13 E-commerce Design Tips to Improve Online Sales

E-commerce websites are now easier to design than ever. Nowadays you can simply purchase a premade theme or website template that is featured with well-documented instructions for customizing. So the real work falls on finding the right features for your e-commerce business and personalizing it to fit your business needs. You will need the services of a professional web design company to

E-commerce websites are very different from regular sites. They have to incorporate functions of content, commerce, search, security and transaction process. A good e-commerce designer will be able to combine all these needs in a way that is aesthetically pleasing while providing an efficient shopping experience for the customer. When you’re working on an e-commerce design, these tips might seem incredibly obvious, but they go a long way in making your website stand out from the crowd of standard templates that dominate the web today. Think about usability and how a visitor would use your site rather than what will look the prettiest or what is easiest for you to build.

Below are some tips on e-commerce design that can help you develop your own successful site.

1. Think like a website visitor

The best way to make an e-commerce site that is simple and aesthetically attractive is to think like the people who will be visiting it. Don’t include features or information that nobody’s going to want or use, but don’t leave out something that you might not have thought of if you are too close to the project. It doesn’t hurt to ask friends who cover different groups of potential customers what they would look for in an online store if you’re having trouble getting started. Once you have some good ideas for your product pages, sorting through inventory will go much more quickly as well since all items will have pertinent details size, color, weight, etc. While this might seem obvious, it’s surprising how many people forget to include details like this for common or popular products.

It’s important to know who your visitors are before you put the site together. For example, if your visitors are business owners or managers with little time on their hands, then they won’t want to be bogged down with too much text and images that don’t directly relate to the products being sold. Make sure images and content are concise and easy-to-digest so your visitors have an enjoyable shopping experience that doesn’t require them to do any additional research after reaching out to you.

2. Use High-Quality Images

The next step in a good design is high-quality images of the product you are selling. This doesn’t mean sending a few pictures off to a photo studio unless you have a good reason to do so; It’s usually better to take pictures yourself with your quality camera or phone that can get up close and personal with your goods.

Just because there is more focus on the images than the text doesn’t mean that you can skimp on quality. For products with a strong visual element, such as clothing and accessories, it’s important to present your product in its best light so customers aren’t disappointed when they receive their purchase and see it for themselves. High-resolution images serve to enhance the buying experience and increase conversions. Make sure you show off your products well in your e-commerce design but remember that too many images can get distracting and make it hard for people to navigate around. When possible, include a few simple product shots on one page and link to other pages or new windows where customers can view more detailed images and information on the individual products.

3. Make It Look, Professional

Your e-commerce website should look professional if it is to have any chance of being successful, just like a good business card needs to look professional in order for your company to appear credible. You need your website to have the same level of professionalism as the rest of your business so it sends out an image which represents who you are and what you do best. Your e-commerce store may only consist of a few pages but every aspect of it should work together in order to portray the right image.

Good e-commerce design should reflect professionalism without being too flashy or unattractive. Whether you choose a traditional website template design or custom web design using advanced coding languages like HTML5 or CSS3, make sure colors are bright but not overwhelming at first glance, fonts are easy on human eyes yet legible enough to read small text displayed when needed, and the site layout is simple but not boring.

The look of your e-commerce website is everything. If your site looks amateurish or untrustworthy from a design perspective, visitors will leave before really giving you a chance. In order to prevent this from happening, make sure that your design is clean and easy-to-read while still maintaining a sense of style through use of color and typeface. The visual elements of your entire website can make or break its success. Poorly designed websites often lose their audience and customers wonder if the product is just as unattractive.

4. Make categories easy to navigate

You need to make sure that it is easy for customers to navigate around your site. Customers should easily be able to find what they are looking for and then add it to their basket. If your website does not have a clear structure then you will quickly lose the confidence and loyalty of potential and current customers and eventually drive them away.

Though some experienced online shoppers are familiar with browsing for an item in several different websites, new web users usually shop in one place. Create a design that allows them to find what they want with ease through buttons or links displayed prominently and using clear and concise language without too much jargon like “eastern star” instead of “battery operated decorative string lights.”

5. Keep it Simple

Try to keep things as simple as possible, especially in terms of how much content your store contains. You should try to avoid using too much text when describing the products that you sell on your website. The more text you add the less likely people will be willing to read it so try writing short concise sentences which accurately describe the product without waffling. Your goal is to provide all of the detail that is required but no more.

In order to keep your e-commerce website simple, you will want to avoid making things too complicated by trying to cram all of your product information onto one page. This just overwhelms the visitor and makes them likely to leave without taking any action at all. Break up your content into several pages that cover different aspects of a product so that visitors have the information they need within easy reach. Remember: if a customer can’t find what they’re looking for quickly and easily, they will move on to a competitor site where the experience is more straightforward.

6. Use The Right Color Scheme

First impressions are everything on the web, especially when you’re selling products online. Customers need to trust that they can purchase from you without any fear or risk of scamming or poor quality service. One way to do this is by using high-quality images of your products in all their beauty, but another important factor is color choice. When creating an e-commerce store, stay away from bright reds and oranges because these are attention grabbing colors, but are also often associated with danger.

Instead, go for pastels or neutrals that will help your e-commerce store feel more reliable and trustworthy. You can also try picking a single color scheme that you use across all parts of the website, including headers, text, social media icons, etc., to make sure there is no conflicting information when it comes to trustworthiness. It’s also vital to use contrasting colors in order to create a sense of depth within the design, this will help separate out the different product categories and make it easier for users to find what they’re looking for.

7. Keep It Mobile Friendly

One of the most frustrating experiences that any web user can have is trying to browse or shop on a website that isn’t mobile friendly. If you own an e-commerce business chances are that your audience consists mostly of smartphone and tablet users (which Google has confirmed ). By designing your website with these devices in mind you’ll be sure to see positive changes in your traffic and conversions while also providing a much better experience for your customers.

It’s estimated by 2022 that 51% of web browsing will be done on mobile devices, which is why it’s so important nowadays to have an ecommerce site that caters to smaller screens. There are several ways you can optimize for mobile such as:

– Using larger fonts and buttons to increase clickability

– Creating a simplified user interface that doesn’t require as much scrolling

– Using HTML5 to improve search engine optimization

8. Use social proof

Social proof is a psychological principle which has a powerful impact on the behavior of others by suggesting that what other people are doing is right, proper, or desirable. By influencing human behavior, social proof techniques can be used in marketing and sales to convince prospective buyers that your product is legitimate and worth purchasing.

This is basically getting your visitors to see what other customers are saying about your brand. You can use this on your store by including reviews, badges for high traffic or even adding testimonials from renowned figures in the industry. There are tons of different ways you can do this so I recommend doing some research on which platform will be most effective for your business. It is simply the use of testimonials from past customers, social media statistics and general feedback in order to encourage a sale. When a potential customer sees that so many other people have made a purchase on your website in the past they are more likely to follow suit.

In addition to making a user feel comfortable, social proof plays a role in search engine optimization (SEO). It’s no secret that many search engines give greater weight to sites that have been linked from other credible sources.

9. Provide Multiple Ways To Get In Touch

This is an evergreen design tip that still remains one of the most important since it directly impacts customer satisfaction and loyalty. By ensuring that there are multiple options available to contact you online, you’re also able to better filter feedback and complaints. Depending on your business, I recommend different ways for your customer’s to get in touch with you.

If your company or brand has a solid online presence then you should be looking to provide as many different contact options as possible. Messaging applications such as Facebook Messenger and WeChat have become very popular over recent years and therefore it’s important that you’re available when customers need you most. For example, if you own an online clothing store that specializes in plus-size clothing then adding a live chat option is super helpful because it gives your customers an immediate solution to their problems.

10. Keep consistency and branding

Your brand should always be present in everything you do so making sure the logo and other branding is present and consistent across devices and platforms is important. Consistency helps to create a good user experience, whereas an inconsistent website can be very frustrating for a user. By maintaining a consistent look and feel across all pages of your online store you will make it easier for new users to navigate the site and achieve their goals

Branding across a variety of different channels is important in developing a recognisable identity. Ensuring that the logo, typeface and color scheme used across multiple channels align with each other will keep any brand identity strong amongst consumers over time. Keeping consistent imagery across all digital marketing avenues will add credibility and aid your search engine optimisation efforts by keeping your key business goals at the forefront of the mind

11. Make branding a priority

Customers often respond better to a company when they can clearly identify with its brand.

One of the most important aspects of branding is logo design, which needs to be simple and bold. The logo should be well designed and easy to recognise. It also needs to work well in different sizes and at different resolutions because it will likely appear in a number of places on your website.

As an e-commerce business owner, it can be easy to get lost in all of the different components and features your website might offer to customers. But when it comes down to it, brand should always come before user experience design. Your brand is what sets you apart from your competitors and ensures that people keep coming back for more; make sure you put the effort into creating a strong brand identity for this reason.

12. Make your content scannable

Don’t be like most e-commerce companies and let your product pages become a mess with critical information spread out everywhere; causing confusion and frustration for your visitors when they visit these pages. People do not tend to read every word on a web page (most people don’t  even read the first few words of an article on a web page… or even if it says “Skip to content” that is often ignored too).

So you need to make your product pages scannable and easy for visitors to digest information. To achieve this you can use bullet points, numbered list items, and bold text where applicable.

13. Make it Responsive

What better way is there than making your designs responsive so they adapt to any screen size? There is no excuse not to make their website responsive – with a little bit of work their website can look fabulous on any mobile device. There are so many benefits of making your website responsive, such as:

• 50% of users will abandon a website that is not mobile-friendly according to Kissmetrics.
• Google now prefers mobile friendly websites in search rankings too.

Don’t be like most e-commerce companies and let your product pages become a mess with critical information spread out everywhere; causing confusion and frustration for your visitors when they visit these pages. People do not tend to read every word on a web page (most people don’t even read the first few words of an article on a web page… or even if it says “Skip to content” that is often ignored too).

So you need to make your product pages scannable and easy for visitors to digest information. To achieve this you can use bullet points, numbered list items, and bold text where applicable. Don’t be like most e-commerce companies and let your product pages become a mess with critical information spread out everywhere; causing confusion and frustration for your visitors when they visit these pages. People do not tend to read every word on a web page (most people don’t even read the first few words of an article on a web page… or even if it says “Skip to content” that is often ignored too).

Conclusion

E-commerce web design is a highly technical field with many moving components and many different parties involved throughout the process. However, with time and patience, it can be simplified into a few key points that will ensure success each step of the way. In short, these rules should be followed for any website’s layout or functionality: Simplicity is key; give users what they want in the easiest way possible; create an uncluttered environment so customers know where to go to find exactly what they’re looking for without distractions; keep things consistent at all times so users can get used to your layout and know what to expect when visiting the site. Follow these guidelines and you’ll be well on your way to designing a website that your customers love and will want to come back for more.