Stores come in many forms: hobbies, experiments and livelihoods.  Our goal at Storenvy is to make setting up and outfitting your store as painless as possible, regardless of what you do.  But, in the end, it’s up to you and your products to win people over and sell, sell, sell.

Our friends at Willoughby Design took a few minutes to examine how Storenvy “customization” works and implemented a winning design that accomplished exactly what they set out to achieve.  Willoughby’s storefront features the “Willobag”, reusable shopping bags made of 100% ripstop nylon that can be folded into a 5″ x 5″ carrying pouch.  Check out their store and get your own Willobags in time for Christmas.

Let’s take a look at 3 simple things that Willoughby realized to implement their design:

1.  Background Image.

In your store’s admin panel, you have the option of uploading your own background image.  This image is centered at the top of the screen and repeats.  Willoughby made great use of this to make the image of the shopper flow behind the main container of the store.  If your first idea doesn’t work, don’t give up.  Remember, this is money we’re talking about!

2.  Header Image.

Designing the right header image for your store can make all the difference.  Do you need space above or below?  Build it into the image.  Would you like the background color or image to show through?  Be sure to save it as a transparent PNG.  Would you like your image to stretch the full width of your storefront?  Be sure it’s 980px wide.  Willoughby wanted a rotating image in their header.  They built a simple, but effective animated GIF to do the job.

3.  Colors.

The right color scheme can draw the buyers attention.  The wrong color scheme can send them away crying.  Be sure to take time to choose colors that complement and accent each other well.  If you need help, Google it, there is plenty of documentation out there on complimentary colors and color schemes.

A few other hints and ideas:

• Choose an avatar that fits your store personality well, be it a logo, product image or something else.
• Take care with your product photos.  Find a good camera, a good background and a good model.
• Upload multiple photos for each product.  Show the buyer what it looks like from all sides.  You can upload as many as 5 photos per product.
• Fill out your Store Details on the Settings page.  Give the buyer a good description of your store, where you are located and where else on the internet you can be found.
• Product descriptions could make or break the sale.  What is it printed on?  Is there anything special the buyer might want to know before they buy?

Happy Store Building & Happy Holidays!