Top Ecommerce Website Design and Functionality Tips
Getting an ecommerce website up and running quickly these days is easy, but to get one that will actually sell products and succeed is a little more difficult. There are two main aspects that are common throughout the most successful web based stores out there and they are design and functionality.
We’re going to take a look at each of them in a little more detail and give you some pointers which will hopefully help you get the most out of a new store from day one.
Let’s take a look at design first.
Colours play an important role in ecommerce. You should make sure your colours work well together and going bold is normally a mistake. Think simple colours and pastels as these will accentuate the product images and make them stand out more. You want visitors to buy your products and not be overpowered by the look of your site. There is nothing worse than clashing colours which do not go with one another. There needs to be focal point which grabs the attention of the user usually on your homepage like a slideshow or main large image. This should be linked to a main category or product you would like to promote. Give visitors a direction when they hit your homepage, large images which clearly state where the visitor will be taken work the best.
Fonts are also very important and you should make sure that the font is the same all through the website. You want to make sure that if there is a lot of text that it is shown in a colour that is easy on the eyes as lettering that is hard to read will often drive your audience away. Definitely stay away from fancy fonts. People are here to shop and not to look at how many fonts you can squeeze onto a website!
Now we have your site looking clean and neat let’s look at functionality.
Functionality refers to how well the e commerce design works. It’s about the bells and whistles that make your visitors experience quick, easy and sometimes fun. Good e-commerce websites have to have some basic functionality like main and sub categories if you have a lot of products, a cart system obviously and an area your returning visitors can login to and track orders.
These are all basic functions but just a couple of extra areas of your store can massively enhance the users shopping experience. Try adding filter systems for product categories, zoomable images and a single page checkout for your visitors. These are tried and tested enhancements you can make that will increase conversion rates and sales to any ecommerce store.
Hopefully this has given a little more insight into ways ecommerce stores can be greatly improved so if you are thinking of starting a store or having yours re-designed bear these things in mind when talking to a web designer.