Even though eCommerce began in the early 1990s, the technology comes from OLTP (online transaction processing) that IBM developed in the 1960s. This incredible invention allows us to conduct business in real-time from almost anywhere, it then opens the door to a new world of possabilities. [1]
After the 2020 pandemic year, we’re all doing more things online than ever before. That means we’re working, playing, and shopping in new and exciting ways that make life feel better
Michael Aldrich helped evolve e-business in 1979 by connecting television to an OLTP computer to create a menu-driven interface. This step allowed closed information systems to become accessible to outside consumers. [2]
Amazon got its start in 1995, eBay followed a little after, which has led us to where we are today: approximately 24 million eCommerce sites exist globally. [3]
As your eCommerce website design agency, we can help you achieve outstanding results. Are you ready to explore the benefits of online shopping today?
How Can an eCommerce Website Stand Out?
Only 1 out of 24 eCommerce sites conduct over £1,000 or more per year in transactions. That means you have lots of competition to consider if you’re ready to explore online commerce as a new revenue stream.
Even eCommerce websites in Glasgow and Edinburgh face this uphill battle.
These ten web design tips can help you achieve that outcome to achieve massive results. Although you can do everything right and still not succeed, you’ll at least be taking the right path forward.
1. Keep your web design approach simple.
You might have heard of the KISS philosophy for creating marketing and design campaigns. It’s an acronym that stands for Keep it Simple and Straightforward.
Some people like to say Keep it Simple, “Stupid,” or “Silly,” but why add negativity to the mix? [4]
Simple is always better when managing eCommerce web design. Each additional element you put on a page takes someone away from your sales pitch.
You don’t need to have a bunch of banner ads, pop-ups, sidebars, or colours on your site. Stick with what you use as an organisation, streamline the ordering process to reduce clicks, and stop putting obstacles in the middle of your sales funnel.
2. Think about putting your brand first.
When people shop online for needed or wanted things, they want to feel comfortable with the transaction. Since they cannot see, feel, or interact with the item personally, customers stick to the brands they know and trust first.
If you are a faceless eCommerce website, the average visitor will think you’re a scammer trying to steal credit card information.
As part of our ecommerce web design in Scotland presence, we know the only way to fund success with your web design is to start building trust from the first moment. That means significant thought needs to go into your branding. It’s the DNA of your business.
Without a cohesive brand identity, how can anyone know who you are or what you do?
It takes some soul-searching to discover who you are as a company and brand. You might need to start reflecting on some difficult questions.
- How would I describe my company or brand in five words or less?
- If my business or website were a person, who would it be and why?
- What makes my products or services better than anyone else who does the same thing?
Once you define who you are, it’s much easier to bring that identity to your eCommerce web design. It will help build more trust with your customer base.
3. Look at the design through the customer’s eyes.
When the first websites started going through the design process, people went with what looked “cool.” That’s why you got everything from dancing hamsters to lengthy playlists on autoplay during the early days of eCommerce.
If you liked it, you could do it.
We’ve learned more about the design process since the Internet saw eCommerce develop. You need to think about creating an easily navigable layout, simplified product organisation, and a fast checkout process that requires minimal clicks.
When Amazon created 1-Click® ordering, it changed the entire dynamic of eCommerce design. It removed almost all hassle from the customer’s experience. Apple began licensing the technology after it was patented to use on iTunes and its website. [5]
Thinking like a customer helps you anticipate their needs. It lets you see what they want from your brand, allowing you to design the website to become a problem-solving solution.
4. Use colours to your advantage.
Instead of making everything green or yellow because those are your favourite colours, modern eCommerce design requires more thought.
The shades and tones you select for your website become a powerful tool or detractor for business opportunities. This outcome is possible because the different colours we see inspire actions, emotions, and feelings.
A red shopping button can increase conversions by up to one-third, while adding blue to your logo can lend more credibility to it. [6]
Complementary Colors
Three primary options are worth considering when you think about the colours of your eCommerce website. These colours are directly opposite each other when looking at a spectrum wheel. Since they deliver a powerful contrast to the website visitor, you can select one dominant hue for the background and another for the primary text elements or content items on the page. This principle is why word processing software defaults to a white background with black text.
Analogous Colours
When you use similar colours for eCommerce web design, you’re adding tones on either side of your preferred choice on the spectrum wheel. These schemes are natural, harmonious, and comfortable to see. They match well to create a comfortable foundation for sales opportunities.
Triadic Colours
This scheme uses colours that sit at 120 degrees from each other on the spectrum wheel. Instead of looking for contrast here, the goal is to create harmony and balance. You would use a single background colour, another for content, and the third to create highlighted areas.
When you know how to use colour appropriately, it can be one of your most potent tools for creating a more potent eCommerce web design. In return, you can see a massive impact on your revenues and profits.
5. Don’t settle for subpar imagery.
When you sell products online, your customers need to have the best idea possible of what to expect from a transaction. That’s why your photographs or videos need to be of the highest quality possible.
When eCommerce sites incorporate high-quality images into their designs, the average conversion rate increase is over 40%. [7]
6. Create scannable content.
Do you remember when content length was a significant SEO modifier that could drive tons of business to your website?
Unfortunately, those days are gone. Search engines and people want something to read that is clear, precise, and valuable.
Most visitors read about 20% of the text on a page. People scan this information to see if there is something relevant to find.
If you want to get your point across succinctly, try to keep your paragraphs and sentences short whenever possible. When you need to call attention to a specific section, consider adding bold text to that element for emphasis.
When you have large text blocks, try turning them into a bulleted list.
These techniques make it much easier for your message to come across in the right way. That means you’ll be more likely to close the deal after.
7. Every post and page should look and feel professional.
What is the basic “ask” that your eCommerce site has for each visitor?
It is to have them consider purchasing something from your company. That means you need to ask them to turn over some sensitive information, including their credit card data and personal address.
If your website doesn’t look professional, people won’t trust you to ship their orders to them safely or accurately.
That means a time investment to eliminate all misspellings and typos is necessary. You’ll want to review that your colour choices are consistent on each post and page.
Everything should feel new, exciting, and modern. It shouldn’t seem like a MySpace reject from 2007.
A part of having a professional eCommerce web design is to offer your specific expertise. What is it that you do to make life better for others, and why is that approach the best one for people to take?
How can you increase knowledge sharing in your design?
- Offer live chat software solutions to answer specific questions that people have. [8]
- Use customer relationship management techniques to create individualised experiences.
- Focus on your supply chain management to reduce errors and increase services to resolve more consumer pain points.
The only way customers will take you seriously is if you take yourself that way. A focus on professional eCommerce web design can help achieve that goal.
8. Create a responsive website design.
For many years, marketers have been saying that mobile eCommerce activity will outpace desktop for total transactions. That day has finally arrived. [9]
When you want to capture the customers on smartphones or tablets, your eCommerce design must adapt to their device. That means it must display in ways that are easy to navigate on a smaller screen.
If a customer needs to zoom in to click on a specific link each time a new page loads, you’ll need a person with enormous patience to finish the checkout process.
The device isn’t the only issue that responsiveness solves. Different browsers can cause display problems that could lead people to avoid buying something from your eCommerce site. By having the design recognise and adapt to the information customers send your way with a visit, you can put your best foot forward each time.
9. Be honest with your pricing strategy.
When creating an eCommerce web design, upfront and honest pricing is always the best practice to follow. If you hide information or make it difficult for visitors to find the final cost of what they want, they’ll just go somewhere else to have their needs met.
You want the pricing for each item, shipping costs, and other fees associated with the transaction to be available before the customer adds something to their shopping cart or bag. If there are specific policies that people need to know about, that information should also get included.
We include this element for eCommerce website design in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Scotland, and the globally.
If any surprises occurring during the sales funnel journey toward a transaction, it is more likely that the customer will abandon their intent than follow through with it.
10. Include authentic reviews and testimonials.
Customer reviews are a fast way to help prove to others that you offer an incredible product. The only problem with this tip is that it can be challenging to have many (if any) testimonials available if you’re a new business.
Some brands choose to take a shortcut by creating testimonials that seem real. This technique might seem like a reasonable compromise to make until you get some genuine reviews, but what would happen if someone found out that you wrote that information instead of a customer?
Over 90% of customers read online reviews before purchasing products. [10]
The value of authentic positive reviews speaks for itself.
It increases consumer trust in the idea of completing a transaction.
You create a direct line to customers to create feedback loops.
Websites can often appear higher in Google rankings.
Only 13% of customers say they’d consider working with a business that has a rating of one or two stars. You can start building your reputation right away by including this information in your eCommerce web design plans.
In Conclusion: How Does an eCommerce Site Start Growing?
You can have a fantastic eCommerce web design without getting any customers. It’s also possible to create an incredible marketing campaign for your brand that falls flat.
That’s because these elements must work together to show your customers why what you’re doing is better.
This process begins by incorporating these huge tips into your new or updated design concepts. Once you get the initial foundation in place, continue testing and evaluating to ensure updates aren’t necessary.
You can be one of those businesses that make more than £1,000 per year. The first step of that journey is to implement design tips like these. If you’re ready to go, our eCommerce website design agency can help you start moving forward.
[1] https://www.stitchdata.com/resources/oltp-vs-olap/
[2] https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?entryid=4528
[3] https://wpforms.com/ecommerce-statistics/
[4] https://www.business.com/articles/keep-it-simple-why-businesses-need-to-kiss-more-and-how-to-do-it/
[5] https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/amazons-1-click-goes-off-patent/
[6] https://conversionxl.com/blog/which-color-converts-the-best/
[7] https://conversionsciences.com/which-pictures-convert-best-guide-high-converting-images/
[9] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/02/mobile-web-browsing-desktop-smartphones-tablets
[10] https://www.qualtrics.com/blog/online-review-stats/
Mark Preston
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