How an ecommerce design agency can help you optimise user experience.

Have you ever abandoned an online shop before even reaching the basket?

If you have, then I’d put money on the fact that bad ecommerce web design was to blame. Bad design can quickly leave your customers confused, distracted and frustrated. With over twenty years experience as an ecommerce design agency, we can confidently say that great user experience is the key to increasing sales and improving long term customer loyalty.

So what can you do to make sure your ecommerce website design draws in and retains as much business as possible? Here are some of our top tips for ecommerce web design.

Mobile Pay

In recent years, mobile payments have become increasingly popular as today’s consumers put a premium on speed and convenience. What could be more convenient for shoppers on-the-go, than authenticating their purchase with Touch ID? It significantly reduces checkout time, which Apple claims “doubles conversion rates, increases customer loyalty and increases purchase frequency”. We think they’ve got a good point, which is why we recommend choosing a payment provider that supports mobile payment. Start by having a look at the three most well-known mobile wallets available, Google Pay, Apple Pay or Samsung Pay.

Rich Animation

Designing with the user experience in mind is essential when it comes to ecommerce web design. Until more recently animated graphics were added to websites as a novelty, eye-candy element, but increasingly they are being used as a powerful tool to enhance a customer’s online shopping experience. By adding an interactive element you can put the customer in the driving seat and strengthen their orientation and experience. A good example is the renewable energy supplier, Bulb. It uses rich animation seamlessly to help prospective customers discover how much money they could save by switching to Bulb. The user clicks on simple cartoon elements as they go through a step-by-step process to provide details relating to their energy consumption, which makes what could be a laborious experience, easy and enjoyable.

Personalisation

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying ‘people buy from people’. It’s true, and it reflects the fact that personal interaction is important to a consumer. That’s because it reinforces trust. Until recently the personal element of an online shopping experience has been missing, but as technology, data and machine learning evolves, so too does the opportunity to personalise your online shopping experience. Some examples include showing users that you understand what they like by promoting and pushing products that will be of interest to them; being age responsive by adjusting font sizes and colours, as well as login memory features.

Content is King

Designing a successful ecommerce website isn’t all about graphics and user interfaces, good clear content is absolutely essential. Unfortunately, it is often overlooked and there are many examples of sites that have lots of bells and whistles, but not enough easily accessible, relevant information. A customer is very unlikely to pick up the phone to ask you for more information, so it’s important that everything they need to know when making a purchasing decision is presented clearly and concisely. Of course, what that information is, very much depends on what you are selling, but it might include:

• Price
• Colour
• Measurements
• Availability
• Materials
• Delivery times
• Returns Policy
• Warranty
• Customer reviews

Great Product Imagery

The ever-popular little black dress (LBD), which has long been a woman’s wardrobe staple, has fallen out of favour. Why? Because shopping has moved online and because an LBD, is well, black, it is almost impossible to discern details such as its cut and texture when viewing it on a screen. It just looks… black. That just goes to show how important good product imagery is to an online shopper. Clear, unfussy product images revealing different angles as well as perspective will help customers with their buying decisions. The use of video and 360 video that allows users to interact and experience the product from every angle are also a great way to enhance the user experience and encourage sales.

Simplified Checkout

Keeping your checkout process simple is absolutely essential. It doesn’t matter how user-friendly your site is, if your checkout process is overcomplicated then it can frustrate and deter customers. An important part of the checkout process is the ability to review an order before proceeding to checkout, but the next steps need to be kept to an absolute minimum. In an ideal world, you would use Touch ID to remember a user’s account details.

These are just some of the elements to consider when designing an ecommerce website. They are all focused on enhancing, simplifying and personalising the user interface to encourage sales and increase the likelihood that the customer will return. They will also generate positive reviews and plenty of referrals. If you would like to talk to a specialist ecommerce web agency, then get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.