New year, same site, more sales. It’s a pretty good deal when you think about it. For wineries, a new year is a great chance to glow up the online store.
And you don’t need a new platform, a sexy theme or a terrifying developer quote to get there.
You’ve already done the hard bit: you’ve got the wine, the story and the customers.
When budgets are tight and attention is harder to earn, your online store has to do more of the selling on its own.
Then it’s about helping your store keep up.
Often, winery websites have an identity crisis.
They’re trying to sell wine, tell the family story, promote events, grow the club, talk about soil and feature the dog, all at once.
When everything matters equally, the customer doesn’t know what to do next.
People click around, then wander off without making a purchase.
Your store will always have more than one job, and that’s fine. The shift is deciding what matters most right now, then letting that priority lead while the other jobs play supporting roles. Maybe this is the year you finally push your wine club properly.
Maybe it’s about moving more of the core range, or clearing that ‘it’ll sell itself’ stock that definitely did not. Once the main outcome is clear, the store can guide people there faster.
If club growth’s the focus, ‘join the club’ shouldn’t be hiding halfway down the home page, like a dirty secret. It deserves a prime spot in the menu, a clear promise like ‘members get first pick of small batches’, and a page that helps people say yes without asking them to read your entire life story first.
Let the homepage choose the next step
A lot of wineries start with a gorgeous homepage. Big hero shot. Poetic line about place. Logo basking in the glow. It looks great, but your visitor’s usually thinking something much simpler: who are you, what do you sell, and how quickly can I get to it.
A helpful homepage is less Art Gallery and more Friendly Host At The Door. In that first screen, especially on mobile, people should see at least one clear way to move forward, like shop wine, join the club, or plan a visit.
Plain language beats mysterious Learn More buttons every time. The faster someone understands where to click, the less time they have to second-guess their intention.
One strong image that shows how it feels to drink your wine, plus a short headline and a couple of obvious options, will usually outperform a carousel nobody waits around to see slide two of.
The nice thing is you don’t have to mess with code to do any of this. It’s editing, not engineering. Tighten the headline so it actually says something. Swap out anything above the fold that doesn’t support your main sales goal for the year.
Turn product pages into real salespeople
If there’s one spot where your strategy either sings or stumbles, it’s the product page. A lot of them still read like lab reports, filled with clones, pH, barrel regime and a tasting note that could belong to half the Shiraz in the country.
Impressive for judges, less helpful for someone scrolling on their phone between school pickup and dinner.
A sales-ready product page does three things fast. First, it says what the wine’s for. ‘Pizza night Pinot that’s not afraid of extra chilli flakes’, or ‘long lunch Chardonnay that keeps everyone at the table a bit longer’. Second, it explains how it feels to drink it in words a normal person can repeat.
Bright and juicy. Plush and rich. Crisp and seaside friendly. Third, it makes buying the path of least resistance with price, add to cart and key info are right there, because confidence drives conversion.
You don’t need to rewrite the entire site in one heroic sitting, you can start with your top five sellers. Explain when and where this wine shines, then add a small Drink With or Best For, using real food and real moments.
Keep the tech detail for those who want it, but don’t let it push the buying cues out of view.
Curate your online shelf like a real one
In a cellar door, nobody lines things up purely by grape and vintage then walks away. There are staff picks, mixed packs, ‘try this if you liked that’ suggestions and a quiet little section for the crowd favourites. Online, that guidance often disappears and we’re back to ‘Red’, ‘White’, ‘Rosé’ and a prayer.
Your online collections can do more heavy lifting than that. Instead of only sorting by variety, you can build ranges around real life, like weeknight savers, fire pit reds, long lunch whites, cellar door at home.
These names make people smile, but more importantly they reduce decision fatigue. It’s the digital version of a staff member saying, “If that’s what you’re doing this weekend, start here.”
This is strategy, not a spending spree. You’re not rebuilding your store, you’re rearranging the shelf you already have, so the right wines stand where people can actually see them. If there are wines you want to move, give them a clear role and a clear reason to exist.
Smooth out the friction you can see
Even when a customer likes what they see, tiny annoyances can quietly knock them off course. Surprise shipping costs. Confusing forms. A checkout that feels longer than it needs to be. These rarely result in angry emails; they show up as abandoned carts and lost sales.
Start with the basics. If you offer free shipping over a certain amount, or flat rates to certain regions, say that early and often. If you need a date of birth or a phone number, add a short line explaining why, so it feels considered, not invasive.
Then grab your phone and go through your own checkout like a stranger. Notice where you pause or hesitate. Those moments are friction, and friction costs money.
From there, look at gentle prompts that support people who already want to buy. A note that someone’s close to free shipping, a suggestion to add a second bottle, or a simple reminder of club benefits can all feel like good service when they’re done with restraint.
None of this requires a rebuild. It’s about clarity, not complexity.
When your store makes it easier to choose, it makes it easier to buy.
Tash Stoodley is the proprietor of digital marketing agency Savvy. Email [email protected] or visit www.savvycomms.agency.
• First published in WBM – Australia’s Wine Business Magazine. Subscribe to the beautiful printed edition here.
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