Feedback on my store - See Spot Run Wild

[jennhb]

Hi. I just went live with my first Shopify store. It was initially created for me in the Mika theme, and now I've invested a lot of time in improving it. . . .although tempted to switch to Debut or something simpler.

I welcome feedback. I know there are a few problems already that I have spent hours trying to resolve & cannot (such as a slider that isn't a slider, just a single image because I'm having trouble with image sizing, which when leaves an enormous amount of white space below it. . . and the still large amount of white space below the large image, but I decided to go live with it any way, until I can figure it out.)

Knowing all of that, I would appreciate any/all constructive feedback, as well as recommendations on who/where to turn for troubleshooting, potential help.

www.seespotrunwild.com

In particular, I'm interested in feedback on a making the home page, best sellers and featured product areas more compelling? But all suggestions welcome. Thank you.

[Aizada]

Hi @jennhb 

I think you did great job with your hero banner image, even though it is not a slider, it still sets a positive mood to your site. Congrats on a starting eCom:) 

Your online store is definitely on a right path, the theme, the color scheme, the quality of images-it is all looking good. I am sure with a couple of changes and additions to your store, you will start seeing profit. 

Here are my observations: 

1) According to your About us story and brand name, you are mostly focusing on running leashes. If so, I highly recommend categorizing your products into Running and Other, or even create several categories (ex. Leashes, for Dog parents,   Treats, Pretty Puppy etc), If you do that, make sure you have categories section on homepage below the hero banner 

2) Show your customers how passionate you are. Let people know that you offer things to people based on your dog parenting experience. For that, add some photos of you and your dog on About us page. If you have some nice pictures of your dog, use them as a banner image. 

3) Add social engagement. Most of the visitors make their first purchase based on reviews. I personally, always rely on reviews if I am new to a site. 

I recommend installing Growave marketing app, that has Reviews, Rewards, Wishlist, Social login all in one. There are discount for new businesses and a free plan there as well. 

Also, if you have Social media accounts make sure to link them on your site instead of default Shopify links. 

I think that is it for now, if I see something else I will add that as well. 

Hopefully, I managed to help you, if so please let me know by liking this post.

The best of luck! 

[jennhb]

Alzada -- Thank you!

Excellent feedback. I completely agree with all of your points. I will get
to work on it tomorrow, and I truly appreciate your time and
recommendations. Have a great weekend! --Jennifer

[neha-sparq]

Hey See Spot Run Wild,

A unique header template should be created to highlight discounts or shipping offers if any. Some other points to be observed while optimizing your store for a better look are as follows:

1. A search bar is a must on the top right of the header beside the currency converter and cart.
2. The proper rearrangement of footer elements should be as follows: Help, Contact Us and Newsletter.
3. I would love to see an Account login/sign-in system, as it is a must for an ecommerce.
4. Login, when added, should be placed beside the cart and currency converter for a more systematic header look.
5. Reviews need to be added below each product for improving customer choice.
6. Instagram images and testimonials will help in better brand awareness and promotion as well.
7. You can also install one of the most popular app Growwave which is all in one marketing platform that helps store owners increase conversions with ease.
8. Finally, I would also recommend replacing the default search with an advanced search like Sparq which allows synonyms, advanced custom tag filters, spelling correction, and other such features. Visitors with search are high intent users and their conversion rate is higher than normal users.
   Check out the features live here.
   You can use Sparq free trial for as many products in your store. After the trial period, you can enjoy with Sparq’s Free Starter Plan for upto 1000* products.

Hope the store optimization gives you positive results.

Neha :)

[Sudipta]

Hi Jennhb !

I have gone through your site. Though it looks good, there are quite a few things missing on your store which if added can really make a lot of difference to the user experience, conversion rate and your overall sales.

 HEADER & FOOTER :

1. Header -- Have a sticky header and a clear smart search bar to help users locate the products they're looking for.Also a slide out cart, a cart icon with item calculator must have features. Login icon must be there for buyer account creation before purchasing.  Example of Good Header 
2. Footer -- Optimize your footer with more professional and functional look and also highlight your newsletter sign up so people who follow your brand will receive more updates about promotions and sales. About Us and Contact Us  are missing in the footer that must be included for authenticity and security purpose and more payment icons must be there for security payment purpose

HOMEPAGE :

A lot can be done to your homepage to make it more informative & attractive.  Example of Nice Home page 

1. Banners & Branding -- Add hero banner with prompt CTA buttons that syncs well with your store theme & branding. This banner should include info like free shipping, offers/deals like 50% off, etc
2. Color, Font & Branding -- Over All Text, Font , Paragraph , Alignment , Spacing , Padding etc should be more elegant so that your store looks well-organized, neat and visually appealing. Maintain the same or similar colors and fonts throughout your store to keep your  branding intact 
3. Featured / Bestseller products -- Engage your customers by letting them know the bestseller products on your store                                     
4. Highlight your USP -- What's unique about your brand that none of the other Shopify merchants have? This needs to be highlighted in your store presentation, features & more.
5. Trust badge on Home Page -- This is important as this helps to build trust and assures your customers that your brand is authentic
6. Testimonials -- They add to the trust factor as when customers see what other buyers have to say about your products, it makes them more sure about your brand.

COLLECTION PAGE :

Your customer views this page to have an in-depth view of the products and services you offer Example of Good Collection Page 

1. Banner adding on Collection page -- Make your collection page stand out with interesting & creative collection banners
2. Product filter for easy navigation -- Categorize & filter products by their size, color or type so users find product to product navigation easy.
3. Product Label -- Product labels like % off, ‘New Arrival’, ‘Sold Out’ must be there must be there for the ease of the buyer
4. Product Showcasing -- Clear product title and description , high quality images , reviews , related products , color swatch function, grey effect for sold out products , product labels . All these features make your store much more convenient, authentic, easy to use and user friendly.                                                                                                    

PRODUCT PAGE :

1. Features like custom swatches, product zoom in, product reviews, unique product titles/descriptions, cart drawer and a sticky cart with a sticky add to cart and buy now button will make your product page more interactive and user-friendly. Example of Ideal Product Page 

CART PAGE :

1. Sticky Buy now or add to cart button ,Sticky cart -- A Sticky Cart feature or sticky checkout bar reduces cart abandonment and engages the customer in your store.
2. Functionality Of Cart Page -- Discount code , Gift wrapping , additional cart notes , delivery date picker, i agree with terms and conditions, trust badges, etc.  for personalizing your customer's shopping experience on the cart page. You to try our all-in-one app, MS Complete Cart Customizer

INTEGRATIONS :

1. Social Media Link -- Include links to your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or any other social media business pages.
2. Proper integration of Google Analytics, Facebook store, Instagram store, google search console -- These features will help you track and analyze how customers interact with your store

     3.Proper setup shipping, taxes -- Set up shipping and taxes options for different areas/countries or for particular products.

1. Google shopping -- Let your users easily discover & buy your products with Google smart shopping marketing campaigns.
   
2. Low Speed Test -- The store speed is too low Mobile speed -38 and its causing lazy load, which is on of the main cause of customer putting off

Hope these suggestions are useful for you.  If any issue let me know.

Good luck!

[AiTrillion]

Hey @jennhb ,

1. The first fold of the website should always have a call to action in it - 

And here’s why; in most cases placing the CTA above the fold works wonders for your campaigns. This placement immediately draws your visitors’ attention to your CTA which is always good for conversions.

2. Engage your visitors coming on your site by giving loyalty reward points which will increase repeat purchase and customer lifetime value. You can add a chatbot to make sure you never lose any of your customers. You can add web push notification which will help you to retarget your customers anytime even when they are not in your store. Add reviews to build trust with other visitors. This will help you to run your store smoothly and decrease the bounce rate and will capture your visitors and convert them into prospective or paying customers. 

3. Add a referral program. Referral marketing is a cost-effective way to gain new and loyal customers. Because people are social creatures, individuals that are referred to your company are much more likely to remain loyal customers.

If you would like to implement all these I would suggest you to install AiTrillion.com It has all the features in a single app and is a fully integrated app. It is all in one Shopify app. Plus you don't need to install multiple apps. You can check it out. I am sure you will find it useful.

[jennhb]

Thank you.

[neha-sparq]

My Pleasure! Happy to help you.

[Nancy_Drake]

Hi @jennhb,

1. If you've got a large inventory with various product collections, you can't expect your customers to go through the entire store to find something they want. The findability is crucial to sales funnel: the faster a shopper finds what he's looking for, the more likely he is to purchase. Filtering can provide better user experience, increase their focus on displayed items on the store, and ultimately, help merchants to sell more. Product filters can significantly improve your conversion rate. With Ultimate Search and Filter you can create different product filtering navigation for your collections (filter products by Product attributes such as Product type, collection, vendor, product tag, variants), Color Swatch Display, Merge values, Price slider, Product count for filter value, Breadcrumb trail (selected filter values).

2. You could consider using Autocomplete for the search box. Ultimate Search and Filter offers instant search, autocomplete, typo tolerance, synonyms search. It would act as an aggressive sales assistant that improves your customers' satisfaction and increase conversion rates.

3. Consider using Merchandising to get more profit. The right digital merchandising strategy can engage your shoppers, guide them toward enticing products, and boost your sales, which is the dream for any online retailers. You can pin and boost high-margin or sale items, bury products that most sizes are out of stock, display promotional banners on collection.