Virtuemart: 32 Tips for Increasing Conversions

After designing 8 online shops with Virtuemart Shopping Cart, I thought it would be helpful to provide some additional tips for those sites, other Virtuemart webmasters hosting elsewhere as well as those prospective clients who may consider developing their online shop with OGO Sense.

New to Virtuemart Open Source Shopping Cart? If so, please check these live demos first:

Components -> Virtuemart.

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If my tips are too brief for you or don't know how to implement them, you may contact me and/or leave comments/questions in the comment box below . My list of recommended improvements, which includes SEO, web strategy, functional and other tips is pretty comprehensive so let's get started:

1. Create unique and keyword rich friendly URLs for your product pages. Make sure that they are unlikely to change.

2. Try not to swap your products in-and-out. If a product is out of stock, don’t unpublish it.

3. Create unique keyword rich titles and interesting metadata descriptions for your Virtuemart pages. Consider what you would use if it was your ad in newspapers.

4. Regularly check sh404SEF urls that your site is generating. Virtuemart can sometimes produce some odd extra URLs, but if you check them regularly you’ll be able to quickly solve any problems.

5. Use <h1> headings instead of wrapping page titles in code such as <td class="contentheading">.

6. Remove all unnecessary links including PDFs, email and print buttons, Vendor Information (if theres only one vendor) and Manufacturer link.

7. Activate Silent User Email Activation so users do not have to validate their email before checking out.

22. Make sure your online store is cross browser compatible. 80% of web users are using IE on Windows, which means that an average site that doesn't work in anything else could easily be losing 20% of sales.

23. Be Bold! What happens when a user decides to buy a product? They add it to a shopping basket. What happens when they can't see the button?

24. Have a Clear Returns Policy. Users are impressed with sites with a good returns policy and are more likely to buy from them. Have people phone for returns. Free return shipping is usually a good option, if commercially viable. Finally, give the user plenty of time to return things. 28 days from the date of delivery.

25. Keep the User Informed. When somebody buys something online, they want to know when it's going to arrive at their door. Giving an estimated delivery date during the checkout process is good. Emailing them when their product is dispatched is great. Keep the user informed at every step of the process. Leaving the customer happy once they have made a sale means they are more likely to speak well about you later.

26. Offer Different Payment Options. It might sound obvious, but you should offer the user a reasonable selection of methods of payment. Make the user's life easy and give them what they want.

27. Consider Upselling and cross-selling. People that buy from you are doing so because they like what it is they see. If a user adds a product to a basket, show them other things they might like as well. Upselling and cross-selling are tried and tested sales techniques, and there is no reason not to use them on the web.

28.  Be Memorable. A good site will include information. A poor one is just an online catalogue. Users start with research online, just as they do offline. Information (articles, advice, reviews and so on) all help the user early in their buying process. Make contact with the user at that stage of their process and succeed.

29. You must have a Unique Selling Point (USP). Branding is important, as well as the quality of your site and information. Your USP is what sets you apart from your competition. Great customer service, low prices, products that can't be bought elsewhere, free delivery, great support - all of these are USPs. Make sure everyone knows what yours is. 

30. Be trusted. An address is a good start. A phone number, with people answering the phone, also helps.

31. Have a privacy policy. Showing a privacy policy and explaining shipping procedures clearly can also help the user to trust you. Design and content also play a part in trust. A poor design gives off an unprofessional feeling. If content is inaccurate or badly written, the same applies.

32. Use Google Analytics to measure your conversions and increased sales. 

Have additional Virtuemart tips that you would like to share? Please use the comment box below .

To learn more about implementing above tips, implementing an entire online store for your business, increasing your sales and learning how you could save time and money with OGO Sense, please contact me today for a free consultation.

--
Ogy Nikolic | Managing Director | OGO Sense
tel.+1 (617) 418-4646 | send me an email | skype: ogosense

Comments (6)

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written by Dale, September 26, 2008

I was wondering if you could tell me how to customize my Virtuemart Thank You Page. I have done alot of work looking but can't figure it out. Thanks you.

Dale

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written by Joe, October 06, 2008

Hi Ogy,

Great post - thanks for all the tips.

I have been having a lot of trouble getting goals and funnels set up for virtuemart. I'm using sh404sef. You mentioned tracking conversion with analytics.. do you have advice or know where I can find a tutorial for this>?

Thanks,

Joe

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written by 00gy, October 06, 2008

@ JOE: do you have advice or know where I can find a tutorial for this>?

Hi Joe, if you are just looking for a simple ratio of (purchases)/(number of visitors to your site), you can just Google Analytics tutorials on setting up goals. You will be given a javascript for the final step which you will need to insert in the thank you page of your Virtuemart. If you use Virtuemart's thank you page, you will need to embed it in php code and if you use a custom thank you page, then just open up html of that Thank You page article. Related to having the entire funnel, start from finish including the entire page by page process; well that's a bit more complicated. I have not seen anyone with a tutorial although I know some developers who claim they have modules that assist in making this funnel visualization work. Again, it can certainly be done, it just depends how much free time you have or how much you are willing to pay for someone to make it work. I hope this helps. Best, Ogy

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written by Rob, November 18, 2008

Nice tips.

Do you know of any free modules to product google base feeds from virtuemart?

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written by ooogy, March 08, 2009

Hi Rob, I'm not sure about free ones. We have a license to use www.joomlagooglebase.com/ Google Base Product on multiple site so if you could afford for us to set it up on your site, you would not need to pay for it. Best, Ogy

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