E-commerce Web Design

The single most important goal of an eCommerce website is getting the visitor buy something. To do this you need to understand the psychology and marketing strategies that need to be part of your eCommerce web design. There are many principles to be considered by web designers, all of them relating to online selling techniques.

First, what kinds of brick and mortar store would you rather shop at? At a small store with a few items for sale where the merchandise is not well organized, things are hard to find and where the check out stand is a long complicated process? Or would you rather shop at a store with good selection, well organized into departments, well lit with wide aisles and a quick and easy checkout?

Why should an eCommerce store be any different? Many of the same principles that we apply to traditional retail stores need to be applied to your eCommerce website. Make it easy to find products. A good eCommerce website design will lead the visitor to the right page in one or two clicks at most.

An eCommerce web design is very much about the layout. There are two types of eCommerce websites and each requires a different approach to layout.

1. Customers arrive ready to buy. These are standard everyday products that people are familiar with. They do not need to be educated in order to get them to purchase. This could include clothing, games and products that they could find in a department store. The layout of these stores should have pictures of products on the home page with pricing and a buy now button
2. Customers need to be pre-sold. These are specialty products or services where there needs to be an education process or pre-sales discussion so they can understand the features, benefits and advantages of what you have to offer. The design and sequence of this process is important to design into the website.

A good eCommerce website design presents a clean, organized store where products are easy to locate and visitors are allowed to shop the way they want. Business web design combines a great image along with traffic building strategies. These are 5 website design pointers to improve the effectiveness of your online store once a visitor arrives.

Plan your layout

Avoid a cluttered layout. Visual cluttering is a result of trying to put too much information onto a single page. You should limit your design to no more than 10-15 products per page and no more than 600 words of text.

Organize

Break text up into easy to read blocks or columns the way a newspaper does. Use graphics and colors to help break up the page to give a clean graphical look. Add headlines above blocks of text to allow visitors to quickly scan a page. Your website design layout should make it clear what it is they will find on your website. Design a clear path for navigation to guide your visitor through your website.

Categories

Add navigation and category listings so customers can find products in different ways. Use categories like departments in your store, and sub-categories if you stock a wide variety. Allow customers to browse by price category, newest products or most popular products.

Add Search Capability

If customers have something specific in mind or know exactly what they want, allow them to search by keyword, brand, model number or a combination of these. Keep the search simple, intuitive and easy to use.

Keep the Checkout Process Simple

30-60% of customers abandon their order at checkout because of usability issues. Design your process to be 1-2 pages and only request necessary information. Use clean and organized design layouts and add a confirmation page.

E-commerce is based on trust. Other than the store itself, what other pages should be included in an eCommerce website design? There are number of other pages, each designed to build trust, to answer a shopper’s questions and to put them at ease in doing business with you.

About Us

This is where you tell your story and tell why you are better to do business with than your competitors, what is the company’s purpose, the history of your company, your philosophy of doing business. Use a creative and interesting writing style to let your potential customers get to know you. This is one of the most read pages in a website.

Testimonials

People will trust what other people say about you, much more then what you say about yourself. Positive customers that are specific are the most powerful. Here is an example of a powerful testimonial with detail. “You guys are great and helped me out of a jam, your customer service ran my order out to the airport so I could get it the same day. You’re the best!”

FAQ

Frequently asked questions are an important part of the pre-sale step. By posting answers to the common questions being asked, you reduce the phone calls and emails from potential buyers. By satisfying the visitor’s questions on the spot, they are much more likely to make an
immediate purchase.

Privacy Policy

People are wary and want to protect their personal information. They want to know how you are going to use this information and if you will pass it onto others. This is another element in building trust. Privacy Policy Generator

Return Policy

One of the best ways to put customers at ease is through a well-thought-out and prominently posted returns procedure. This can range from all sales final to complete refunds.

These content pages help the sales process, build trust and ultimately lead to more sales for your eCommerce store.