Retail online sales worldwide totaled $450 billion in 2022, and revenues are projected to grow to $800 billion in 2025. eCommerce is a highly competitive market and serves a vast audience. More than 2.14 billion people worldwide will buy goods and services online in 2024. This article will explore seven eCommerce design principles to make your brand stand out.
This creates a high set of expectations for eCommerce websites — one that is higher than ever.
To succeed and stand out in the ever-expanding eCommerce industry, businesses need to create an outstanding online shopping experience and delight customers every step of the way.
This article’ll discuss seven web design principles in eCommerce that will help you create a functional, trustworthy, and successful online store in 2024 and beyond.
Design Principle #1: On-Brand Visual Appeal
Your eCommerce website’s user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) should be aligned with your brand’s visual identity to make it instantly recognizable.
To create on-brand appeal, you need to:
- Create a brand style guide and follow it
- Be consistent with typography and colors.
- Use original, high-quality product images.
Remember, the first impression can make or break your conversion rates. Always design with your ideal customer in mind, which is essential for conversion rate optimization.
Make your online store look unique by using an eye-catching hero image, a custom-made illustration, or a mesmerizing video that will speak directly to your target audience and make a strong emotional connection at first sight with top eCommerce design principles.
Design Principle #2: Clear Layout and Easy Navigation
Your website doesn’t just need to look good. Users also need to feel good while browsing through your pages. This means that your webshop needs to be highly functional and easy to use.
Follow these simple guidelines to make your ecommerce design as simple as possible:
- Avoid unnecessary clutter for brand eCommerce principles
- Don’t overcrowd the screen.
- Don’t overdecorate the UI elements.
- Use a minimalistic design approach to say more with less.
Once you create a clutter-free layout, the next step is to design coherent website navigation using e-commerce design principles.
To ensure that your prospective customers don’t become frustrated because they cannot find what they are looking for, create a simple main navigation menu with clear categories and subcategories. Ensure that the breadcrumb trail (secondary navigation) tells visitors exactly where they are at each page on your site.
The next element to address is the search bar, one of the most crucial online store elements.
Your customers will appreciate an efficiently searchable website. To accomplish this goal, make the search bar visible on each page, create as many filters as possible, and build the search function to work quickly and seamlessly.
An example of a well-designed eCommerce layout and navigation following brand principles.
Principle #3: Distinctive CTA Buttons
The call-to-action (CTA) buttons on your website should be visually distinctive. A high color contrast can make them immediately recognizable.
These buttons also need to be appropriately sized and well-positioned. To incorporate them in your website design correctly, make sure to have a single CTA button above the fold and place a button next to the product images.
Pay attention to the words you choose for your calls to action. The CTA copy should clearly state what you want your customers to do with your brand ecommerce design principles.
The best practice is to use concrete, action-oriented verbs like “Shop,” “Add to Cart,” “Add to Wishlist,” “Browse,” and “Compare Products.”
Principle #4: Engaging Copy Throughout the Website
Copy is one of the most important assets of your eCommerce website. Like the design, your web copy needs to align with your brand style, voice, and tone.
To make your copy as engaging as possible, you should:
- Be clear and concise.
- Speak directly to your customers.
- Use simple words and simple sentences.
- Highlight the benefits your customers can gain from your products or services.
- Empathize with your audience
- Make copy easily understandable.
- Make copy easy to skim through.
- Use conversational tone
- Finally, connect on an emotional level using the brand eCommerce principles.
Remember, your website is your sales tool when you run an online store. An experienced copywriter usually knows and applies the principles of good copywriting, but it is always good to lay out clear guidelines.
Put your unique value proposition in the hero section of your page to immediately highlight the benefits and boost your competitive advantage.
Don’t shy away from long-form sales pages, either. These can be a huge selling point, so provide rich value to your visitors at every point during their customer journey.
Thorough audience research can help you learn more about the psychology behind your customers’ online behavior and decision-making process. This can help you write compelling copy and balance between the content hierarchy, CTA prioritization, forms, and different landing pages.
eCommerce Design Principles #5: Detailed, Informative Product Pages
Speaking of landing pages, your product pages will most frequently be the first page your customers visit on your site making use of brand eCommerce principles.
Not providing enough information about your products could quickly turn your leads away.
Go into detail about your products by including a unique description followed by high-quality, original photographs, promotional videos, 360° videos, 3D models. Moreover, any other visual element that applies to your business.
Use your website’s content and design to address your customers’ online shopping behaviors, habits, and expectations.
Apart from clearly stated prices and CTA buttons, always try to include the following in your ecommerce design principles:
- Firstly, product reviews, ratings, and testimonials.
- Secondly, suggestions for related products
- Product comparison options
- Up-to-date availability of sizes, colors, and product variations
- Finally, additional costs, if any.
Design Principle #6: Clever Use of Pop-Ups and Notifications
Use push notifications, banners, chatbots, and pop-ups to promote special offers, discounts, and newsletter signup forms. In addition, instant chats are typical in the eCommerce industry.
However, be cautious with this practice as pop-ups and notifications could be a double-edged sword.
If they appear too pushy and aggressive, they could be perceived as disruptive, annoying, or unpleasant. This is especially true if all of the promotional boxes jump out within a few seconds of a potential customer entering your website.
To stand out from the competition and personalize your visitors’ experience. You can also consider designing a chatbot that can act as a less intrusive pop-up or banner and have a logical flow guiding your visitors in their journey.
Suppose you design these elements to appear at different times and places on your website. In that case, those pop-up boxes and notifications are much more likely to serve their purpose – grabbing your customer’s attention and intriguing them to explore further.
eCommerce Design Principles #7: A Streamlined Checkout Process
Once you have a customer’s attention and decide to purchase, your eCommerce website’s main goal is to create a streamlined checkout process.
Here are several vital points to get you on the right track:
- Firstly, it gives users an option to choose between registering as a customer or purchasing as a guest.
- Secondly, provide clear feedback at every step of the way (via success or error messages)
- Make checkout forms simple and understandable.
- Use example text in form fields when possible.
- Keep personal data protection regulations in mind and ask for necessary information only.
- Provide safe and secure online payment solutions
- Try not to overwhelm customers with too many payment options.
- Be transparent about the total price.
- Include shipping details and estimated time of delivery
- Finally, display a message after the purchase has been completed.
You may also want to consider implementing the tracking option and using the given email address to send gentle reminders to customers who abandon the checkout process. Sometimes, people get distracted and unintentionally stray away from your website.
Key Takeaways: eCommerce Design Principles
Your eCommerce website should delight customers in every step of their interaction with your brand – from the moment they enter the website, through the search process, filters, product descriptions, popular and related products, wish list, and shopping cart, to a fully streamlined checkout process.
To accomplish this goal and make your business stand out in a highly competitive market, a carefully planned eCommerce design can help you:
- Firstly, keep your online store easy to use and highly functional.
- Secondly, help your website visitors find the information they need.
- Encourage your prospective customers to take action.
- Inspire customers to come back.
- Finally, reach your audience via social media platforms.
Providing an excellent online shopping experience is one key element of building trust and paving a path for your customers to return and, eventually, become loyal fans of your brand.
