1. Top Story

10 Ways to Drive Holiday Sales

Online shoppers have expectations about what the shopping experience should be like. They want a website that loads quickly, protects their personal information and is easy to navigate. If your website lacks any of these qualities, you could lose business to the competition.

The National Retail Foundation forecasts tough holiday sales this year due to the weak housing market and credit crunch. You'll need every competitive advantage you can get for your website this holiday season. Read on for some small tips that can help you keep customers clicking on your ecommerce website into the new year.

1. Make sure your Web hosting plan can handle the increased traffic.

The beginning of the big shopping rush is not the time to discover a lack of bandwidth on your website. That can slow service down and may cost you a small fortune in overage charges.

Take a look at your Web hosting plan and your monthly usage statistics now. Will a traffic surge send you over the limit? If so, consider upgrading your plan or contact your Web host to see what other options are available to you.

2. Purchase or renew your SSL certificate.

Your customers are aware of the potential for identity theft on the Internet. You must convince them that they can trust you to keep their information safe.

An SSL certificate assures them that their personal and financial information will be encrypted and protected. It activates two signs that their data is safe: "https" shows in the address bar and a lock icon is displayed on the corner of the screen. Also, make sure your privacy policy is easily accessible on every Web page.

3. Promote your return or exchange policy.

One advantage physical retailers have over etailers is that customers are very familiar with the return process. While an online return policy can be simple, it's important to make the process clear to customers. An easy return policy could be your edge over the competition.

4. Post fresh product pictures.

People like to hold and touch items before they buy. As an online retailer, you can give them the next best thing: pictures of each item from every angle. Show customers what the product will look like and how it works so they're not disappointed when they receive it.

 

5. Make it easy for customers to find out if an item's in stock before they order.

Nothing is more frustrating than falling in love with and ordering a product only to find out it's out of stock and unavailable. Don't let your customers down. Tell them upfront whether you have each item in stock by configuring your shopping cart to only add in-stock items.

6. Plan a promotion.

Offering a discount is a great way to draw visitors into your website. It can be the focus of an ad campaign, and you can even make a special holiday landing page for customers.

Even if you're a business-to-business company or don't sell a product or service associated with the holidays, you can offer a special promotion as a goodwill gesture to give your customers a break during this expensive season.

7. Make your website festive and welcoming.

Major retailers like Starbucks, Target and others dress up their websites for the holidays. It shows customers that they're current. You can give customers the same impression by adding a bit of holly or other seasonal decorations to your website.

Also, take a look at your words. Is your website welcoming? Do you thank visitors for their time and their business? Review your website for ways your words can lead to a better shopping experience.

8. Offer multiple payment options.

Let your customers pay with their credit card, debit card or other online methods like PayPal or Google Checkout. Offering multiple options and backing your payments with a highly recognizable name like Google or PayPay, can help customers trust you enough to buy from you.

9. Set an advertising budget.

Online advertising is a great way to promote your website. Take a look at what's left of the year's marketing and advertising budget, then consider how you might use that for one big, final ad campaign to drive more visitors to your site.

10. Pose as your own customer.

Run through your entire purchasing process to see what potential roadblocks can cause customers to abandon their carts. Fix any problems you find now, before the shopping season opens.

With a little preparation, you're on your way to a happy, successful and profitable holiday season. For more tips on driving traffic to your website, take a look at our Web Resources guide.

2. Hostway News

SiteMail 7.0 Has Launched

SiteMail 7.0 brings even more functionality to our Web-based email client that's included with all shared hosting and email-only plans. SiteMail 7.0 lets you sync your calendar, task and contact data with your Outlook client. You can search the Web, and your results will open in a separate window so you don't lose your place. And SiteMail 7.0 gives you control over your CleanMail Plus 3.0 filters.

Learn more about SiteMail 7.0.

50% off SSL Sale Ends October 28

Save up to 50% on Hostway's secure sockets layer (SSL) certificates during October. SSL certificates secure your website, protecting customers' private information and giving them the confidence to buy from you. When you order an SSL certificate during this special promotion, you lock in the discount price for a full year!

Log into SiteControl to add an SSL certificate to your account.

3. Smart Tip

Reduce your Web page load times, especially if you have a lot of product pictures.

If your website doesn't load quickly, your visitors click away— taking their business elsewhere. Here are some ideas for making your pictures load faster:

• Split up one long page into several, shorter pages
• Use an optimizer to reduce image file sizes
• Use CSS style sheets for text and page colors

4. Special Offer!

PhotoshopSupport.com

Save Up to $150 on Photoshop CS3 Bundles!

Save $75-$150 when you buy Adobe Lightroom with a full upgrade or extended version of Photoshop CS3 during Adobe's limited time promotion. Lightroom is an essential tool for digital photographers, making it easy to manage, adjust and present large volumes of digital photographs.

Learn more about this special offer.