Does Your Jewelry Website Have These Sale-Boosting Features?

Want to sell more jewelry to the customers who arrive at your website?

Of course you need to offer a selection of jewelry in styles and price ranges that people fall in love with.

But in addition to that, the "usability" experience your visitors have while shopping on your website is also crucial.

Since you're not there in person to guide them through the sale, your site has to do that for you.

So it's important to remove any barriers your customers might have in getting around your site, finding what they want, and checking out.

Your website doesn't have to have all of the following functions, but usability studies show that these features increase online sales.  Adding even a few of them to your site can help you sell more jewelry online.

Website Features:

• Sitemap
• FAQ (frequently asked questions)
• Site-search or product-search feature
• Contact form / easily visible email address
• Size chart / other help with choosing the right size (especially for ring and bracelet sizing, and necklace lengths)
• Clear website navigation links
• "About" page that introduces the jewelry designer and establishes a relationship with customers
• Wish-list feature
• Refer-a-friend / tell-a-friend feature

Jewelry Images:

• Ability to zoom in / click to enlarge images
• More than one view of each product, including closeups of focal or clasp details
• Images showing all the colors or other options available for a particular style

On-Site Marketing:

• Featured item page
• Clearance sale page
• Promotion of best selling items
• Online-only sale
• Targeted gift ideas (stocking stuffer gift ideas, teacher gift ideas, niece gift ideas, etc.)
• Volume discounts (save money when you buy more than one of an item)
• Cross-selling (recommend and link to related products on your site)
• Testimonials / customer reviews
• Gift certificates available on the website

Checkout / Payment:

• Accept credit cards
• Accept debit cards
• Accept PayPal
• Accept checks / money orders
• Redeem gift certificates
• Loyalty / repeat customer / "club" discount or bonus
• First-time buyer discount

Shipping / Delivery:

• Option to buy online, then pick up the order from your studio
• Free standard shipping
• Free upgrade to a faster shipping method
• Holiday shipping deadlines calendar

Customer Service:

• Personalized email or autoresponder messages (with customer's name and possibly other personal details inserted)
• Faster order fulfillment option
• Free gift wrap
• Email newsletter to keep customers updated on your products, news, events, and specials
• Blog to keep customers updated on your products, news, events, and specials
• Privacy statement
• Assurance of secure online payment

Basically your website needs to give people the most user-friendly online shopping experience possible, while making them feel completely secure about buying from your site.

(NOTE:  This article does not cover how to bring targeted traffic to your site; it focuses on how to make more sales to people once they arrive on your website.)