Website Checklist for Retail Garden Centers

Timothy HowardClarity Connect, Inc.

Holly Springs, NC 27540(919) 577-9901

www.clarity-connect.com

What are Your Business Objectives? • Getting new customers• Increasing frequency of purchases • Increasing average order size– Trying new products– Complementary products– More of the same

• Improving margins• Getting first time customers to become repeat

customers

What are Your Calls to Action?• What do you want your site visitor to do?– Call us– Visit us– Check back for an update– Sign Up for our E-Newsletter– Complete wholesale

customer application– Order Now

First Time Visitors• What is your place like?– Photo Gallery

• What kinds of stuff do you have?– Scanable text combined with photos

• What’s your specialty or focus?– Scanable text combined with photos

• Do you have any specials?• When are you open?• How do I get there?• Social Media Links• Sign Up for E-Newsletter

First Impressions….

What did you see?

Wow! What a beautiful place.

Focus

Hours

Directions

Social Media

Specials

E-News

Repeat Site Visitors• Share what’s new (that would be interesting or

relevant to your customer)• Pitch what is on sale• Provide instructions for easy seasonal projects– Include product lists

• Local Gardening Information Resource– Plant Library - info to:

• Sell it• Have success with it

– Articles and Information• Seasonal

– How to Prune a Rose bush• ‘Evergreen’ (always good)

– Composting

• Online Ordering

Buy Online

LocalGardening Info.

Events (What’s New)

Plant Info

Find Plants Quickly

Great Info

Homeowner Gardening Tips

Companion Plants

Selecting a web designer• Local vs. Remote• Individual vs. Company• Template vs. Custom• Designer vs. Techy• Static vs. Content Management System (CMS)• Recipe vs. Consultative• Expansion capabilities• Ability to help with content• Experience– Total, Horticulture Specific, Search Engine Optimization

• Support– Availability, human vs. e-mail

Key Take-aways• Don’t have site, ‘just to have a site’• Build your sites to achieve specific business

objectives• Sites designed by 18 year old kids for $200

generally look like sites designed by an 18 year-old kid for $200

• Text is king when it comes to search engine results

Key Take-aways - 2• Design look and feel needs to reflect your physical

location and the real customer experience• Content should be written for the site user, not to

demonstrate how smart you are– Plant descriptions for retail customer should be

different than for wholesale customers– Nobody cares ½ as much about your business as you

do

Questions?

Comments?

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