It can be hard to be successful online. There is so much to think about. How do you even start designing an e-commerce website that beats your competition?
The reason why great design is so important is because when online, you are competing in an attention market. The attention market is, essentially, the fight to attract business online.
There are billions of websites online. Getting users to visit yours out of the others is a challenge.
With great design, however, you can do it.
The Best E-Commerce Website Designs
The secret of great design is that it is invisible. It should be experienced rather than seen. It should also offer the user something unique.
Great design on websites can be difficult to achieve. You have limited ability to provide a unique experience. With creative thinking and Shopify experts on your side, however, you can do it.
A great place to start is to analyze award-winning websites and see what they have done. This way you can copy ideas and put it into your own website.
Visual First Websites
You cannot touch, taste, or smell a website. You can, however, hear and see it. Even then most users don’t appreciate a website making noise without permission.
That leaves you with the visuals.
You need your website to be visually appealing. Sometimes this means going all out with design and color. Other times it means being minimalistic and simple.
It depends entirely on your brand image on which one will work best for you.
Examples
All of the most successful websites have great visuals. These visuals can come in the form of:
- Pictures
- Videos
- Drawings
- Interactive Elements
To help you learn from the best you will want to look at websites that deal with design. Bēhance, for example, is a website that is all about design. Take note of how it displays all its different types of content.
Bēhance, of course, is a website for designers to showcase their work. You will have more control over what images and other visuals you use. Try to create harmony on your main page.
Your main page should be:
- Beautiful
- Have a call of action near the top
- Be easy to navigate
Websites With Interactivity At Their Core
The ability of websites is near limitless. To really wow your customers you will want to add interactive elements. When users feel like they are in control, they will trust you more.
There are many ways that you can offer an interactive and engaging experience.
You can add design elements to your website e-commerce pages that move when clicked or hovered over. You can allow your customers to customize their products. You can have a quiz at the start that shows them custom search results.
Examples
Some great examples of interactive design on award-winning websites include:
Adidas Design Studio
Adidas is one of the few retailers who now allow for their customers to change the design of their shoes. The process is simple, but being able to make changes and be in control is powerful.
Customers can also see what their shoe will look like before they buy.
Duolingo
Duolingo uses its interactive website to help its users learn another language. This is very challenging. The website is beautiful and interactive as well, which makes it such a hit.
Product Filtering Options
When it comes to your e-commerce online store you will also want to focus on product filtering. If your customers cannot find the product they want fast, they will leave. Product filtering is important for many reasons:
- Speeds up buying process
- Helps users feel in control
- Helps users see options
Examples
Some examples of site that have exceptional product filtering include:
Nordstrom
The luxury retailer sells thousands of items from different brands around the world. Their product filtering allows users to quickly find the items they want.
Amazon
Amazon similarly sells thousands of items online. The difference is that they are not completely in charge of their listings. Still, their product filtering options are great and should be noted.
Recreate the Brick and Mortar Experience
Luxury retailers, in particular, have a hard time setting themselves apart from lower-end brands. In real life they have no problem, online they do. That is why they invest in trying to recreate the brick and mortar experience.
Examples
Two great examples of websites and apps that recreate the brick and mortar experience are:
Hermes.com’s Maison des Carrés
You enter this website like you would a store. It is illustrated, beautiful, and interactive.
Harrods Mobile Store Guide
The Harrods mobile store guide is great for large retailers who want to increase sales. Let users find exactly where your products are in store using your app or online.
What Makes a Good Website Visually Appealing?
At the most basic level, in terms of design and theory, there are six elements that need to be considered when designing a website to be visually appealing.
Color
Color should reflect your brand’s image. It also shouldn’t be too harsh. You have to remember that users are looking on a screen. This screen is often their phones.
If your site is hard to look at late at night when they’re scrolling they won’t stay.
Font
Font should always be easy to read. This means the font itself should be easy and it should be a big enough size.
Images
Images need to be professional. They should also reflect your brand. If your brand is young and youthful so too should your pictures.
Keep it Simple
Most websites are viewed on a phone. Keep that in mind. Don’t overdo it with the design because a cluttered phone screen is hard to use.
Easy to Use
It should be simple to do everything on your site. If there is a hiccup along the way, you will lose sales.
Consistent Design
Every web page should be consistent. If it isn’t your users will think they somehow clicked off your website.
How To Improve Your E-Commerce Website Design
Some great ways to improve your current e-commerce website design is to hire Shopify website developers to go through and make changes for you. They will typically:
- Audit It
- Use A/B User Testing
- Put User Experience First
- Use Professional Images
- Reduce Clutter
You will also want to keep an eye on Google Analytics to see if there is any suspicious activity. If a lot of traffic comes through your website and then stops at checkout there might be technical issue.
***
Thank you again for following our Shopify Insider Blog @ Blackbelt Commerce. We can also help you with many other services.
We have many other valuable posts that are informative. Here are our top recommendations; How To Build A Seductive Online Store , How to Use Social Media for Your E-Commerce Store. you can also check the best design for an e-commerce store, how to avoid mistakes in Shopify designs.
Also, you can learn all about who are the Shopify Experts at Blackbelt Commerce.