6 Easy Tips to Evaluate Your Website

By Alan Miklofsky

If I asked you to evaluate one of your sales associates, what qualities would you look for?

Would you want someone who greets customers warmly? Knows the merchandise inside and out? Answers questions with confidence? Represents your company professionally? Makes buying easy? Follows up after the sale?

Most retailers have no trouble evaluating employees because we understand that every customer interaction influences sales, customer loyalty and ultimately our reputation.

Now consider a different question.

When was the last time you evaluated your website using those exact same standards?

Many independent retailers still think of their website as little more than a digital brochure or an online business card. It lists the store hours, address, brands carried and maybe a few photographs. Once it’s built, it’s often forgotten until someone notices an outdated promotion or a broken link.

That mindset belongs to another era. Today, your website has become one of the most important employees in your company.

Unlike your staff, it never sleeps. It works twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, every holiday, every weekend and every evening after your store closes. It never takes a vacation, never calls in sick, never asks for a raise and often becomes the very first representative of your business a customer ever meets.

The question isn’t whether your website is working. The question is whether it’s working for you…or quietly sending customers somewhere else.

Your First Employee Customers Meet

Years ago, customers usually walked through your front door before making a buying decision. Today, they almost always visit your website first.

Before driving across town, they want answers:

• Do you carry the brands they’re looking for?
• What are your hours?
• Do you offer appointments?
• Can you fit orthotics?
• Do you specialize in difficult-to-fit feet?
• Is parking convenient?
• Do you look like a store worth visiting?

By the time many shoppers arrive at your front door, they’ve already formed an opinion about your business. Your website has already introduced your company. If that introduction was confusing, outdated or uninspiring, you may never know how many customers quietly crossed you off their list.

Unlike customers who walk out of your store, online visitors rarely explain why they left. They simply disappear with the click of a mouse.

Your Website Never Calls in Sick

One of the greatest strengths of a well-designed website is consistency. Even your very best employees have difficult days. They’re human. They become tired, they occasionally forget information or they may be distracted by a personal issue or overwhelmed during a busy Saturday afternoon.

A great website doesn’t have those problems. It delivers the same message every hour of every day, greets every visitor, answers the same questions accurately, never loses patience, never forgets your return policy and never neglects to mention an important service. But, of course, consistency only has value if the information is current.

A website promoting last year’s sale, listing employees who retired three years ago or advertising brands you no longer carry isn’t helping your business. It’s quietly damaging your credibility.

And customers may never tell you that’s why they chose another retailer. They’ll simply choose another retailer.

Here are six tips to evaluate your website and make sure everything is running smoothly:

1. Does Your Website Greet Customers?

Imagine walking into a retail store where no one acknowledges your presence. No greeting, no signs, no indication of what the store sells and no direction. You’d probably leave within a minute. Yet, many retail websites create exactly that experience.

Within the first five to ten seconds, every visitor should immediately understand:

• What you sell
• What makes your store different
• Why customers choose you
• Where you’re located
• How to contact you
• Which brands you specialize in
• What services you provide

The internet has dramatically shortened people’s patience, so customers don’t want to hunt for basic information. If visitors become confused, they won’t ask for help. They’ll simply leave.

2. Is Your Digital Employee Well Trained?

Great sales associates answer questions before customers even ask them. They anticipate concerns, explain benefits and make customers feel comfortable. Your website should perform exactly the same role.

Think about the questions your staff answers dozens of times every week. Every one of those questions deserves an easy-to-find answer on your website. Unanswered questions create uncertainty and an opportunity for a competitor to earn the sale. Your website should reduce hesitation, not create it.

3. Appearance Still Matters

Appearance communicates professionalism before a word is ever spoken, and your website deserves exactly the same attention.

Old photographs, broken links, spelling errors, blurry images, outdated promotions and expired events all send the same message: “If we don’t pay attention to our own website, what else aren’t we paying attention to?”

Fortunately, most of these problems don’t require a large budget. They simply require attention. Your website should always reflect the same pride you take in your showroom.

4. Tell Your Story

Independent retailers possess one competitive advantage that national chains spend millions of dollars trying to create: authenticity.

Customers don’t simply buy products. They buy confidence, expertise, relationships and trust. They want to know who’s behind the business. Your website should tell your story. Consider some of the following questions to help aid in telling your store:

• What specialized training does your staff have?
• What organizations do you support?
• What makes your store different from the chain down the street?

These aren’t just “nice-to-have” details. They’re powerful differentiators.

Large retailers can often compete on price, but independent retailers win by offering expertise, personalized service and genuine relationships. Your website should introduce your business the same way your best salesperson would.

5. Help Customers Buy

Many retailers unintentionally make buying more difficult than necessary. Ask yourself a few simple questions:

• Can customers easily find your phone number?
• Can they get directions with one click?
• Can they schedule an appointment?
• Can they request a fitting?
• Can they browse featured products?
• Can they learn about your services before visiting?
• Can they contact the appropriate person without filling out a complicated form?

Convenience has become part of customer service, and every unnecessary click creates another opportunity for someone to leave.

Think about your own online experiences. When a website makes it easy to accomplish your objective, you remember it positively. When it becomes frustrating, you rarely give it a second chance. Your customers behave exactly the same way.

6. Is Your Website a Team Player?

Your website shouldn’t work in isolation. It should support every marketing effort you make.

If you’re active on Facebook or Instagram, your website should encourage visitors to follow you. If you’re hosting a trunk show, wellness seminar or customer appreciation event, promote it on your homepage. If you’ve won industry awards or have been recognized in your community, let people know.

Every piece of your marketing should reinforce every other piece. The strongest retail brands communicate one consistent message across every customer touchpoint.

Unfortunately, many retailers spend more time evaluating a new employee during their first week than they’ve spent evaluating their website during the past year.

Small Improvements Produce Big Results

The encouraging news is that most retail websites don’t require complete overhauls. Small improvements often produce surprisingly large results.

In today’s retail environment, your website isn’t simply part of your business. It may very well be your hardest-working employee.

Alan Miklofsky is a business consultant, former multi-store footwear retailer, and long-time advisor to independent retailers throughout the United States. He is the founder of Shoes.com and the former owner of Alan’s Shoes in Tucson, Arizona. Alan specializes in retail operations, merchandising, financial analysis, marketing strategy, and helping independent retailers improve profitability and long-term performance.