Site Review - I notice more abandoned carts

[tmphuskers]

I have set up superiorbodysupplements.com and review each day what carts have been abandoned. I have not set up set for site stats but have notied when checking my inventory levels compared to when I delete the expired carts there is an increasing difference.
I can't seem to spot where throughout my website where I might be going wrong to close the sale or is this just normal.

 

[xutopia]

tm,

some people get paid for telling you these things. Get a book like Jakob Nielsen's Web Usability Guide.

If you want you can also hire people to do that kind of work for you. Check google under freelance usability

Gary

http://www.xutopia.com

Haran
==========================

 

[tmphuskers]

Thanks for the tip Gary.
If anyone else has any more details to share, that would be great. I have plenty of books and researched Google up and down.
Just a simple request to put some other eyes on my site to see if anyone can point anything that stands out.
My eyes have been crossed after weeks of testing and revamping.

I am sure you true web developers know what I mean.

 

[coldfused]

link?

http://www.orlandomediasolutions.com

csatterwhite@orlandomediasolutions.com

 

[Genimuse]

The biggest usability problem I see relating to your cart is that after I add something to my cart there's no clear way to continue shopping -- my only obvious choices are to empty my basket or to checkout. I could in theory press the tiny Home link to keep shopping, but nothing encourages me to keep going nor is it clear how I'd do so (this from the hypothetical perspective of an inexperienced web user -- I personally know that the home button would work, as likely would the back button).

If the menu you have at left on normal pages was repeated on the cart page I think you'd find fewer abandoned carts (though how much of a difference it would make I don't know).

 

[coldfused]

Guess the link would be there in the question, right.

Half asleep....

Carry on.

http://www.orlandomediasolutions.com

csatterwhite@orlandomediasolutions.com

 

[tmphuskers]

Good call, there is supposed to be a continue shopping button when checking out. And I see only 2 as well, empty and checkout. There is a third that is not appearing.
The only other thing that bugs me is even though it is clear I charge 4.95 for shipping, you can't be sure until you put in your shipping and account information. I have wondered if that discourage people to continue on, because one of the top usability functions is to make access to shipping information on every page, and I have done that. So I am not sure if that's it or not.

 

[tmphuskers]

Also I noticed the Miva 3rd party module I got from MVCOOL.com must have a flaw in the code. I tested it and for the continue button to appear it seems you have to do some navigation for it to remember where you came from. For example, if you only add to cart from the main index page the button won't appear. But if you bounce around the site a while, then click add to cart, the continue shopping button will show up.
Nothing really relevant to add here but thought I would note it.

 

[Genimuse]

Does your software have anything that tells you where it bails?

Also, realize that search engines will press the Add To Cart buttons and even the Checkout buttons -- they just won't fill out the forms. If you've been listing your page with search engines and putting links out there, it may well be that the increase in abandoned carts is simply web crawlers/spiders.

 

[tmphuskers]

Now that I did not know. Very good advice. That is probably what is happening. I am using Overture and Google adwords but I am sure when they spider my site every now and then that's what happens.
Thanks a lot!