The Hallmarks of Web Design for E-Commerce Websites
Conducting a business online can happen in many ways, like using the website for brand promotion and marketing only or for conducting online transactions, as it happens with the e-commerce platforms. Suppose you intend to create a full-fledged online store for conducting business, including selling products. In that case, you must create an e-commerce website with some unique design features that are different from traditional websites. A website related to E-commerce Bahrain allows business transactions from selling to accepting rejected or return goods. Since web designs work towards realizing the website goals, it is natural that the design elements are quite different from any normal website that focuses on marketing only according to this web design agency.
Since e-commerce websites go beyond product promotion, their design aesthetics revolve around showcasing products and services in various ways that provide useful information about the products and services as the objective of the website is to sell the goods. The visitors to e-commerce websites usually come prepared with a mind to buy something, and the web design structure facilitates the buying process. The functionalities of e-commerce websites are similar to retail shops, and the design must help achieve the desired objectives. An E-Commerce website can deal in various physical and digital products and services, and the characteristics of web design remain the same regardless of the products.
The only feature of e-commerce websites with normal websites is that both aim at visitor engagement, although for different purposes. Like any other website, e-commerce websites too must stand out from the crowd, although the audience that visits the website has already decided to buy something.
Providing a seamless shopping experience is the top goal of any e-commerce website, and designers must focus on user engagement, optimizing the sales funnel, and other aspects to help users enjoy the time spent on the website. How this can be possible from a designer’s perspective will become clear as you go through this article.
User engagement
Since e-commerce websites are for shopping, the design must provide the most comfortable shopping experience. It must be highly user-friendly and intuitive to enhance engagement and allow visitors to move up from one level to another. To achieve the goal, the user interface must be extremely user-friendly so that visitors feel like taking a walk in the park. The overall design must sync well with the product or services sold on the platform. The better is the design integration with the products or services higher are the audience’s chances of engaging with it. The design must look professional enough to garner visitors’ trust who would not hesitate to share their personal information when going through the checkout process.
Provide all customer-oriented business-related information like shipping and return policies, contact info, and customer support and display it prominently so that visitors can appreciate the transparent business model that generates trust. Use responsive design for e-commerce websites to ensure that it is mobile friendly.
Optimize your sales funnel
The most notable mark of successful e-commerce website design is its ability to drive a new customer who knows little or nothing about your business right through the processes till the buying stage. The design is so intuitive that each step moves customers closer to conversions that culminate in a purchase. The web designer’s goal should be to lower the psychological barriers as much as possible that make the transition smoothest from one step to another.
Keep reading to know about the steps that can make the passage of customers smooth and keep them pushing until they complete the purchase.
Navigation
Since the website’s objective is to provide the most pleasing shopping experience, the design’s intuitiveness is critical. The design should make it easy to find products and provide all necessary information ready at hand.
Menu – The convenience begins by choosing the type of menu that suits the site requirements. Depending on the number of products, use drop-down menus and categorize products by using general terms.
Search bar – If your website handles too many products, provide a search bar that displays prominently on every page so that visitors can reach for their products quickly. Structure the search in such a way so that users can browse specific products as well as products by categories.
Cart icon – The cart icon is the most important design element that must be prominently displayed on each page and show the number of items added to the cart. Activating the icon leads users towards checkout. If it is a single product website, you might also like to use the call to action on most of the pages.
Confidence building
Display logos that are known and trusted – If you are selling well-known brands, it is almost mandatory to display the logos prominently. The logos are like a badge of honor that you can proudly use to display your association with the brand. It is an excellent way to earn trust.
Business information and contact information– Provide any information that answers some main concerns of users in every page’s footer. Your contact information must be easily visible as it helps customers connect with you and builds trust due to transparently dealing with them.
To let your customers know more about your company, add suitable links in the footer that take them to the About Us page. Provide similar links for the privacy policy, delivery information, and return policy.
Accessibility
You have the responsibility to ensure accessibility to your website for all kinds of people so that regardless of their physical infirmities, people can enjoy the website. It is mutually beneficial as your website gains comprehensive outreach and the customer base grows faster. If it is challenging to ensure accessibility for people with poor eyesight, the least that you can do is to ensure that your website supports people who are color blind.
Addressing the issues discussed above through web design will ensure that your website attracts visitors because of the simplified shopping process that makes them come back again and again.
