- Identifying the Goals
- Defining the Database Tables
- Adding Reviews
- Retrieving and Aggregating Reviews
- Promoting and Perfecting the System
Promoting and Perfecting the System
Just as creating an excellent website that sells excellent products does not guarantee success, creating a smart, functional review system does not mean it’ll be used. To encourage use of the system, promote it in many ways:
- Email customers that have purchased an item asking them to rate and review it (the email should provide a direct link to the review form)
- Indicate the overall rating and number of reviews in a product’s short description and near the top of the product’s full description page
- Allow the customers to browse or filter results by product rating
Not only will a good review system encourage customers to buy products, but it will help you know what the site should, and should not, sell. In all, it’s a smart feature to add to pretty much any e-commerce site, and one that you can implement in as simple or complex a way as is appropriate.