An e-commerce website is just like a physical store. Only an attractive window display in the storefront will attract more walk-ins, like say, in a cluttered space like a mall. It is pretty much the same when it comes to online stores. There are millions of e-commerce businesses today, your website is a chance to make a good first impression. Here, design is not just the visual aspects of your website, but also the overall user experience. Both aspects have a direct relation to how much time users spend on the site and how quickly they can recall your brand.
Solid marketing strategies are imperative for sales, yes, but a neatly packaged website is just as important to get the maximum output from the marketing activities. For example, SEO can draw hundreds of users, but only an effective e-commerce website tailor-made for your products can boost sales. Remember, it only takes a few seconds for consumers to form an opinion on your brand.
Here are some tips to follow and factors to consider for designing an effective e-commerce website:
Have a clear visual hierarchy
Keep it clean, simple and easy to understand. Your website visitors should not feel lost or overwhelmed as soon as they open the site. Every element on your site should have a purpose. Keep the most important information on top of the page. Some of the elements that are usually added on the homepage are logo, search bar, navigation menu, a hero image or sliders, a small area for the main content and a footer.
Use high- quality images and videos
There is plenty of data to back up the fact that high-quality and visually appealing images contribute to increasing conversion rates. Use professional images for your products catalogue, banners, ads, social media and for any other place you might use them on your website. Low-quality images show that you simply don’t care enough. A good product image is more often than not a tipping point in the decision-making process of online shoppers.
Keep your content Scannable
Users don’t want to read long copies. Period. Present your content in an easy-to-scan format–be it product descriptions, ‘about us’ page, blogs etc. Keep sentences and paragraphs short, use design elements like boldening, bullet points or colours to break up large blocks of text. The easier and simpler your content, the more likely audience will absorb the key message.
Be Mindful of the colours
Colours evoke emotions. They help convey the vibe and feelings you want consumers to associate with your brand. Colour is one of the most important and powerful tool to be mindful of in your design process. They set the tone for your website, use them rightly and use them to your advantage. Most websites have a lighter background to highlight the product images.
Consistent brand Language
When it comes to web design, it is important to use consistent typography, colour combinations, illustrations, patterns etc. throughout the website and ensure it corresponds with the social media pages too. Your online store is a major part of the brand’s identity and it is imperative that all the elements–design and content–convey the attributes you want the products and brand to embody. The stronger and consistent you are with your brand language, the easier it is for users to recall your brand.
Easy Website Navigation
Consumers shop online for convenience. Designing a website is all about making the experience as seamless and natural as possible. The major challenge of UX designers and e-commerce web developers today is to create websites that smoothly lead the consumers to the most important step–to purchase or register or sign up or whatever the goal. Follow an easy and simple navigation structure, test out various options before your website goes live.
Well- Defined Product Categories & Sitewide search bar
The easier and faster it is for your consumers is to find their desired product, the more likely it will become a sale. A sloppy and scattered categorization of your products will kill your sale faster than a bolt of lightning. Make your product page and categories easy to navigate and search-friendly. Reiterating the previous point–CONVENIENCE must be one of your main goals to achieve with your online store!
Make it Responsive
Buying power of the smartphone obsessed generation is increasing, your e-commerce website should be optimized for that. Your online store should work equally smooth on mobile, as it does on PCs or laptops. Ensure that your website design is responsive and has functional buttons when it is used on a mobile phone. Implement responsive website design to render successfully, without any shortcomings, across all digital devices.
Add Social Proof
The first and most obvious way to build trust is social proof! While designing your website, make sure that there is enough and more place to showcase reviews, testimonial, awards, certifications etc. Actively ask customers to review your products and their experience with you, display them in various touchpoints and feature them in your blogs. The more your website visitors see how other consumers have had a positive experience with you, the more trustworthy your brand becomes.
Use A/B Testing
While designing your website, have at least two variations. Experiment with the flow, structure, placement, colour, font etc. and use A/B testing to see which works better for consumers. You can use the metrics to enhance your website experience. Change of background colour, using a different font, the placement of your CTA…even the smallest of changes can have drastic improvements in your overall user engagement!
Wrapping up…
Like many other aspects of digital marketing, E-commerce web development is an ever-changing landscape. Be updated on the new trends, new tools, user behaviour data etc. to ensure that your online store doesn’t just look great but also has great sales numbers.
