Do you know what is one of the most irretrievable things in the eCommerce business? It is called “the First Impression”. So you better buckle up and make the most of it! The internet seems to be flooded with eCommerce websites, each striving to gain the top spot.

Now cut to the chase, if you really want to gain the spotlight, you need to come up with something that leaves your target audience awestruck right in the first place. A well-designed eCommerce website can certainly do the trick here.

Today, we are fortunate enough to be living in such an era where you can buy and sell anything and everything online. Whether it’s fashion, accessories, home decor, electronic appliances, food delivery, groceries and whatnot! All you have to do is jump into the eCommerce bandwagon just to get started. Simply opt for a reliable web development service provider.

Now there is a lot of debate going on between web development and web design – which one is more important? Well, I say both of them should be working in tandem to achieve optimum results. As a reader, we cannot pay attention to anything and everything but if somehow you manage to provide them with that specific information or product, then the game is already yours!

You see your consumers being impatient or having short attention spans is pretty normal these days, the following post focuses on how you can grab the attention of your end users within a few seconds. The answer is pretty simple to avoid bad UI/UX and potential data breaches. Though here we will be simply focusing on some of the most important eCommerce website tips and tricks to take into account for 2022 and a few more years down the line.

Can You Spot An Ideal Web Design?

Enhancing your web design is one of the sure-shot ways to drive enough traffic to your eCommerce store. I am sure you must be knowing what an ideal web design is. Having the right colors, fonts, spaces, images, content, graphics, etc. It’s all about serving a unique purpose and pushing the status quo on the web. Further, I would like to mention some of the most eye-catching website designs.

#1 AirBnb

Of course, I don’t need to get into what AirBnb is. However, what you might not know is that the homepage of the website is pretty tempting. First of all, it opens at quite a fanatic pace. Fast-loading sites are pretty recommendable. The next thing is as soon as you open it you can get to work. There is nothing gibberish here. Everything right from the destinations, and detailed data search seems to be fairly present. I personally find myself intrigued with the navigation bar and of course, all the easy-to-use categories.

Here you will find a smart search form. All the details can be auto-filled just to avoid wastage of time and minimize friction. Also, you will find several stunning graphics here. Some of them are so inspiring that you might even end up making up your mind about traveling then and there.

On and all, AirBnb comprises a user-centric design which certainly results in driving more traffic and turning them into regular customers. Also, all this certainly leads to increased brand awareness.

#2 Slack

Have you seen Slack’s homepage? If not, check out right away! The new homepage design is pretty attractive and user-friendly. Also, it features a wide range of custom graphics. In fact, I loved both the tag lines, the previous one said “Where Work Happens” and this one “Great teamwork starts with a digital HQ”.

Slack itself makes it clear what visitors need to do or not. They can sign in and create a relevant account. In fact, Slack offers more and more navigation options in comparison to Dropbox. Basically, visitors do get what they want. Slack is not just visually appealing and easily digestible.

In fact, if you check the overall layout of Slack, it seems quite flexible and is responsive in its own way! The CTA seems to be quite personalized, and playful. The quirky responsive design surely works well for Slack.

#3 Healthline

Another interesting case study for an ideal web design is HealthLine. Many of you ask, how should the homepage of your website be? Well, I say a lot depends on the type of website you are about to create. Healthline is an educational website that focuses on providing as much information as possible in regards to health, nutrition, wellness, fitness and much more.

Have you ever heard about the “Show, don’t tell” approach? Well, Healthline can be considered as one of the best examples here. If you take a closer look at the webpage you won’t find anything written such as “We publish articles regarding health and wellness.” In fact, they have clearly demonstrated this by offering lots and lots of articles. Also, when you open the menu, you can easily navigate to what you want to go through.

#4 Help Scout

Another interesting example is Help Scout. It’s a great eCommerce site for B2B companies. If you see the layout, in comparison to the aforementioned options this one seems to be quite straightforward, yet it appeals to the eye. Do you know why? Because it simply focuses on the unique selling points and nothing else. The overall web design is pretty neat and decluttered. The places where CTA buttons are located are right on the target. What makes Help Scout so appealing?

• Well-designed menu – All the menus are fairly detailed and well-designed.
• Hovering – Long product details are a bit passe. So the website only shows them when the end user hovers over that particular topic.
• Appropriate Socializing – It showcases all the relevant awards, previous clients and testimonials. This definitely enhances credibility.

#5 Crate & Barrel

As the image shows, the store sells lots and lots of home decor, appliances and essentials. Everything right from amazing pieces of furnishings, to classy lighting, chandeliers, decor, kitchen appliances, you name it and they have it. The eCommerce website right from first glance seems to be pretty sophisticated, modern and classy. The light and clean interface promotes calmness and confidence in what they are selling. These guys don’t need any flashy posters or designs to sell their products.

Here you will find a mega menu where different categories are displayed and you can make your move from there towards your relevant product. Some of the most interesting aspects of Crate and Barrel include:

• Images placed precisely – Other than extensive menu categories, all the photos of the featured products assist users in visualizing things.
• Tracking – Current location can be tracked with Breadcrumbs
• Precise filters – This website features quite a comprehensive looking filtering system on the basis of features, prices and materials.

Now here comes the big question, how to reach there? How to become a renowned name in the UI/UX eCommerce industry. Here down below I would like to mention certain tips and tricks to take into account. All of them are thoroughly tried and tested, so you don’t have to worry much about the result.

Best UI/UX eCommerce Tips To Take into Account

#1 Appropriate Product Descriptions

One of the most basic yet crucial aspects to consider while designing a website, especially an eCommerce website is a product description. You are developing an eCommerce store, I am sure there are hundreds and thousands of products that need to be mentioned and of course, one cannot mention everything about each product here. So lengthy and unclear product details are a big Nah here. Try to come up with a comprehensive text yet meaningful that features everything that is needed for the product to be sold right at first glance. Also, use easy and understandable language.

Do you know your target audience well? If not, you can try conducting surveys to get a better understanding of what exactly they like and dislike. More or less, it’s about building a deep connection with your target audience, so you have to come up with a product description in which they are interested and not the one you want to share.

Apart from product descriptions, I have come across many eCommerce sites where there is no Call-To-Action button. Unfortunately, users not being able to take specific action end up switching to their competitors. So yes though this one seems just a button I do emphasize on spending time and brainstorming about how to make your call to action more responsive. This won’t just drive more and more customers to your store but have a deep impact on your sales as well.

#2 High-Quality Photos and Videos

Another interesting yet pivotal factor to keep in mind is using high-end photos and videos. Though adding them can be pretty intimidating. Because you may love all the 25 pictures of the same product. However, you cannot upload them all. Choosing photos and videos requires a clear vision instead of just using the stocked ones. Having clear, high-end pictures can surely keep your visitors for the long haul. Also, this shows that you are pretty authentic and tend to offer nothing less than the best. To be precise, in today’s times visual content plays an extremely vital role in arresting the eyes of your current and potential consumers in a dramatic manner.

To begin with, finding the perfect photo or visual depends a lot on perception and also, it’s quite subjective. Further, I would like to mention certain pointers that must be considered before making such a choice.

• Quality – Of course, the image quality has to be on par, no two ways about it! Poorly focused ones or grained ones are a big No-No! Even though you are using stock photos, do choose ones with high resolution. Quality does enhance the look and the feel of the website.
• Size – Next aspect to take into account is the image size. Fast-loading websites are given pretty much importance by google as well as we as end users. So even though you select the perfect image in 5Mb size then it can certainly hinder the fast loading of your website. So pay attention to the weight of the image file as well as its height and width. And reduce it well. Here instead of bigger the better we have the more you downsize the more visitors will come. Try aiming for less than 500KB.
• Relevance – Of course, you need to choose those images that are relevant enough. Do you think all the images chosen are relevant to the content directly? I do agree that there are times when you may not be able to find the exact photo in regards to your content but trying to associate one in the most abstract sense is a doable job.

So do come up with images your content as well as our audience can relate with. Do consider basic traits such as age, gender, and style in mind. Also, never opt for phony looking photos that openly say I am a stock photo.

#3 K-I-S-S

Keeping it Simple, Silly! Is one such rule that can be applied anywhere and everywhere and the eCommerce realm is certainly no exception here. So while you are designing an eCommerce store, try to make it as simple as you can. Offering too many flashy ads, and pop-ups is a big No-No! Plus, it definitely doesn’t help the audience in figuring out the focal point. To make your website work wonders you don’t need whistles and bells, moreover, this turns out to be quite a distraction and frustrating, compelling your audience to switch to your competitors. So here’s the key, try keeping your website design as simple, as decluttered and as attractive as possible. Also, don’t forget to enhance the focal point so that you are able to close the sale!

Always keep this in mind, you are developing an eCommerce website for a purpose, so make sure you don’t incorporate anything else that distracts your end users from the important content. At the same time, offering too much could be a risky move that your end users may not like. Some of the most successful web designs comprise lots and lots of white spaces, 3 colors per page, pure tones and readable fonts. Also, several websites have lost ample customers due to flashy designs and unnecessary stuff.

#4 Aesthetically Pleasing

Another interesting factor to keep in mind, especially when designing an eCommerce store is that it should be aesthetically pleasing. I am sure you might find the point pretty contradicting to the aforementioned one but still, I must say both the points are equally important. This means your website has to be simple yet aesthetically pleasing. You see, developing a website that’s too simple but not attractive at all could be quite worrisome. I do agree that attractiveness is pretty subjective but the ultimate idea here is that your website should have some kind of personality or attractiveness. Here’s a tip – try finding the appropriate balance between aesthetics and usefulness.

In today’s times, most of the eCommerce websites are found selling the same stuff and gone are the days when you could make a difference by providing a competitive price. The overall design and most important of all, how the customer felt are given prime importance these days.

Now imagine you want to buy a hair dryer. What will you do? I am sure you won’t waste your time reading that content, instead type “Hair Dryer” in the search bar and buy the product, right? So when exactly does web design come into play? It’s when the customer stumbles upon your page without knowing much about the product. Here the convenience offered by the page, accessibility, decluttering, and all such factors matter.

If they like it, nothing can stop them from buying the product. In such cases, the actual product is secondary. So how to make your website aesthetically pleasing?

• Add high-quality images that are relatable and do offer an emotional connect
• Use colors that tend to evoke particular feelings such as happiness, calm and poised, blissful, etc.
• Create a copy depending on the website design, i.e. professional, friendly, empathetic, humorous, etc.

Take a look at the image below, I am sure you will know what exactly I am trying to say!

#5 Responsive

I had read this somewhere that unless and until you haven’t made any responsive advances, the website will remain the ugly wolf. A responsive design acts like sheep’s clothing that seems aesthetically pleasing, and beautiful the very first time. Today, the use of smartphones and mobile applications seems to have increased to a great extent. In fact, most of the activities we do in our daily lives are using mobile devices whether it’s shopping or ordering food, buying groceries, home decor, electronic appliances and whatnot! Not having a responsive design in your eCommerce store means you will certainly lose more than three-quarters of online shoppers. So are you willing to take such a risk? I guess not!

Not optimizing your website for mobiles means when a smartphone user tends to visit your store via his respective device, all the UI, and text will look too small and he or she might keep zooming in and zooming out back and forth. This could be quite annoying and you may certainly lose their attention span. And maybe that’s the reason why businesses started developing different mobile versions of the eCommerce website. Now when you opt for a responsive design, you no longer have to develop another mobile version. The eCommerce website can automatically adjust to different computing devices. So whether you are opening the website on a desktop, laptop or tablet, or mobile, the website automatically adjusts within the different screens without irritating the end user. Since they no longer have to keep zooming in and zooming out. If you don’t want your end users to abandon your store, do opt for a responsive design.

#6 Keep Yourself in the Shoes of Your Visitors

Now it is extremely important to develop a website design that instantly builds a strong connection with your target audiences. For that, you need to place your foot in the shoes of your target audiences. Try to understand what they actually want to see instead of what you actually want them to see. Some of the basics you can take care of include easy navigation, well-designed, neat and attractive design, easy and hassle-free shopping, etc. These basic yet crucial factors can certainly give your website a competitive edge.

Wrapping Things Up!

And that’s all for now! eCommerce website design is pretty wide, I can simply go on and on with these pointers. However, the aforementioned ones are pretty pivotal to take into account. I guess now you know exactly what needs to be done to create a website design for your eCommerce store that is not just pleasing to the eye but also drives an immense amount of traffic. Are you ready to give your store a worthy overhaul?

I hope the following post was worth the read, if so please help us in spreading the word and by sharing among your peers.