Microchem regularly uses the web to identify cosmetic companies that could benefit from the services we provide, such as preservative challenge testing, micro testing, and stability testing. We have navigated through numerous websites and noted a few key distinctions between the well-constructed cosmetic websites and the ones that may benefit from improvement. We have identified five key elements of a good cosmetic website in order to help our customers create a website that is both intriguing and will help maximize their sales opportunity. The key elements of these sites involve proofreading, color scheme, overall content, product placement, and links within the site.
1. Proofreading
The most common issue that Microchem has observed in a cosmetic website is that spell check and auto correct are too heavily relied upon, leading to grammatical errors. Proofreading is time-consuming and not nearly as rewarding as many of the other aspects involved in creating and maintaining a website. A good cosmetic website isn’t necessarily error-free, but frequently reviewed and revised. The best solution is not to do all of it at once, but to occasionally read through a page or two. Doing so could correct common but embarrassing spelling and grammatical errors.
2. Color Scheme
Some websites are quite hard to read or may be difficult to look for long periods due to the background color or the color of the text. Many times, it’s both. The color of the text and background lack contrast, making the words difficult to make out unless they’re highlighted, which ruins the intended effect of the website. A color scheme for a good cosmetic website can be challenging to decide on. A good background color doesn’t distract from the product. It also doesn’t strain the eyes of potential consumers. A good text color is legible, easy to read, and compliments the background color. It’s always a good idea to try out different color schemes before deciding on one.
3. Meaningful, Substantive Content
The content of many websites offer very little information about the company and the process through which a product is made. When supplied with information, customers feel safer and more knowledgeable, making them more likely to buy a product and recommend it to those around them. A good cosmetic website offers a wealth of knowledge, making it more personable to the consumer. A good cosmetic website also displays the company’s information on every page. Since the name of the company is already at the very top, contact information adds something to the bottom of a page. Adding contact information makes a company look more personable and open to help the consumer. It’s also a great way to reach out to those customers that aren’t seasoned web surfers. Placing contact information everywhere more effectively sells the cosmetic products and company’s image to the consumer.
4. Product Placement
The purpose of a cosmetic website is to get the product seen by people everywhere, utilizing a fantastic technological resource, the web. For many of the websites we have observed, they were easy to find but it was difficult to determine what the companies were actually trying to sell. A good cosmetics website shows the cosmetic product in more than one place. There’s a page devoted to seeing everything being sold at once, of course, but then the items are broken into categories and subcategories so now each item is displayed at least twice on one website. There are also several pages devoted to information about making the product, the origin of the company or how the company is part of an organization devoted to a cause. Somewhere on these pages could be pictures of personal favorites or best selling products to add another opportunity for the consumer to see the cosmetics. Doing this is beneficial in that it could help the customer to remember the product and gain more interest in it.
5. Links
There are links all over any website to navigate through it, even if it’s just to go forward or back through the pages. The biggest deterrent to a consumer is not being able to access what they’re trying to get to. If links are broken or the user clicks on a link and it takes them to a page saying, “coming soon”, that’s likely to be very frustrating and bad for business. A good cosmetic website makes its company look more established and professional. When everything works the way it’s supposed to on a website, the consumer is more likely to buy products. It’s worthwhile for any company to surf its own site and make sure that the consumer is seeing what’s intended to be seen.
All of the information here is based solely on our own observations and personal experience while researching cosmetic companies that could use the services of Microchem. We hope that this content provides some helpful insight in improving your cosmetic websites and in turn improves your sales as well.