What Makes a Good Ecommerce Website Design?

Website design. It’s basically your shopfront to the world. It’s the thing that makes customers stop, stick around, have a browse, and hey – hopefully – buy. Without good website design you may as well shut up shop and go home.

But what’s the special ‘je ne sais quoi’ that makes ecommerce website design good – or even better – brilliant? We’re here to tell you. In this article, you’ll discover:

• What is ecommerce web design
• How to design a good ecommerce website
• Examples of good ecommerce website design
• What not to do in e-commerce web design

According to this article on Fashion Discounts, 55% of UK consumers will shop more online after the pandemic than they did before. So, if you’re not making the most of your online presence, there’s no doubt that you’ll be missing out on a substantial amount of potential custom. Let’s take a look at everything to do with e-commerce web design...

What is Ecommerce Web Design?

Ecommerce web design is the process of producing a website format that allows customers to buy products from a website. Unlike other standard forms of web design, ecommerce web design includes unique features such as -

1. Product pages

2. Shopping baskets

3. Checkout stages

The very best ecommerce websites will be easy to navigate, attention-grabbing, simple and secure. Sounds pretty straightforward, right?

How to Design a Good Ecommerce Website

A website design agency knows just what to do when it comes to creating a brilliant ecommerce website. They’ll deal with everything from how to design database for ecommerce websites to ensuring your branding is working hard for you. So, what hints and tips should you consider when it comes to creating your own?

• Less is More – when you’re designing your ecommerce website, you may be tempted to go all out on product offerings, imagery, and colour, but seriously, don’t. Just keep things as simple as possible

• Go Big on Branding – branding sticks in people’s minds, it helps create authority and relationships. Develop a great brand and you’ll be halfway there  

• Put yourself in your Customer’s Shoes – imagine you’re clicking on to your website for the first time as a potential customer. Take some time to work your way round your website. Is it easy to follow? Is it eye-catching without being OTT? Do you believe in the product? Do the claims seem honest? What about the overall look and feel? If you’re struggling to see your website from an outsider’s perspective, ask a few friends or colleagues to take a look and give feedback

• Choose Quality over Quantity – whether it’s the pictures you’re using, the colours you’re including, or your font choices – it's all about creating a cohesive look and feel. Don’t ‘spam’ your website visitors with too much information, keep things streamlined and uniform and you’ll be doing a good job

• Keep Content Short and Sweet – no one has time to read website waffle, so do yourselves and your customers a favour and keep your content short and sweet. Make sentences snappy but packed with quality info, use bullet points and paragraphs so customers can scan the content for the information they need

• Link in your Social Media Channels – this is a great way to help boost your brand’s visibility and encourage customers to trust your product

• Make the Checkout Process a Cinch – once someone has made a purchasing decision, they definitely don’t want a glitchy, slow checkout experience – urgh, it’s worse than standing in an actual queue in an actual IRL shop. So, keep the checkout process simple, quick, easy to understand, and boom – you'll make those sales

• Design for the Masses – so, one customer’s shopping from their laptop, another is on a tablet, and hey, there are a fair few doing a quick shop on their mobile as they do the school run – this is what modern life is: different for everyone. Make sure your website is built to respond to your customers’ varying needs and you’ll be well on your way to a smooth and successful ecommerce experience and that deserves a pat on the back

Examples of Good Ecommerce Website Design

Need some inspo? Or, are you struggling to picture what makes a good ecommerce website design? Either way, you’ll be pleased to hear it’s pretty easy to discover some outstanding real-life examples that make ecommerce website design look like a breeze. Here’s our top three:

1. Skullcandy – land on this website and you’re straight in with products (along with price) that you can click on and get straight into. The design is cool and upmarket without being elitist, and the styling is simple. Easy to navigate, great photography, and content is broken down into short and sweet little nuggets

2. Skagen – gorgeous images, a sleek and professional look, and an easy to navigate design. Skagen makes an effortless job of looking like a quality, timeless brand that knows its stuff

3. Etsy – this global online marketplace lets millions of sellers showcase their wares. The homepage works with a seasonal theme that instantly draws you in, capturing your attention, and tempting you to discover your next favourite find

What Not to do in E-Commerce Web Design

According to this article on Internet Retailing, there are a fair few badly designed ecommerce websites out there. If you want to see how not to do it, just take a look at the article and see who they name as the worst examples of ecommerce out there. Alternatively, just remember to avoid the following:

• Bad categories – don't make customers search for hours to find the products they want, organise them into proper categories and make it easy
• Painful checkout – let customers breeze through with their buying experience, don’t make it complicated
• Zero customer support – one sure-fire way to lose customers ASAP is to offer zero after-sales support. It basically says you don’t care

That’s a Wrap

Think you’ve got ecommerce web design nailed? Or are you wondering how much for ecommerce website design from a reputable design agency? If you’re struggling and you need help with e commerce web design services from a digital marketing agency that’s helped scores of businesses go from zero to hero, you’re in the right place.

At Creative Ideaz, we know how to get your business looking its best online. Get in touch with us today and get ready to take your business to the next level.