3 Website Tips For Online Jewelry Making/Beading Stores

Jewelry making and beading is a popular hobby and business. When people are looking for supplies and stumble across your website, their user experience can either turn them into repeat customers or leave them filled with frustration. There are several strategies that are especially important for your type of business.

Think About How People Shop

A major problem with some jewelry making websites is they are a poor fit for the way people shop. Remember, your customers are likely looking at different beads and how they will work for a project. Make it easy for them to see small details, such as the shape and colorway, for each component. The best way to achieve this is to allow the customer to hover over each picture for a larger image. This way, each individual picture does not take up much space on the screen, but it can be enlarged easily.

Another problem is the checkout process. Unlike other forms of art, your customers will likely order different amounts of each item, assuming you sell some beads or crystals individually. This means organizing a cart on a slow website will be a nightmare and may lead customers to abandon their cart for another online retailer whose website functions better. Go to your website through the customer's eyes. Try adding 20 or more items to your cart, then adjust the quantities, delete items, and save items for later. If this takes forever, imagine the money you are losing from annoyed visitors.

Make Suggestions

Engage your visitors through blog posts and online videos that make suggestions for the different items you sell. For example, as new releases for beads or crystals become available, you might discuss how they match with other items already in your store based on shape and color. One of the nuances of jewelry making, especially when you do not have a large collection of supplies, is trying to envision how different pieces work together based on a picture. Remember, your customers will have to wait for their items to arrive and determine if the pieces look good together. You can help them along by making suggestions since you can see the items in person. Also, include which colors of wire look good with different pieces. Of course, this can be a matter of personal preference, but it is a starting point.

Include Sample Packs

An attractive feature of any jewelry making or beading website is to have sample packs for a reasonable price. Many people shop online for their jewelry making products because they simply do not have access to brick-and-mortar stores with a wide selection of supplies. Since part of creating jewelry or other pieces is being able to manipulate the items to see how they fit together or work with other items, it is helpful to the buyer to be able to have a few beads of different shapes and colors before they decide what they want. Similarly, having sample packs of wire is also helpful for new jewelry-makers who are trying to understand how different gauges work for creating items. They may want to see different metal finishes in-person and manipulate different gauges in their hand before committing to buying an entire spool of one.

Making sure your website and product offerings work for fellow jewelry makers will not only boost business but can make your website edge out over your competitors. For more information on web design, contact your local design service today.

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