Best Practices for eCommerce Web Design for 2023

The Ultimate Guide To eCommerce Website Design Best Practices in 2023

Whether your eCommerce website offers physical or digital goods such as software or consulting services, you must have a strong online presence based on best practices. With so much competition in the eCommerce market, there are several challenges to overcome in order to establish your place online.

When you start an eCommerce website, you are competing not just with local or regional sites, but also with global sites like Amazon. This is why it is critical to pay attention to every component of your eCommerce website and to continue testing and iterating it in order to achieve success.

It makes no difference whether you are creating a new eCommerce website or redesigning an existing one. Our skilled eCommerce web design team has created a master list of eCommerce web design best practices that will certainly assist you in competing for new website visits and engaging existing clients.

1. Use Quality Images

Using quality images on an eCommerce website is crucial for attracting customers and improving the overall user experience. To ensure that your images are high-quality, it's important to use clear and well-lit photos that accurately represent the product. Additionally, using multiple images from different angles can help customers get a better understanding of the product. When selecting images, consider the size and resolution, as larger, high-resolution images tend to have a positive impact on the user experience. Finally, be mindful of image optimization and make sure that your images are properly sized and compressed to minimize page load times, ensuring a fast and seamless browsing experience for your customers.

2. Focus on SEO

Studies indicate that 46% of consumers start their product search using a search engine like Google. To capture this targeted traffic and tap into buyer intent, it's important to incorporate search engine optimization into your eCommerce website design to meet the criteria set by search engines. This will help to rank your website higher.

Investing in SEO is a smart long-term marketing strategy, as maintaining high rankings becomes manageable once the initial work is done. However, there may be instances where targeted digital marketing to drive traffic to specific product categories is beneficial, especially when you are new to the eCommerce industry and still developing your website to increase your organic rankings.

Achieving top rankings on Google is challenging, but it can be accomplished with the help of a professional web design agency and effort. By putting in the necessary work, anyone can reach the top of Google's search engine rankings.

3. Intuitive Site Search and Frictionless Navigation

Online shopping appeals to customers due to its convenience, making it a crucial factor in eCommerce success. When customers can comfortably shop from the comfort of their homes and have a positive experience with your website, they are more likely to return, leading to increased sales and customer retention.

In web design, the trend towards a user-friendly website that takes customers to the most relevant products based on their interests is crucial. To achieve this, our design team plans every aspect of the customer journey, from the homepage to the checkout page. Personalization technology from third-party providers further enhances the experience and drives sales by providing personalized content, directing customers to preferred product categories, and automating repetitive tasks. A frictionless experience attracts more customers and increases conversions.

Creating a frictionless experience requires a structured and logical order in the website architecture and navigation design to avoid confusion for the customer. Pages should be easy to understand and navigate on all devices. Our UX design team creates a user journey map or wireframes and tests multiple options before the interface design is considered.

The brand identity should always be visible and easily accessible from any point on the page, typically achieved with a sticky header that follows the customer as they scroll.

A well-organized product catalog with easy search capabilities and real-time filtering options is essential for customers to find what they're looking for quickly. Breadcrumb navigation helps customers understand their location in the product catalog and navigate to different categories. Suggestive search, with a prominent and easy-to-find search bar, is a powerful tool for larger catalogs, offering product recommendations as customers type.

4. Simplify the Checkout Process

The design of the checkout page is often overlooked in eCommerce website design. Once a customer finds a product they want to purchase, the process should be quick and simple. The website should automatically fill in as much information as possible for the user, especially for registered customers with saved details such as contact information, billing details, and payment options. Our team uses tools and plugins to further streamline this checkout process.

According to research, 69.99% of shoppers abandon their cart during checkout due to a lengthy process among other reasons. The more steps involved, the higher the risk of the customer leaving their purchase.

When it comes to checkout, the main goal is to gather the necessary information from the customer, such as their delivery and billing addresses. The process should be straightforward, without any unnecessary questions or complexities. Stick to the basics and only ask for the bare minimum information required to complete the transaction.

It's important to consider the customer's experience. We continuously test and refine the checkout process to make it as smooth and easy as possible.

5. Regularly publish blog posts

By having a blog on your eCommerce website, you can not only engage with your current and potential customers but also establish a strong presence on social media. Regular blog posts provide a reason for visitors to return to your site, where they may be more likely to make a purchase.

In addition, a blog can positively impact your SEO rankings by attracting new customers and increasing the amount of time spent on your site, sending positive signals to search engines like Google & Bing. A blog that provides valuable information helps build trust with your audience, which is essential for any eCommerce business.

6. Go Mobile

With an increasing number of consumers relying on their smartphones for online shopping, a mobile-optimized eCommerce website has become a must-have. In 2023, more than three-quarters of online shoppers are expected to make purchases through their mobile devices.

An eCommerce site without a responsive design may suffer from lost sales as mobile usage continues to rise. Poorly optimized sites can appear with small interface elements and text or odd formatting, making them difficult to navigate on mobile devices.

For optimal performance in 2023, it is crucial to ensure you have a responsive eCommerce website and regularly tested. Failing to do so may result in a poor user experience and lead shoppers to leave your site in favor of better-designed alternatives.

7. Provide Multiple Contact Options

Customers are more inclined to place an order if they know they have many methods to contact you if they have a problem. The simplest method to accomplish this is to:

• Add a contact page with an e-mail, phone number, and physical address
• Offer real-time chat features with humans (avoid the AI-driven tools that ultimately frustrate people)
• Place links to social media profiles
• Add a FAQ page

The live chat feature offers more than just a way for customers to connect (try our chat feature now and start a conversation with us). It also presents a chance to drive sales through active engagement, rather than relying solely on a passive eCommerce website strategy. Often, customers may end up buying something they didn't initially come for, simply because they were sold on it. Live chat provides your team with the opportunity to directly interact with potential customers who may be uncertain.

It is important that customers are aware that there is a real person available to assist them through the live chat. By providing this feature, you can offer real-time support and bring a human touch to the otherwise impersonal eCommerce experience.

8. Include Social Proof

Social proof, such as customer reviews with photos, awards, or media mentions, can increase customer trust even if your company is already known to be honest. However, be careful not to overwhelm your audience with too much information at once. Overloading with social proof can make you seem arrogant. Instead, prioritize the most important information and approach the situation from the customer's perspective. Make it simple and straightforward for them to find and understand the information they need on an unfamiliar website.

9. Include a Unique Value Proposition in the Design of Your Homepage

To improve engagement and boost your conversion rate, you need to provide a reason for visitors to stay on your site. This can be achieved by having a clear and compelling value proposition. A unique value proposition is a succinct statement that highlights the benefits of your product and how it solves a specific need for your customer.

Your value proposition does not need to be elaborate to be effective. Some of the most successful value propositions are simple and straightforward. Identify what sets you apart from your competitors and use that as the basis for your UVP.

Keep your value proposition concise to increase the chances of visitors reading it. Avoid lengthy statements and instead, communicate the value of your product in just a few words.

10. Send Emails in Response to Shopping Cart Abandonment

Don't overlook instances where customers add items to their cart without completing the purchase. These customers are often close to making a purchase and have shown interest in the product by putting it in their cart. They may have simply been disrupted or changed their mind.

Utilize tools such as plugins or third-party marketing services to send them an email reminder about the items still in their cart. This tactic can often result in closing the sale.

Putting Best Practices in eCommerce Website Design to Work

An attractive and effective design is crucial to the success of any online store. It can mean the difference between mere survival and business growth. To create a compelling brand experience, consider the design elements of your homepage, checkout page, and other parts of your website.

There are numerous tools and techniques available for website owners to increase sales and retain customers. Use this comprehensive list as a starting point for creating your eCommerce website, and continue to optimize and improve as your business grows.

If you need assistance with your eCommerce website chat to us today.

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