ECommerce Web Design Tips-- Let's Grow!

Gone are the days when needing a new pair of jeans meant heading to the mall or the local department store and fighting traffic and the hustle-bustle of crowds to snag a brand spankin’ new pair of pants. Now, we can shop for almost anything online without ever leaving the house. We don’t have to fight off any angry shoppers for that last pair of designer pants; now we can browse thousands of different styles and sizes and purchase them in a matter of clicks—all from the comfort of our home.

Alas, it must be said that our technology addled world can’t always be so perfect. If you’ve ever had a bad experience while shopping online, you know that the ecommerce web design can be prove to be just as much of a hindrance than it is a help when shopping for purchases. When it comes to ecommerce web design, here are some best practices to apply when ensuring your customers have a pleasurable and stress-free online shopping experience.

Keep that search bar in plain view.

Shoppers sometimes come to an ecommerce site to browse, but more often than not, the person will already have something in mind to look for. Consider making your search bar the main focus of your ecommerce web design. It will encourage customers to look around your site and will also assist those who are looking for something more specific.

Allow customers to refine options.

Let customers to filter their search options to better provide them with results that they might be interested in. For example, with items such as clothing, make sure you include size filters so a customer won’t become frustrated when their search continually produces items that are not available in their size.

Improve immediacy and speed.

If your ecommerce web design becomes heavy and is crammed full of slow loading content, people who come to your website for a quick and convenient shopping experience will be quick to leave. Your website needs to be able to load on shoppers’ screens quickly and efficiently to keep them interested and engaged.

Clarify which items are out of stock.

You will have a ton of angry customers on your hand if you fail to let them know when you are out of a certain product. Once, I ordered a tee shirt that was actually out of stock on an online clothing company. I alerted them to the problem and they ended up refunding my money and sending me a free tee shirt. You could potentially lose money by having to “appease” those customers who complain about ordering an out-of-stock product.

Use quality photos.

We have yet to make online shopping into the equivalent of shopping for a product in person. The closest thing to seeing a product in person is providing high quality photos on your ecommerce web design. Using poor quality photos or having none at all opens the door for all sorts of problems. Potential buyers won’t want to buy an item they can’t see, and if they do, they could end up getting a product that looks entirely different than the one on the website. Without these photos, consumers will quickly become disgruntled.

Include testimonials.

You know that your product is phenomenal, but buyers might not want to take your word for it. They might, however, believe reviews left by customers who have already purchased the product. Don’t let the possibility of receiving negative reviews scare you—almost every product out there is bound to get some negative reviews, but those will just give you more room for improvement.

Eliminate checkout distractions.

It is so crucial not to distract your potential customer at this point in the buying process. You want them to be focused enough to complete the entire order. For your ecommerce web design, make sure you remove items like sidebar navigation and define a clear goal to the path. The more content on this page, the less appealing for the buyer.

Your ecommerce web design should be entirely focused on making the process of online shopping as simple and pleasant as possible. Shoppers who quickly become aggravated with the functions of your site are not going to stick around for long. For ecommerce web design especially, it is so important to build a website that is not just visually pleasing but is also easy to navigate and functional. For more ecommerce web design tips, contact an internet marketing agency that specializes in ecommerce and online marketing.