Get Expert Feedback on Your Square Online Store, December 2021 Edition

[AdamB]

Hello again!

It’s time for the holiday 2021 edition of “Get Expert Feedback on Your Square Online Store”!  🎁 🎁 🎁

Now is a really great time to make some changes in preparation for the holiday shopping season. Just like the other threads in this series, comment below with a link to your Square Online store. I’ll take a look and provide some tips and advice you can use to take your online store to the next level. 

This event will run until December 16th. 

Related:

Get More Expert Feedback on Your Square Online Store

Get Expert Feedback on Your Square Online Store

[#2]

12/13 Update: The response has been fantastic! Just so everyone is aware, if you haven't gotten a response yet - don't worry. We'll get to your site over the next couple of weeks. We'll also tag you when we reply, so you'll get an additional email saying one of us "mentioned" you.

[midwest-aromas]

@AdamB @ElisabethB 

[jk84mc]

I'll Bite Adam.  Heaven knows my site's not perfect.  I inherited my Square POS item setup from the previous owner.  I have done alot of tweaking in the last 2 years; but it just doesn't flow like I think it should.  Most everything I know about website's I've tripped over the hard way.  I just get back up, brush my knees off and keep trying though.  I'd originally hired a college student to build a site for my soup and sandwich shop.  I then had her show me how to make changes if needed; she had used wordpress.  The rest I've taught myself.

Then I learned more about the Square online stores and tried to set that up myself; but ended up hiring 99-D for extra help.  They migrated my website pages to Square; but I lost alot of the graphics I had so I don't use all of them in Square.  I just kept digging around in both sites until I tripped over a way to link them back and forth.  Now customers can go to my gatewaycafemacon.com website to see a detailed description of my menu items.  Then just click on ORDER NOW and be sent to my Square ordering page to place their orders.   

One big thing I wish I could do is have more drop-down categories (if I'm saying this right).  right now customers have to travel down a long list to find what they're looking for.  They shouldn't have to be bothered with the modifier for salad dressing choices, if they do not choose to order a salad.  I wish it would open only when a salad option was made.  Same for chip varieties, drink sizes, etc.  

Smiles, Kim

gatewaycafemacon.com

[jk84mc]

My apologies,  I just realized my links didn't copy correctly above.  

https://gatewaycafemacon.com/  is my main website; which links through the "Order Now" button to my Square order page.   https://gateway-cafe-109925.square.site/

[ElisabethB]

Hi @jk84mc ! I learned everything I know about web design on my own, too. 🤓 It might seem overwhelming, but you will continue to learn more as you go!

I just have a few suggestions for your site:

- I think a light background on your order page would look cleaner and more professional. I like the dark blue and orange colors, though - maybe you could use those as accent colors throughout the site?
- For your price increase announcement, consider trying an announcement Pop-up. There's a style that sits at the very top of the page so it's easily visible without taking too much page real estate.

- Regarding your items and their options/sizes, you could try making these into modifier sets instead of individual items. For example, I saw that you had items for extra meat and extra salad dressing. If you create modifier sets instead of individual items, you can still set a price for them and you can apply them wherever it makes sense (e.g., maybe extra meat or cheese is an option for both salads and sandwiches). Hope that makes sense! 😊

[jk84mc]

Thanks for your suggestions ELISABETHB.  I sincerely appreciate your time. I will look for that announcement pop-up you mentioned.  My cafe colors are teal and burgundy.  I was hoping the teal background would have made the page choices easier to read.  But I can change it back to white...or perhaps find a softer shade of teal???

As for the modifier sets, I already have tons of them.  A set for adding meat to baked potatoes, a set for sandwiches, a set for salads, a set for adding drinks to meals, another set for adding a drink to the daily special (all inclusive price), and separately listed as ITEMS in case a customer only wants a drink (Lg & Sm).  I have 8 side options including a little "Cafe Salad" option as a side choice with a sandwich (which is different from ordering a full or 1/2 size salad or the full open salad bar).  The dressing choice modifier for this little salad should only show up (as a drop down) when that side option is chosen.  It should stay hidden otherwise; as should the chip choices.  They show up on the POS tablet register too and I just need a way to cut down on some of it, which would also make it quicker and easier to checkout my customers in-house.

I just haven't yet tripped over how to make it all work that way.

Smiles,  Kim

[Lonjayco]

Www.lonjayco.net

[AdamB]

I really love your story, @Lonjayco. I think it's incredible what you and your family have accomplished. I also really like your logo - very classy.

A few things you could check out for your store:

1. You might want to check out the Square Photo Studio app. Your product photos are already good, though you might get some even better results with the free app.

2. With your site navigation, you could probably remove both "shop all" and link to the homepage next to it. Your site logo on the left already links to the homepage, and the "shop now" button draws the eye really well.

3. I'm thinking you could add a featured items section to the homepage as well, which would get some of your products front and center for visitors.

[larissa166]

We’d love some feedback! 

https://www.allabouttheferments.com

[AdamB]

Thanks for posting, @larissa166! I've never had kombucha. Seems like it's a powerful flavor!

It seems like you've got a bit of a setup you use for taking photos of your products, so I think you'll get really great results if you try the Square Photo Studio app. 

You might want to try a different color background for some of the sections on your page, or using a suitable background image. Your content is laid out well, though using a different background color for a section or two will help break up some of the content into smaller chunks. This will make it easier for people to scroll and absorb what they read quickly.

[larissa166]

Thanks Adam for the review. Checking out the app now and I’ll play with some different background colors. 

[SugarBoatGoods]

sure- take a look: sugarboatgoods.com

[ElisabethB]

Hi @SugarBoatGoods! First of all, I love the eclectic selection of items for sale on your site - it's fun just browsing online, but I bet it's even better in person!

I think you've done a great job with the site - the photos and descriptions are wonderful, and I really like your "About" page. Oh, and the "judiciously sent" note on the newsletter signup form made me smile. 😊

I do have one bit of feedback about the featured items in your header. You might want to try a different hover effect for the images, or use a different background. With the current settings, the background becomes visible through your item images when you mouse over them, which is a little funky looking (see my screenshot). 

[WhittierFarms]

Thank you for the feedback

https://www.whittiers.com/

[ElisabethB]

Hi @WhittierFarms, thanks for sharing your site! I think you've done a great job - I love that you're featuring last-minute holiday gift ideas on your front page! You might consider moving your Instagram feed up above the newsletter signup form, and perhaps moving the "Shop our Farm Store in-person or online!" text down to the footer of the site to move your items closer to the top of the page. Also, gift cards are linked under the "Shop Our Farm Store" menu and in the main navigation menu. You probably don't need both of them. If you remove the Gift Card link from the main navigation, it will free up some space in the menu.

[tn_woo10]

Thank you for your time! My website is https://www.officialteatimes.com/

[AdamB]

Hello, @tn_woo10! Thanks for sharing! You're doing a great job already with your site, so my suggestions are pretty minor.

What font do you use for your logo on products? I'm thinking of how to bring that branding more into your site to tie the two together a bit more. 

The only other thing that jumped out at me is also really minor - you could remove the shop link in your navigation since you have the "shop now" button. This will give you a little room to put something else in your navigation if you want, like booking. I really like the explore dropdown, though!

[puritykingdom78]

Thank you. I would appreciate it. 
www.onepuritykingdom.com

[AdamB]

Thanks for sharing, @puritykingdom78! Three things I think you could do (two are minor, but I thought worth mentioning):

1. You might consider using the lighthouse in your logo for the site favicon. It's a small thing but it adds that little touch of branding consistency.

2. Since your logo links back to the homepage, you could probably remove the "home" link in your navigation. That would give you some room to move something else there, like your "contact us" page.

3. Since you use Instagram, you could include the Instagram section on your homepage. It's a great way to gain followers on Instagram and put some dynamic content on your homepage.

[puritykingdom78]

Thank you so much @AdamB for your honest feedback. I appreciate it so much. 😆

[JUYBoutique20]

Definitely....http://www.jackiesuniquelyuboutique.com 

[ElisabethB]

Hey @JUYBoutique20 ! Your site looks really pulled together and you've covered all of the bases! I really only have a couple of suggestions for you:

-  I really love the picture at the top of the home page, but it's a little bit hard to see the text and the "Shop Now" button as they kind of blend into the background. You could try another layout for that section, like one that has a plain background for the text and button with the image to the left or right. You could then center the image on the models so they're the main focus. I'll attach a screenshot showing one of these layouts so you can see what I mean.
- I love that you have a size chart - I feel like that's so often overlooked on sites that are selling clothing! I think it would be great if you could make that into its own page. You'd be able to link to it from product descriptions if you want to, or if you ever add an FAQ page you could include it there, too.
- I also think customer testimonials could be on their own page as well. Or you could consider trying the customer review feature that Square Online offers. Here's some more info about that in our support center, in case you're interested. 😊