E-commerce web design: the basics

When a potential visitor comes to your website, before they read a word, their first impression will be based primarily on the look and feel. Details like colour palette, logo design, and legible, appropriately themed font combine to create the impression you want to make. Consistency is key!

Ecommerce User Experience Essentials

This is where ecommerce development begins to overlap with the operational side of your business.

Data collected over the last few years has revealed a lot of useful information that can be used to tailor your ecommerce site to the needs and expectations of your customers.  Here are some of the things that online shoppers look for specifically when making a purchase:

• Reliable, 24-hour customer service contact options,
• Clear pricing details and a secure, streamlined payment transaction process,
• A choice of delivery options,
• A search function that allows them to filter products and find what they want quickly,
• Reviews and testimonials from other online customers.

The key here to ensure that all of these elements are accessible for users. The number one rule of ecommerce design is to remove as many obstacles as you can from the purchase process.

When customers are unable to locate a key piece of information relating to their purchase decision, this creates an unnecessary pinch point in your sales funnel.

Customer Service is a Key Element

It may seem like a given that consumers expect excellent customer service, but online shoppers expect more than one way to get in touch with your business if they need to.  Customers need to trust an online seller.

Make your customer service options highly visible on your e-commerce site, and offer as many avenues to reach someone friendly and knowledgeable as you reasonably can. You need to cover a variety of demographics’ expectations and levels of digital literacy.  Especially consider your International visitors.

Some shoppers prefer to make a phone call and speak to someone directly, while others prefer making contact through email or live chat. These are all options to think about - if you are offering a phone number make sure that someone will be there to answer it.

BIt is important that you have systems in place to keep track of the customer service related interactions that you have with individual shoppers.

Ensure High Navigability on your Ecommerce Site

While minimising clutter in your design is a necessity, it’s also important for your customer to have the information they might need on a given page at a glance.

Additionally, it should be as easy as possible for users to find relevant pages on your site. In general, each page should be accessible from any other page in 1-2 clicks.

Creating a navigable ecommerce site creates a couple of extra challenges. For one thing, customers are likely to move back and forth between different experiences/products while they’re trying to make a decision about which to buy. Customers may also want to review which items they’ve placed in their basket so far.

This requires utilising drop-down menus for navigation, or allowing customers to view the number of items and the current total of what they have in their cart from any page.  Make sure that any potential extra costs related to shipping or delivery are outlined clearly.

Product pages should consist of a high-quality image of the item, personalization options, a brief description, price and the availability status. If applicable, list or link to reviews from other customers, as well as related items.

Reading other reviews can increase the likelihood that a browsing shopper chooses to buy.

Create a Mobile and Cross-Channel Ecommerce Experience

Mobile shopping has seen a tremendous amount of growth in recent years, with consumers making purchases from their smartphones or tablets.  Shoppers utilising mobile devices do so because of discounts or special deals which are available through mobile sources. 

Many online shoppers also look for some kind of social media presence, particularly Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, from online outlets that offer unique deals to followers. This is also an excellent way to target repeat customers

Focus on Increasing Average Lifetime Value

Customers who have made a previous purchase on your e-commerce site will spend over twice as much time on a repeat visit to the site than new visitors will. Naturally, this makes them more likely to make a purchase as well.

As such, the best way to grow your ecommerce business is to focus on your customers’ average lifetime value (ATV). Essentially, this is the total amount the average user spends from their first purchase to their last.

This can be improved by improving your customer retention rate, so that your users stay loyal to your business for longer. Alternatively, you can maintain your retention rate, and increase the average order value of your customers, through upselling.

Offering sales and special incentives to customers that have purchased with you in the past makes them more likely to come back. They’re also more likely to mention their positive experience with your website to other people.

There are a number of ways to do this.

One is to offer unique discounts which reward customer loyalty. You can also create a referral marketing program, to reward customers who recommend your products to a friend or relative.