If there is one industry that does not show any signs of stopping anytime soon, it is definitely the eCommerce sector. The industry continues to grow by leaps and bounds every single year. According to Statista, the eCommerce industry crossed the $5 Trillion sales mark in 2021!
This means that the future of shopping is a highly lucrative place to be for big and small businesses. However, there is no denying the fact that competition is severe, and making your eCommerce website design stand out requires you to put a lot of thought, effort, and investments.
If you are someone that is thinking of launching their eCommerce website or have one that is not being able to deliver in terms of your expectations, this article is for you. In this resource, we are going to cover the top 7 ways you can improve your eCommerce website design.
eCommerce Website Design: Why do you need to take it seriously?
When it comes to just about any website, design is an important part. When it comes to eCommerce websites, the importance of design grows to a different level altogether.
Just look at the competition that exists in your industry. You have businesses springing up eCommerce websites left, right, and center. If you are not able to make a lasting first impression, you will end up losing a potential customer forever.
Think about a real physical showroom. The best ones are clean, well-organized, with courteous staff, well lit and smell really nice. Now, what if I tell you that you need to replicate all this (apart from the nice smell!) and bring it to your online store?
Since your eCommerce website design needs to be representative of your brand/business, you need to make sure that not only does it look good but ticks off all the functionality boxes.
ECommerce website design is more than just designing a good-looking website. It is about integrating two critical performance aspects and making them a part of your design-
- Marketing strategy and approach
- Consumer behaviour, analysis, and assessment
Your eCommerce website design needs to take into consideration your overall marketing approach and strategies. It should also be consistent with consumer behaviour in terms of adding CTAs, mobile responsiveness, and app performance.
List of 7 Ways to Improve Your eCommerce Website Design
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Optimize your product imagery and make it presentable
Too few images, pixelated product photos, and huge renders that step out of boxes are just some of the problems you need to contend with. A good eCommerce website design needs to present the products as ‘heroes’. This means that there should be consistency in terms of the product images, compressing the sizes for greater loading speed, and finding the best agency that can help you with taking the photos and editing the same.
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Create a fast-loading eCommerce website that satisfies your On-Page SEO
A brilliantly designed website will not help you get the sales flowing if it is unnecessarily slow. According to experts, the loading speed of your eCommerce web pages should be less than one second. This means that in terms of the design, development, and overall site architecture, you need to focus on loading speeds. Compression of imagery, fast servers, and secure HTTPS tags are some ways that will help you boost your eCommerce site’s loading speeds.
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Ease of use and simple interface for the customers to find their way through
Have you noticed that the word ‘UX’ gets thrown a lot whenever an eCommerce website design is happening? This is primarily because, at the end of the day, it all boils to user experience. Complicated or complex web design is not going to help you win any brownie points with your customers. The best websites (think Apple) are simple, clear, and straightforward in nature. If you are cluttering the UX, you are distracting the consumers from your products.
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Have plenty of access points for customers to reach your service executives
Yes, it is true that eCommerce experiences have made customers pretty independent of what they are looking for. Yet, when it comes to shopping (or at least addressing grievances), the human touch still matters. The best and most successful eCommerce websites have dedicated sections where customers can reach them for manual queries, sorting of problems, and addressing issues. If customers can find you when they want to, they will like your website.
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Secure eCommerce websites, privacy, and payment options are critical
Every day you get up, you hear about some brand that has suffered from a data breach from a hack. This is the worst thing that could happen to your business. With eCommerce websites, the responsibility of the brand to protect the personal and financial details of their customers is of paramount importance. Do not hesitate to work with leading fintech players to create as secure a checkout and payment process as possible. This helps in confidence-building.
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Mobile optimizations and responsiveness should not be ignored at all
Did you know that 75% of all searches take place on mobile devices? When it comes to eCommerce websites, this figure is even higher. If you do not have an app or a mobile version of your website that is optimized and responsive, you are losing tons of potential customers. Additionally, you are falling out of favour with search engines like Google, which will surely penalize you if your website is not mobile responsive. Trust us; you do not want this at all.
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Social media proof is a big part of building credibility for your eCommerce website
The world is driven by social media. An eCommerce website is about building a community. If that is the aim, make sure that you are able to integrate live feeds from your social media channels and reflect them on your eCommerce website design. This adds credibility to your brand and allows potential customers that are on the eCommerce website to make purchases. Everyone wants to follow someone’s lead. The same is true for eCommerce websites as well.
The Final Takeaway
Creating a highly effective and performing eCommerce website design is not rocket science. At the same time, it is not something that is easy as well. You need help, guidance, and support from the most experienced eCommerce design companies. If you have any other questions on designing eCommerce websites, please let us know in the comments section below. We will try to address them as soon as possible.