by rithik raheja
Published Fri, Mar 3rd 2017, 15:49 | Health
Ecommerce solution providers and now providing hundreds of free ecommerce templates and are even throwing in free live chat software suites to try to entice new subscribers. All this free stuff going around is good but it can sometimes be a bit confusing to new online merchants.
To many new merchants, choosing a free ecommerce template is a no brainer - just pick the one that looks the coolest. How hard can that be?
In actual fact, ecommerce templates - free or otherwise - contribute to a page's 'stickiness'. If a page is 'sticky', visitors tend to stay on the page longer. A few other elements also contribute to this - an arresting title, interesting content as well as captivating photos.
Matching Template To Logo
Free template designs used to look like after thoughts provided by ecommerce solutions providers so that they could proudly proclaim that they were giving out useful free stuff that would save merchants' time when setting up a store. Well, although there are still a few stale looking free ecommerce templates still floating around out there, many ecommerce shopping cart software firms have invested in providing merchants with fresh, clean and attractive designs that reflect today's contemporary tastes.
But having a nice looking template is not sufficient. If you have an online store, you would probably have a store logo. One of the basic mistakes merchants make is not ensuring their store logo fits the free template designs they have chosen and vice versa. This is gives the store an unprofessional look and gives a bad impression to visitors. If you already have a store logo all prepared, choose a free template that matches it best so that the combination of components gives the page a professional feel.
Matching Template To Industry Type
Before choosing a template, visit a few sites of competitors and take note of the colors they use. You will notice that sites selling Dental ecommerce do not use the color red, because red is associated with blood and pain. Online stores selling perfumes usually go for pastel colored templates with flowery motifs. It all depends in what kind of feel you want your store give out in relation to the industry you are in and the products you have in store.
Think carefully about what kind of feel you would like your store to give out and then narrow down a few templates you think my fit your vision before making a final decision.
Fixed Width Or Full/Fluid Width
Fixed width templates are the ones that maintain their width no matter what the viewer's browser window size. Full or fluid width templates allows the template width to adapt according to the width of the browser window. Both options have their own pros and cons.
Most sites would use the fixed width option as it maintains the layout of the site. Some sites however, find that using fluid width allows for more content to be displayed within the first fold of a page. Of course the degree of success depends heavily on the content and layout as well. Try out both options and get a few objective opinions before you decide.
Harry Goldberg is a retired ecommerce entrepreneur who has built and sold over 100 online stores. He now shares tips on where to get free tools and features like free live chat software and where to obtain free ecommerce templates.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Harry_Goldberg/671003