Tag: books

Book Recomendations To Improve E-Commerce Website?

I read your articles monthly in ‘My Business’ and always find them inspiring & helpful.We have just completed our website & referenced ‘Don’t make me think’ at your recommendation – very helpful, thank you!

Do you have a book/s you could recommend we reference to help us with generating enquiry online? Our site is set up as e-commerce, with customers able to buy online. We design & sell kids t-shirts.

Thank you, have a nice day! Nadia

Nadia has been patiently waiting for my reply to her question. Thanks for your patience Nadia!!

Here are some books and websites to get you started:

The Big Red Fez: How To Make Any Web Site Better by Seth Godin

I am a fan of anything by Seth. This book in particular is a practical guide to make your website more attractive to visitors. It’s simple and straight forward and well worth a read.

Web Design for ROI: Turning Browsers into Buyers & Prospects into Leads by Lance Loveday and Sandra Niehaus

I love this book. Absolutely love it! They speak my language. It’s filled with practical web design tips to help you increase conversions and online sales.

Call to Action: Secret Formulas to Improve Online Results by Bryan & Jeffrey Eisenberg

Another great book by the two of the most respected guys in the industry. Call To Action provides vital information to improve your online results. Questions it covers includes: Are you planning for top performance? Are you accurately evaluating that performance? Are you setting the best benchmarks for measuring success? How well are you communicating your value proposition? Are you structured for change? Can you achieve the momentum you need to get the results you want?

Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping by Paco Underhill

Not a book on e-commerce per say but a great primer on the science of shopping by a respected industry leader. I’ve found many of the principles can be applied to the online world too. Update: Just found this version that has been revised to cover the Internet.

Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples

Another “bible” or proven selling techniques. Again not an e-commerce book per se but a great book on creating powerful headlines, copy that sells and layouts and illustrations that attract attention.

Finally, if you want to work on improving the performance of your e-commerce website you can’t go past the following blog:

Cre8pc Usability & Holistic SEO by Kim Krause Berg

Kim is one of the most highly respected usability experts online. A great blog with heaps of good advice on improving your website.

I’m sure there’s heaps more out there but if I don’t get this posted I never will so feel free to post your own recommendations below.

3 of My Favourite Web Design Books

I’m a book lover. Everything about books, from their smell and design to the content inside appeals to me. So you can imagine my pleasure when discovering great books about my other great passion – web design. So without further ado here’s 3 of my current favourite web design books:

  1. Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug

    2. As much about usability as web design, this book is one of the best resources on building effective websites. As Steve says:

    It’s a fact: People won’t use your website if they can’t find their way around it.

  2. The Big Red Fez by Seth Godin

    3. A simple, straight forward book focusing on how to make any website better. Again focused on usability as much as web design The Big Red Fez provides real world examples of what it takes to create a website that satisfies your visitors and ensures they keep coming back.

  3. The CSS Anthology by Rachel Andrew

    4. As a relative newcomer to CSS this book provides practical solutions to building a CSS, standards compliant website.

This list is by no means exhaustive but it’s a great start. I’ll keep adding to it as I discover new books I love. It’s also an excuse to keep buying them. 😉