How to Design a Website for a Brick-and-Mortar Store That Delivers on All (Store)fronts
For so many of us, online is where it's at. When you are starting an online business you can benefit from reduced running costs and only have the stock that you need, but when you are setting up a brick-and-mortar store, you need to ensure that it also has a digital-first approach.
This is why designing a website that showcases your products and services while also reflecting your brand identity is critical. So let's show you the crucial steps to designing a website for your brick-and-mortar store to push that brand further. I’ve learned a lot through trial and error of my own storefront, Shamblen Studios, in Akron, Ohio and I’m excited to share these tips with you!
Create exciting and engaging content, such as sharing big news in a fun way! Image Credit: Shamblen Studios
Engaging Content
Engaging content is the beating heart and soul of your website. Everything should work towards telling the story of your brick-and-mortar store right down to the finite details. Customers want to know how their lives will be made easier by shopping with your brick-and-mortar store, and you can boil this down right to the user-friendly nature of payments, for example, a point of sales (POS) system. Learn more about POS systems here and see how it makes people's lives easier and then incorporate something like this as a part of your content, but you also need to remember that connecting with your audience is also about the emotional factor. Content is the opportunity to showcase your personality and values, so don't skimp on it.
Optimizing for SEO
While content is king, undoubtedly, SEO is queen. To ensure that your website ranks well in search engine results, look at incorporating relevant keywords related to your products or services and put these naturally into your content descriptions, headers, and associated components without opting for something like keyword stuffing. When we put too many keywords in, this can go against the ethos of SEO. It's about being as natural as possible with your content while establishing yourself as an experienced expert that is authoritative and trustworthy, which aligns with the EEAT Google guideline for SEO.
Image Credit: Shamblen Studios
Include Customer Testimonials
Customer testimonials are the bread and butter of building trust and credibility, and featuring them prominently on your website will reinforce your brand's reputation. Quality and customer satisfaction are pivotal to the overall experience, so why shouldn't we promote the times when a customer has an amazing experience? Building overall trust and credibility is an ongoing journey that we also need to shout from the rooftops about those who have had an amazing experience with us. While one could argue that it is now part and parcel of how we do business, we can't neglect this very simple but effective component of brand building.
User-Friendly Navigation
Aligning the brick-and-mortar store with the online store is tough. We need to make sure that as our brick-and-mortar store helps people to navigate in a logical sentence by putting similar items near to each other, we must also think about how somebody navigates around a website. Optimizing the content into logical categories and being clear with our navigational menus will ensure that our visitors can find what they are looking for—we must remember to keep everything simple. This is why our navigation needs to stay as streamlined and straightforward as possible. Navigation should ultimately reflect our simplicity, and as customers don't want to make things complex because very simply they haven't got the time, they will appreciate this.
More isn’t always more! Keep trying to simplify your navigation as much as you can as it can be a process figuring out what’s most necessary and efficient for the user. Image Credit: Shamblen Studios
General Business Information
A very simple thing, but we can't just assume that people will shop online anymore. If you are setting up a website for your brick-and-mortar store, you need to have everything in place that shows customers where they can reach you. This includes product information, including those photos and prices, but also general information such as contact details and directions to the store. This is where a Google Business profile page can help to improve your stats on search engines while also putting those key pieces of information forward. We should never overcomplicate things, and this is why having a wealth of the right information guarantees customers can contact us if necessary.
CTAs and Opt-In Forms
Finally, we need to stimulate that action from the customer, and a call to action and an opt-in form are two ways to get everything going. An email opt-in form can be a great way to get interest, especially if you send a discount code or a coupon in return. We need to nurture those leads, which can result in a boost in revenue.
It’s okay if you’re unsure what you’re doing—you can always tweak as you go to optimize your store’s performance! Image Credit: Shamblen Studios
As you build your brick-and-mortar store, you need to balance the customer experience online as well as in person. The website can help you get both components right and have both an in-person and online shopping presence, so make sure your website delivers on all (store)fronts.
I’m excited to hear about your brick-and-mortar journey! Please share about your business in the comments below.
