8 DESIGN TIPS FOR ECOMMERCE WEBSITES 2021
The goal of good design is to sell as much as possible by relying solely on the brand. Thoughtful web design elements and bold statements will engage your potential customers and make them learn more about your company.
A good website with a quality design inspires users to take action, builds trust in your brand.
We wrote this article for those looking to improve the design of their e-commerce website. Whether you’re using WordPress, Wix, BigCommerce, or your own platform, the tips below are universal and grounded in key concepts in modern web design.
1. USE STORYTELLING
Every great product has its own story. Anyone can create a good e-commerce site and sell products, but not everyone is able to form a successful brand that these products belong. If you want to create a quality brand with a good image, you must tell a compelling story. Storytelling builds customer loyalty to your brand. Moreover, they are more likely to remember your brand if they are convinced of your sincerity and individuality. The best way to highlight your personality is to tell a story (storytelling is a marketing technique). To create a story, answer the following questions:
- What prompted you to create a specific product?
- What impact has your product had on your daily life?
- What is your vision for the future?
- Who is your target audience?
By answering the above questions, you will get a clear idea of how to structure your website design. Make your clients feel like they are a part of something special. With excitement, your users will come back to your online store over and over again.
2. REDUCE THE RANGE OF PRODUCTS OFFERED
Poorly designed navigation is a sign of a poor-quality e-commerce site. The main goal is to attract the user to add an item to the shopping cart. If on the way to this the user receives offers to buy hundreds of other products, his patience will run out, and he will most likely leave your site. Walmart is a good example of how not to do it. The interface of their site is an oversaturated list of products on offer. Your head will literally be dizzy before you find the product you were looking for.
The easier it is for a buyer to find the product he is looking for, the more time he has to familiarize himself with its description, and the higher the probability of making a purchase.
Helpful Hint: Consider navigating your site using Sketch, Photoshop, or any other template-making tool. Analyze how easy it is for a user to navigate to a home page, a product catalog, or a specific product page.
Don’t neglect this, perhaps the most important tip for designing an e-commerce website.
3. USE COLOR SCHEMES THAT EVOKE EMOTION
Colors and shades have a psychological impact on potential consumers, contributing to the growth of the number of sales long before the transition of the business to the Internet. By understanding the emotions evoked by this or that shade, you will create a site that will evoke certain feelings in visitors. Consider a list of colors and their corresponding emotions:
- Red. Strength, energy, power, danger, food association.
- Orange. Warmth, aggression, success, association with representatives of the younger generation.
- Yellow. Optimism, happiness, energy, food association.
- Green. Wealth, nature, freshness, color that is well perceived by the human eye does not tire.
- Blue. Trust, security, cooperation, peacefulness, faith, wisdom.
- Purple. Royalism, luxury, tranquility, mystery.
- The black. Power, formality, thoughtfulness.
- White. Cleanliness, positive, association with the medical profession.
When choosing a color that will evoke certain feelings and emotions, consider the characteristics of both your product and the representatives of the target audience. For example, if you sell organic products, green will evoke a sense of nature, naturalness.
Research shows that, on average, consumers form their opinion about your product within 90 seconds. Most of this experience (about 70%) is formed by interacting with colors and shades.
4. CREATE THE RIGHT STRUCTURE
Users from the impression of your brand not because of its catchy name, but because of its overall image. When it comes to a website, the structure of its pages plays an important role. For example, are you using the same colors and fonts on all pages? Vibrant templates create an unforgettable experience. If you use different colors on different pages of your sites, you may be considered a diverse brand.
If you want to create a recognizable and memorable brand, use common elements in your page templates. Even if you offer many variations on your product, creating pages that share common features will emphasize your brand. Moreover, it is the key to increasing sales.
5. EXPERIMENT WITH PERSISTENCE AND URGENCY
Persistence is an element used for topical or exclusive offers. For example, at the top of the Bestbuy page are products with attractive purchase conditions. However, there are other ways to help create a sense of urgency.
High shipping costs are one of the main reasons why many customers refuse to checkout for items added to their cart. You can increase sales and profits by making exclusive offers with low shipping costs. This tactic is used by many brands, including Bestbuy. Amazon is known for its Prime service, which provides free shipping for most items. Also, try to encourage your customers to spend a specific amount on your store by offering free shipping instead.
Another example of creating a sense of urgency or checkout is by limiting the number of items available. For example, let’s say you sell a great sweatshirt that you can deliver for free anywhere in your prospect’s country of residence, but this offer is available for a limited time. This trick is used by many e-commerce sites. You can also come up with your own ways to create a sense of urgency and need to make a purchase.
6. CLEAR AND ATTRACTIVE IMAGES
Conversion rates can be increased with high-quality, relevant, and visually appealing photographs, as evidenced by the results of numerous studies. The photographs may not only show the items on sale. Images, as an element of your website design, help to attract the attention of potential customers.
Good photographs and images evoke emotion, create a sense of your brand’s personality, and help you remember it better. The average person is able to store up to 2000 images in their memory.
If you don’t post images that represent your products, your sales will drop significantly. Try to convey the essence of your product with quality photos posted on your e-commerce site. You don’t need to use professional photographers to achieve this goal. Check out how-tos and guides to take great photos with your smartphone or low-cost camera. Plus, you can find many quality free images on sites like Pexels and Unsplash.
7. TEST YOUR SITE AS IF YOU ARE AN ORDINARY USER
Web design has two sides: professional and subjective. The first is directly related to the development of the design that meets all the leading trends in UX and UI. The subjective side of the design is the need to take a step back and look at the design of your site through the eyes of an ordinary user. Go to your site, study its main elements as if you are a regular visitor, answer the following questions:
- What does the website design look like in general?
- How quickly can you find the information you need?
- Is your site navigation simple and logical?
- How accurate are product descriptions?
- How long does it take to get to the checkout page?
By answering these questions, you will identify all possible problems that need to be addressed.
CONDUCT A / B TESTS REGULARLY
A / B testing is one of the most important tips, despite the fact that it is at the last place on our list. When conducting A / B testing, use two different site templates (A – the first template, B – the second). After a while, compare the performance indicators of the first and second templates. Metrics tracked: conversion rate, usability, general aspects of interaction with various elements of the templates.
Even small design changes improve the user experience with the site. Try different color options and other aspects of your site’s design to figure out what to focus on in your final design. Use the various optimization and A / B testing tools available on the internet.
CONCLUSIONS
Web design is a highly volatile environment. You will gain a competitive advantage and increase sales if you take into account patterns, customer behaviors, and the latest trends. Use our tips to improve the customer experience with your site. So don’t waste time and get to work.