The best ecommerce website design will pull in the most sales. Here are ten useful tips to help you create a website that will effectively work as your best sales tool!
1. Collect Samples of the Best Ecommerce Website Design
Before you start planning out what your website will look like, do some research to find some really outstanding examples to model. You might like certain elements from one site and you like the page layout used on another. You can find a plethora of different themes, fonts, and styles. Browse and pin ideas (or take screenshots and save several collections) from other websites that showcase some of the best ecommerce website design. This can be as fun as playing with paint samples.
At DotCom, our senior website designer is committed to a design process that always begins with creative research. Sam Natello routinely searches online to see new ways of doing things, and he leads his team to do the same. You might think you know what you want your website to look like, but until you have a visual collection of elements and examples to reference, it’s nearly impossible to build a quality website. To see some of the best ecommerce website design examples that have caught our attention, check out our post about the best way to design a webpage.
2. Written Content Should Start a Conversation
The point of your website is to start a conversation, and that’s where the words come in. Your site needs to feel interactive. Don’t try to cram everything you know about your business. It will overwhelm the visitor and drown out your message. When it comes to the words on your homepage, less is more. Most people just scan pages anyway, so make every word count with direct and compelling written content.
On the other hand, the more keywords and written content on your site, the better your search ranking and trust score will be – as a rule. But you can’t bombard visitors with a ton of unorganized, overly wordy content. There’s a careful balance in there way you write, organize, display your written content. For more help with content, read about new rules for brilliant content marketing.
Understanding the way that your visitors will navigate your site is necessary. Generally, people read through websites in an “F” pattern- first across the top, left to right, then down the left side and across again. You should have your links and headings organized this way with “click for more” functionality in order to reveal more information as needed. The idea is to draw your visitor in, and answer their questions when they click to ask for more. This is also a wise way to gather data. You can see what action the visitor takes on your site and track the analytics to find out what content gets the sales funnel moving and also see where you are losing them.
The best ecommerce website designers are intentional about using content to start a conversation. Content is a huge part of your website and it really will make or break the user experience. Use words and actions to move people through your site to learn more and ultimately buy your products and services.
3. High Quality Photography Makes the Best Ecommerce Website Design
Visual content is a big deal! There’s no easier way to tell if a site is one of the best ecommerce website designs or if it’s an amateur project. Professional product photography and quality imagery (even if you’re using stock photos!) will have a huge impact on your online sales. Regardless of your photography skills or budget, look at these examples we’ve collected showing the best way to photograph products.
4. The More User Friendly, the Lower the Bounce Rate
The best ecommerce website design is so easy to use that a typical American toddler could do it, provided they’re allowed to use a credit card. 😀 Surveys show that 20% of potential customers leave a website before final checkout because they can’t navigate the website easily. To be user friendly, a website should be laid out intuitively. Users shouldn’t have to think too hard about how to navigate their online shopping experience. Everything they need should be right there at their fingertips without having to search other pages or rake through tons of content.
5. Offer Incentives and Update Consistently
When designing your website, think about where you’ll feature special offers. This will entice and excite customers to make purchases and it shows that your site is regularly updated, even if it is just a small section. Examples of what to have in a special offers section include flash sales, free shipping, and VIP deals. Also, please don’t wing it. Have a ad campaign and sales schedule planned out before you launch (complete with codes, coupons, etc.) and keep consistently on top of this function of your website.
6. Drive Traffic with SEO and PPC Ads
Online space is getting crowded. Know how to come out at the top of search engine results. Pay per Click (PPC) and Search Engine Optimization are two ways ecommerce businesses are taking over space. Both of these ways are known to drive traffic to your site. Find out what’s best for your business: PPC or SEO.
7. Be Prepared to Evolve and Grow
Having a successful ecommerce website isn’t a been there, done that kind of thing. Success comes from maintaining your page just like you do your business. Keep up with the best ecommerce website design and adapt as new changes are made to the industry. Accept new forms of payment as necessary. Streamline your site to get rid of any features or pages that are underperforming. Read how top ecommerce website designs are the key to customer experience success. Your website design should evolve and grow with your business and design trends.
8. Analyze and Record Traffic
To follow up with the previous tip, we must advise you to analyze traffic and track visitor behavior. Assign someone to regularly check the analytics for your site. This way you can get to know who visits your website, how they found you, what they’re looking for, and how they respond to your website. Best ecomnerce website design practice is to build every page to serve a specifically targeted customer. It’s only possible to know whether you’ve effectively done if you’re watching the data.
9. Responsive and Mobile-Friendly is a Necessary Feature
According to an article from Business.com, at least 55% of online shopping takes place on mobile phones. Many ecommerce businesses are struggling because they haven’t adapted their page to functioning on a smaller screen. Don’t let your business suffer because your site isn’t mobile-friendly and responsive to all different types of devises. Learn by example, says Business.com, and check out their list of great mobile friendly ecommerce websites.
10. Don’t Jump the Gun! Test Before You Launch
Try the website yourself as a buyer and admin to get a feel of its final workings. Conduct several test runs with a variety of users to ensure all functions of the website work properly. When all is said and done (before going live), send the link to more people to test its functioning abilities. This final tip may sound like a no-brainer, but many people are so anxious to launch their website that they don’t check to make sure it is 100% functioning first. The last thing you want is for your website not to work properly. You shouldn’t have to interrupt your site and take it down for maintenance. Avoid that making mistake by testing out every area of your site – every code, every link, and every feature – before you launch!
The Best Ecommerce Website Design Leads to Repeat Business
With so much buying and selling taking place online, shoppers have loads of options and outlets to take their business. Give them a reason to do business with YOU, and work to stay at the top of their minds so they will return. By following these 10 tips for the best ecommerce website design, your site will leave a lasting impression that keeps happy customers coming back!
