There’s a lot of debate about whether interesting graphics really help or hinder online sales.  I’m sure a number of intelligent marketing tests have been done to investigate whether or not including great-looking graphics on your site really helps add credibility – the kind of credibility that leads to sales.  I haven’t seen any of those reports, but I have read articles by top marketing experts that say the opposite is actually true – plain text sells best.

So, if that’s true, why do we see so many pages with fancy headers, footers, “virtual” boxes and book covers, etc.?  You would think that everyone would go the “simpler” route of throwing up a sales letter with a link to their payment processor near the bottom of the page (before the ubiquitous PS).  It would stand to reason that if research indicates that graphics reduce sales conversions more people would choose to forego the time and expense of adding them.

But, most people fail to consider that there are other variables at work.  I would like to see a study that compares text-only sales conversions with sites that include nice graphics along with a few other variables thrown in. 

For example, do graphics help relatively new online businesses more than established firms?  In other words, once an individual or business establishes credibility with their market, do graphics then become a hindrance?  And would having the extra graphics actually work better to boost credibility for the newcomer?  Or does it even matter?

And I’m sure the actual content of the sales letter would make a huge difference.  You really get into elements like the heading, sub-head, use of bold and highlighted characters, testimonials, Johnson Boxes, etc.  Effective sales copy becomes much more critical when that’s all you’re relying on to get the sale.  I’m talking about copy using techniques like Joe Vitale’s famous “hypnotic” methods to send customers into “buying trances.”

I personally like to see nice web graphics, but I’m not sure they actually influence me to buy any more or less than a site without graphics.  The sales copy really has the most influence, but I haven’t really stopped to think about whether or not the graphics make me feel more or less like making a purchase.  Perhaps that’s something to consider when visiting a new site.

If you have any information on how the use of web graphics helps or hinders online sales, I’d like to hear about it.  Or, if you have a personal opinion on the subject, I’d like to hear that.  I think this is a subject worthy of a bit of discussion.  Our online sales are at stake.