Everything is now online these days, especially shopping and remote working is no longer a theoretical concept. The pandemic forced everyone to work remotely and this in turn paved the way for eCommerce to grow and rise.
Anyone selling products and services online (ranging from sauces, apparel, footwear, desserts and food items to automotive parts or services for hire), are hence part of the eCommerce ecosystem. Designing Ecommerce Site websites offer them the chance to build the brand, connect with more customers and sell more products/services.
But there is one catch; they need to have the right web design for their eCommerce sites.
How crucial is Designing Ecommerce Site?
Often taken for granted, web design’s role is key when it comes to creating any website, especially an eCommerce site. A top-notch web design is about using the right colors, the right fonts, images of correct quality and size, as well as the right amount of graphics; more than good enough to help convert a visitor into a customer. If needed, you should be able to do a Shopify bulk product image upload if that’s what you use, edit images as necessary, and add new visual elements over time.
In short, the eCommerce website should be designed in a way that can attract potential customers and convert them into real time customers via the best user experience, and with the store working and being presentable in the best possible manner.
Key tips for designing beautiful and functional eCommerce sites
Apart from the website looking good and feeling good, it should be able to attract a wholesome amount of visitors and convert them into customers, by making them buy from the site. How can that be done and how can such an eCommerce site be designed? Here are some key tips experts from an agency of eCommerce web design Dubai have decided to share with us today:
Making the website mobile first
The whole world is mobile. Hence, websites need to be planned with a mobile first perspective, even in design. Approximately three quarters of online shopping is done through mobile devices (apps and sites both included), and this makes it important that the eCommerce site being designed should be made on mobile responsive templates (in case mobile first isn’t possible).
Responsive templates display and work consistently across most devices (ranging from smartphones to tablets). They are also able to deliver a top-notch experience without any design constraint.
Apart from providing a consistent shopping experience on all devices, all padding of website sections and margins should not disappear on small screens. Font sizes and line spacing must automatically adjust to the amount of white space present on mobile and computer screens.
Should the website load fast? Yes it should because customers are more likely to purchase from faster loading websites. Google determined that an improvement of 0.1 seconds in mobile website loading speed improved conversion rates by 8.4%.
Keeping the website simple
Yes, without any doubt, regardless of whether it is a B2B2C eCommerce platform or a B2B eCommerce website, it should be kept as simple as possible. Is simple always better? Yes it is because no user or visitor should be overwhelmed with unnecessary graphics. Yes, all those banner ads, pop-ups and excessive colors make it a turn off and may not be able to help the site make a good sale.
No one needs a truck load of graphics on the eCommerce website but what they can do is make the web design clean, clear and user-friendly and with a clear focus on the sale.
User-friendly navigation is best thing to ever happen
A lot of websites out there are unable to give their users and visitors an idea where to find the needed page or product they need. This is known as bad navigation. It is because of a lack of search bar or the navigation bar is at the wrong place.
Even the presence of too many options to choose from is a problem. No visitor/user has the time to read all present options. Also, a lack of a clear CTA (Call to Action) button can complicate the purchase process.
Mobile versions of eCommerce sites should not have a lot of fly-out menus with a lot of options to choose from. To develop a successful eCommerce website you should understand user behavior and make your website possibly user-friendly. Firebase alternatives can be effective options. It is not possible to access some pages on phones. Since buyers do not like spending time to find product varieties, it is best to divide them into clear categories and subcategories. A proper call to action along with proper search and navigation bars are key to user friendly navigation. Hire a team of designers and developers, and give them the necessary resources for employee time tracking to improve their productivity.
Putting the products in the front and in the center
The store should highlight popular products, especially those that either sell the most, have the best reviews, the ones that are most lucrative to the store, or the best mix of all of them. They should be highlighted with contrasting colors, tweaking the layout or the image sizes, and making banners promoting them.
If the attention of website visitors can be diverted to the products the site wishes to push, they can end up with more sales. This is in line with building a display around top products or in other words, putting them at eye-level with the shelf of a typical store.
Creating dynamic page designs using a unique mixture of content blocks
Content blocks are building blocks which are out together to create webpages. Text blocks, image sliders and videos are key examples.
Mixing and matching content blocks can help create a worthwhile customer experience. Contrast can help customers identify various pages present, and even makes web pages showcase products nicely and be distinguishable from other pages too.
Making a clear conversion roadway
Color can help guide customers towards various pages which are important to the site. A lightly colored CTA button is hardly noticeable so hence contrast needs to be rethought.
Put it this way, if a CTA or another button isn’t that important, those buttons should have a neutral color to make them stand out. If a button can lead to a conversion, it should be colored in a way that it stands out (i.e. be eye-catching).
The company most likely needs to have guidelines for styling and branding. Once they select a color platter for the site’s web design, they need to use captivating colors which should neither be overwhelming nor be too bland. They can also consider expanding and adjusting their guide to help enable raising the online conversion rates.
Offering a wide array of customer support functions
Apart from simplifying the checkout process and the navigation, it should be easy for customers to reach the company in case of any issue. This is the reason the contact us page should have details of customer service division. A live chat function, an automated chatbot, integrated social channels and FAQs (frequently asked questions) written in easy terms are best. In addition to this, you can also offer referral rewards encouraging them to promote eCommerce products.
Optimizing for various devices
People do not browse solely on computers or laptops today. Tablets and phones are now part of the mix, and now phones are generating the most online traffic. The website should be optimized and tested for a wide array of devices. In short, no customer should be alienated by offering top experience on mobile only but leaving behind tablets, laptops and computers. Moreover, if you later use eCommerce PPC services, your customers will more likely to trust your store and come back to it all the time.
Honest pricing is key to conversion too
No store can ever use tricks in pricing these days. Customers love it when they see honest and accurate pricing, as this helps them expect the best things at checkout. The checkout and shipping are calculated in the end but hidden charges need to be avoided. The latter will definitely overturn conversions and purchases.
Also, higher than expected prices will cause prospective customers to leave their cart and head for a competitor.
Being customer-centric
The most important thing for eCommerce sites is remembering the user. That is why creating the best shopping experience will help them come back for more. To build brand loyalty and to convert visitors into long term customers, the eCommerce site should be customer centric.
One of the best ways of doing so is making the purchase process easy, writing accurate and well-crafted product descriptions, utilizing a smooth interface and using a well-thought color scheme.
When eCommerce sites engage with customers, either through social media surveys or other channels, they can get real time feedback about what they love and what they would love to see improve.
Customers will then notice the amount of work which was put into optimizing both the store and the user experience (UX). Once this is done right, it will leave a long lasting impression. Also, no store should hesitate to take customer feedback for more improvements.
Making sales with a difference
At the end of the day, the online store is present for the sake of making a good amount of money. Each decision about the store should hence lead to making worthwhile sales and getting a decent profit. Using each tip present can help eCommerce sites earn more customers, make more sales, improve areas which are pegged back, and be remembered among everyone.
Moreover, flexibility of payment options should be offered. That way, customers can rely shopping from that store which can give them multiple and flexible payment options.
Conclusion
