Web design is one of the primary factors that impact customers’ buying decision. If a person sees an attractive layout and has no problems with navigating the site, chances are high they will buy from this store and most probably will come back.
This is why it’s essential to keep an eye on your store design and tweak it, if necessary. In this article, we will see the most important points of interaction between the user and the site that impact conversions and customer experience.
Theme choice
It all starts with a theme.
A store theme serves as a visual representation of your brand so you want to make sure it creates the right impression. Here are the biggest things to watch for when choosing a theme.
Overall appeal
An appealing website immediately grabs the users’ attention and makes them want to stay longer. On the contrary, 94% of the customers claimed poor store design was the primary reason for not trusting the site.
There is no ultimate rule on choosing the right theme for your specific store. It kind of just “happens”: when you see the theme, you know it’s the one.
Color
There are hundreds of studies on the psychology of color so we don’t need to remind you about its impact on users’ perception.
The most important takeaways are:
- Certain colors are associated with certain emotions. This, in turn, should correspond to your brand identity.
- Do A/B testing to see which color causes a better response with your audience.
- Keep the overall picture in mind. Think how well the theme color will match with the color of your product images and CTA buttons.
When choosing theme colors, you can either play safe and go with the color that is associated with the industry or choose something nonconventional to stand out from the competition.
Customization
When choosing a theme from a marketplace, you will get a fully-functioning theme but it will not be 100% corresponding to your brand and may not have all the needed elements.
In order to make the theme truly unique and packed with features, you will have to customize it. So double-check if your theme is customizable.
Many e-commerce platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce offer free themes that you can use right after the purchase. However, if you are the owner of a Magento store, it’s recommended to go with a custom-made theme. Because Magento web design is quite complex, you want to make 100% sure it’s fully-functioning and has all the desired elements.
Confusing navigation is among the top reasons why shoppers leave the store. If you did not think out the user’s journey, you may end up with a complete mess and a significant dropdown in conversions.
So the first thing you need to do is to map out the main points of interaction and the expected customer journey. Then, try minimizing the number of steps and see that the user journey is frictionless and smooth.
To analyze the navigation of your store and identify any pain points, use Google Analytics. Such metrics as bounce rate and page views will help you see whether any pages call for optimization.
Quality of product photos
In physical stores, shoppers can touch and feel the products – but when shopping online, all they can do is look at the product photos and try to figure out if this product is worth buying.
A product image is responsible for grabbing the shoppers’ attention and encouraging them to learn more. Poor product images will cause zero interest and the shoppers will just leave.
Stellar product photos, on the other hand, instantly gain attention and encourage customers to buy. So invest a bit of money and time on finding a good e-commerce photographer.
It’s also a good idea to add a 360-degree view of the product and highlight product details with the help of images. In this way, shoppers will get a more comprehensive view of the product and will instantly see its biggest benefits.
Smart CTAs
CTA buttons are crucial for an online store. “Add to Cart”, “Buy Now”, “Sign Up” and similar buttons promote the desired action and drive the users towards conversions.
But it’s not enough to just place a button somewhere on the page and wait for the traffic inflow. There are certain rules to follow if you want your CTAs to bring conversions and engage the users:
- Make them visible: a CTA should be easily spotted on the page.
- Place the CTAs near the most important elements, i.e. product photos.
- Personalize the message to avoid clichés (i.e. “Buy now” is used by almost every store).
Remember that each offer you make should bring value. Justify the reason why the shoppers need to click on the CTA (with the help of images, text, or banners) and you will be amazed at conversion growth.
Customer reviews
With 95% of the shoppers reading reviews before buying an item, you’d want to add this element to your e-commerce store.
Reviews have immense power of persuasion when it comes to buying products online. People trust online reviews in the same way they trust the opinion of their family and friends. This makes customer reviews an integral part of the e-commerce web design.
The best way to add reviews to your store is to place them on the product page. Do not hesitate to display both positive and negative reviews: the mixed reviews seem more trustworthy to the shoppers.
By being able to see other people’s opinion and leave their own, customers will trust your store more and hence will be more willing to buy from you.
Mobile optimization
Mobile e-commerce is gaining momentum. In 2018, 79% of the shoppers bought an item online via their smartphone and we can expect this number to grow. So if you don’t want to lose both revenue and clients, double-check that your store is responsive and ready to sell via mobile.
Mobile dictates a bit different rules when it comes to design. Here are the biggest things to watch for:
- The mobile version needs to be light-weight to decrease the loading time,
- Images and other visual elements have to be displayed equally well on all devices and screens,
- Navigation has to be ultra-intuitive and easy,
- Ensure all interactive elements are clickable and visible.
Because mobile screens are smaller, users need to clearly see what you offer them. As well, they need a minimal number of steps to complete a conversion so keep that in mind as well if you wish to sell more via your mobile store.
Conclusion
The web design of your e-commerce store comprises many elements that, altogether, are designed to provide an excellent shopping experience for your customers. Each individual element, like a CTA button or the color of your layout, has a significant impact on the buying decision of your shoppers. Thus, invest some time and effort into double-checking whether your store is performing in its full power or needs a bit of optimization.