilty, options etc.

Do people take any interest in featured products (products which come up because they have something to do with the image you're viewing) or best selling items/sale items/also bought items on display.

Wishlists? Do you use them?

Does anybody use product codes when you order anything?

Would you prefere to have separate sections to a website for different types of riding? LIke: road, mtb, bmx. Or is it ok to just put them all together.

If you think of anything that may help or if you use websites and a certain thing really bugs you whether it's to do with the design, how the site works or the service, just whack it down, also what the most important thing is for you, it will be a great help.

Thanks for any help in advance, sorry if it seems cheeky to ask this but I thought it would be best to put people ideas into the site rather than just thinking all my ideas are right.

Yeti575

You could probably swap all that for one thing mate - lower prices!

supersonic

Chain Reaction is a little cluttered, but it is all easy to get to. The big left hand side menu could be made better - maybe with drop down headers.

Everyone likes special offers ;-)

Image, price and model number. More info when you click on that particular item of course. Don't like it too cluttered - and can always have a compare function. Too many places sell Shimano gear without the year or Shimano code - so your XT hubs could be any from many!

Sections should be kept apart. If products overlap, include in each section.

I like the Evans Cycles website. Spacious, easy to follow.

Dazzza

Ford escort 1.6l - talk to me

Big Red S

The biggie that lots of shops tend to get wrong (including where I worked) is to presume the customer has as good a knowledge of the market as the shop staff, and so arrange products grouped by brand, then subdivided into lines.
What makes more sense is to order the product by purpose and/or features. The best site I've come across for this is dabs.com, where you just click out of a list what you want in a product (features, compatability, price, colour etc.) and it presents you with a list of stuff that matches. In fact, since finding that, I've hardly bothered shopping anywhere else for computer bits (I don't know whether they're markedly cheaper or more expensive than elsewhere, but I know I can find exactly what I want within a few seconds, so don't bother looking).
That, I know, is difficult to implement. I don't think any off-the-shelf shopping carts support it.

I think lots of people will claim to not take any notice of featured products, but do in reality.

Wishlists are brilliant, too. Most presents I've recieved over the past few years have been straight off or influenced by my Amazon wishlist. Having a bike-related version would be brilliant.

A proper tech area is something I've often found lacking in bike websites. For an industry so full of standards, it's bizarre that there's so little help on which standards are compatible.
A chart of which sram shifters work with Shimano products, for example. Or which frames take integrated headsets and which ones use internal.

Being able to find something off a product code is essential IMO, but it can just be that the product code field is searched in a general field.
It's especially handy when helping someone over the phone. They've ordered two things which you don't think are compatible, and you want to show them the bit that is.
Or for when I've gone to Fishers' site and found the product code of the forks I want, and want to check your price.

I _hate_ sites that fuck around with my browser. If I need to use flash, I close the window. If I can't open that in a new tab without it resizing my browser, I'll go somewhere else. If I click on that link to another product and it opens in a new window, I'll close both of them.

supersonic

"I _hate_ sites that fark around with my browser. If I need to use flash, I close the window. If I can't open that in a new tab without it resizing my browser, I'll go somewhere else. If I click on that link to another product and it opens in a new window, I'll close both of them."

Same here, flash really bugs me.

David Lund

Two things that annoy me:
Sites where you have to scroll sideways to see the full screen
Sites where you have to scroll down the page for 10 mins to see all the product sections (like CRC)
LOW PRICES AND FAST DELIVERY!
Dave

Where are my stabilisers?

Good pics, a good range of brands and make sure that your stock levels are kept up to date!! There is nothing more annoying than a shop which says it has an item in stock when it doesn't - and make sure you communicate with your customers when they have placed an order. Keep them informed of any delays etc and they'll come back for more.

dunker

things i like to see,

accurate stock info.
order updates via email.
cheap quick delivery.

good stock/items navigation,
say i'm looking at brake parts i don't want to have to go
back to stock root to get up into the brake section.
let me see where i am within the shop kinda.

don't make this mistake,
http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/
mouse components mtb, mousewheel needed there, which is
a shame as it's a good shop apart from the interface.

i like that idea of a personal wishlist/wanted list too. i could gather
up the parts i've got my eye on to buy in the future then the shop
could see how many people are going to buy what and keep up stock
levels? emails of offers in the wishlist would be good too hehe

.blitz

Accurate stock levels are essential and I get tired of descriptions that are verbatim copies of the manufacturer's spiel and indentikit pictures. Let's read your description and see your pictures of the product.

I won't buy from anywhere that has an off-site/third-party payment service and pop-ups and flash will have me away like a Scotsman near a collection plate.

Big Red S

I've had third-party payment services come in handy in the past, when I've been in a bit of a rush and/or not had my card handy, but I'd hate to have to rely on them.

Matt-B

I'd second the argument for clear notifications showing what is in stock and what isn't.

I ordered my Orange P7 from Cyclesurgery, only to find out a few days later that they didn't have any in stock and it would be 14 working days before they got any in. I understand that bike shops can't hold all the bikes in stock, it just wouldn't work, but what bugs me is making it look like it is in stock then only revealing the truth after the order is placed. If it had said 'None in stock - more due in on XX/X/XXXX' on the item page, I would still have used them, just would have known what to expect.

Bikerbaboon

though not strickly a web problem but haveing the ablility to have an invoice and deliverly address is a god send. I have having to get the card then wait 2 days to go get the stuff from roal mail or even worse trying to find the time to get to the delivery agents office during office hours.

Terrytibbs

Thanks for all the comments guys, I'll take all that on board.

So it seems a good stock control feature needs to be in place, I'll make sure this happens, It is annoying ordering something only to find out it's not in stock.

I like the idea of a technical area, Ill try and get something in.

Third party payment services? I have Protx or hsbc payment processors in mind. Basically you input all your details etc on my site then to pay you use protx or hsbc payment services to input your card details and they clear it etc. Is this not a good idea really? Are people going to be put off?

I think if I wanted to process the card payments on ym website I have to have an expensive security certificate and get all checks etc done, I don't even know if I'll be eligible, I could look into it if it's important.

Thanks for all that guys, keep them coming, it's very helpful

Terry.

MoonCircuit

Free postage. Spread the cost across your prices.

thebluefox

Ohhh, this is interesting! Being a web develper, I do alll this stuff day in, day out, and you've all raised some really good points.

First, Terry, payment processes. There is different types of handling. There is the cheap type, where you're physically redirected from the site you're buying from, to the processors site, where you input your payment details, and then are sent back to the shop site. These start from about £20 a month, and allow a max of roughly 1000 transactions p/month (Based on when I last checked Protx for a client). There is then the second type, the better, and therefore more expensive type, where you always stay on the one site, but someone like Protx still handle the transaction. Although from a customers point of view the second types is miles better, and I agree, it often makes clients/site owners nervous, due to have to invest in SSL certificates etc, and actually handle the customers credit card info. Anyone can get the certificate, and Terry, whoever is doing the site for you should be able to sort this with your hosts.

Keeping tabs of whats in stock is always quite tricky, although this is usually down to the person running the shop, rather than the website itself. At my old work, a lot of our clients very rarely updated product info, or added new products, and the shops just sat and sold nothing, they're a lot of work, more than most people believe.

I'd be interested to know what kind of system you'd be getting Terry, I've yet to find a good off the shelf package (hence, me leaving work to develop our own). If you have any questions at all, just ask

Big Red S

Terrytibbs wrote:

I think if I wanted to process the card payments on ym website I have to have an expensive security certificate and get all checks etc done, I don't even know if I'll be eligible, I could look into it if it's important.

There's no eligibility with ssl certificates. It's a common misconception that someone having a security certificate means they're a trustworthy person.
All the certificate does is tell the visitor that no-one else can view their transaction with the site their visitiing.
A non-self-signed certificate (i.e. one you go and buy) and a relatively modern browser, adds the assurance that the site being visited by the visitor is the one he thinks he's visiting.

There are no, and have never been any, guarantees of trustworthiness of either party from SSL, just of the trustworthiness of the connection.