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In our previous article, we talked about why you need a website to own your brand and secure your future.
But simply building a website doesn’t mean you’ll get more sales.
A website is your virtual brick-and-mortar store. If you built a physical shop, but the aisles were cluttered, the signs were confusing, and the checkout counter was hidden, would anyone buy from you?
Probably not.
Your website is no different. Every website needs a few things so customers can find what they’re looking for and finish the sale.
So if you’re ready to turn your site into a selling machine that entices more customers to buy, here are 7 things you must include.
#1 - Your Logo & Colors
These days, you’ll find plenty of pre-made templates that make it easy to build your site.
But don’t stop there. Make sure your website design reflects your brand with your logo and color scheme on every page.
Why? Because this helps you build your brand, which makes you memorable.
If your packaging is pink and fun, but your website is dark and serious, customers won't be able to “peg” your business in their mind. You need consistency to create brand recall.
When we built a website for Classy N Sassy Design, we incorporated their logo and brand style throughout the site. You can feel the fun and happy vibes on every page!
One pro tip for branding your site? Keep it simple. A common mistake we see is using too many colors. Stick to a primary and secondary color—maybe a third one at max.
This ensures your website is on-brand, professional, and ready to make a strong first impression.
Okay, so you’ve got your website looking good. Now let’s make sure it’s easy to use.
#2 - Easy-to-Use Navigation
Picture yourself setting foot in a new grocery store you’ve never been to before.
Inside, it looks like any other store. But here, the store owners have only labeled a few aisles. The rest are completely blank. You can’t even tell where the cashiers are.
Frustrated, you leave the shop.
It’s the same for a website. You want to include the most important pages (like Shop, About, Best-Sellers, and Collections) right on your navigation bar, so customers can find what they want in a couple of clicks.
You can also add important sections on your home page, like a short bio that links to your About page, a link to see best-sellers, or a section featuring your latest holiday collection.
When we worked with Primrose Custom Products, we made sure to include their top product categories along the top of the page. This helps customers find what they’re looking for instantly.
As you design your website, consider one important thing. It must be easy to use on a mobile device. Around 90% of visitors to your website will come through their mobile phones.
Many people design their sites on a desktop, but your customers are scrolling on a tiny screen. If your menu doesn't work on an iPhone, you will lose sales.
With clear navigation, customers will find what they need right away. But to build trust (and therefore sales), you’ll need a little something extra, which we’ll share in the next section.
Find even more resources for building your maker business in our MakerFlo Pro business hub.
#3 - Content That Builds Trust & Connection
Look, we all want to make more sales.
But many people do this the wrong way.
It doesn’t work to yell "BUY NOW" at people. You want to create an online experience where visitors connect with you as a person. When people connect with your values, the sales kick in automatically. (We call this subtle marketing.)
Your About page is critical here.
A common mistake we see is people filling their About page with product photos.
Instead, your About page should have images of you. Show your face, your workspace, your dog, or behind-the-scenes shots of your process. Explain your values and what you love about what you do.
This builds social proof and trust. And it shows that there’s a real human behind the screen.
We love this About page from former client Katherine Kelley of Wild Bloom Crafthouse. It’s brimming with personality, and the rest of the page shares more of her story, including her love for animals and some of the cute critters on her farm.
Besides a solid About page, here are some more things you can add to build trust:
- Customer reviews (this is a huge one!)
- Customer social media posts featuring your products
- Blog content explaining your process or educating customers on your industry
- Your business Instagram feed
Now, we said not to yell “Buy now!” at your website visitors, but you do need to include some Buy buttons on your site. Let’s talk about how to do that next.
#4 - Clear Invitations to Shop
While subtle marketing builds trust, you still need to invite people to buy.
You may have the best-looking website and the most touching story, but if you don't ask for the sale, you won't get it.
How to do this: On your home page, make sure to include links to products or buttons inviting customers to shop. In the marketing world, these are called “call-to-actions” or CTAs.
Classy N Sassy Design’s home page invites customers to check out their products with a clear invitation to “Explore.” They also include a link to their Store on the Navigation so it’s accessible from every page.
Don’t forget about the information pages on your site, like your About page or shipping policy. Even those can include an invitation to shop.
With these additions, your website is ready to build trust and invite people to buy. But let’s not forget about one of the most important parts of an online store: the photos.
#5 - Professional-Looking Images
Your product images will either entice your customers to buy or turn them away.
That’s why you want professional-looking images.
Good images don’t have to be expensive. You don't need a $5,000 camera, but you do need good lighting and consistency.
Invest in simple backdrops or use natural light to make sure your photos reflect the quality of your work. You can purchase a preset pack to keep the color of your photos consistent and on-brand.
Want to level up your photos? Go beyond the white background. Or try lifestyle photos, which depict people using your products in real life. Show the tumbler in a car cup holder or the blanket on a cozy sofa. Use models if you can.
Your upgraded product photos will help seal the deal for your customers. They’ll pull out their credit card and get ready to shop. But to make their experience extra smooth, there’s an important feature you don’t want to miss. Let’s talk about that next.
#6 - Shoppable Product Pages
This is something makers often miss when building their website.
If you sell custom items, your product listings are crucial in helping customers choose what to buy.
Yes, you need good images, clear descriptions, and product reviews. But there’s one game-changing feature we recommend ALL makers include on their site.
We’re talking customization options.
Let customers pick their design, color, and style, and see a sample of what they’re getting. Let them include their custom text right there on the page.
As professional website builders, we like Zepto Product Personalizer on Shopify. This app allows shoppers to choose colors, designs, add text, and view product previews.
See this feature in action on the website we built for Key to Gifts. Each product page allows you to choose details like design, color, and wording. When you make a choice, the photo updates to show you what the product will look like.
When people know what they’re getting, you’ll get happier customers and fewer returns.
And with that, your website is fully ready to get more sales. Or is it? Don’t miss these final tips about setting up your website for success.
#7 - Critical Back-End Settings
Until now, we’ve talked about the pretty parts of your website. Now, we need to talk about the hidden back-end settings.
These might seem boring, but they will save you a lot of money.
Here are the 3 major settings you should consider when putting together your website.
- Shipping Settings: Make sure to calculate shipping charges at checkout so you don’t lose money. That requires you to input the weight and size of every product so your platform can calculate the charges.
- Tax Settings: Enter your sales tax ID in your platform settings to collect taxes. Learn more about this in MakerFlo's sales tax guide for makers.
- Policies: Your business needs clear shipping, return, and cancellation policies. Since you sell custom goods, you can't usually offer returns. Clearly-written policies like these protect you if a customer complains.
Wondering what platform to build your website on? We love Shopify because it’s easy to use and is designed specifically for product-based businesses like yours.
Unlike other platforms that try to do everything, Shopify is designed to handle inventory, taxes, product variations, shipping, and other important back-end settings you need.
Learn more about Shopify in our comparison of Shopify and Etsy.
Go Get Those Online Sales
When your website has these 7 crucial elements, it transforms into an always-on salesperson for your business.
Then you can spend more of your time building your business, creating products, or whatever else makes your heart happy as a maker.
Need help building a website that checks all the boxes? If you want a professional site but don’t want to DIY it, we can help. At Esenay, we specialize in building websites for makers. We’ve helped more than 100 businesses build powerful, branded websites that bring in more traffic and sales, and we’re ready to help you, too! Click here to chat with us about your dream website.
P.S. - There’s one more piece of the puzzle to help you get more customers, and that’s bringing traffic to your site. For this, you need an SEO strategy, and it’s something we can help you with if you work with us.
Want to connect with us more? Find us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Thank you, Srishti and Arpit, for sharing your expertise with us!
Connect with MakerFlo by joining our free MakerFlo Makers Community and following us on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Next up, find more great resources for growing your business by visiting our MakerFlo Pro resource hub.
