6 Dos & Don'ts for E-commerce Web Design

Cover illustration by Storytale

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In today’s digital age, having a successful online presence is crucial for businesses of all sizes. For e-commerce businesses, a well-designed website can make the difference between success and failure. In this article, we will explore some important dos and don’ts to consider when designing e-commerce web experiences.

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1. Navigation

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❌ Don’t: Complex Navigation

Overly complex navigation can lead to a frustrating user experience that ultimately causes lots of customers to abandon their carts and look elsewhere.

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✅ Do: Simple Navigation

Use clear and concise labels for your navigation items, group related items together, and use drop-down menus for subcategories. A clear and straightforward navigation menu helps visitors find what they are looking for and makes their experience enjoyable.

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2. Layout

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❌ Don’t: Cluttered & Confusing Layouts

A cluttered and confusing layout can make it difficult for customers to navigate your website and find what they are looking for. When there are too many elements on a page, it can create visual noise and distract customers from the products you are trying to sell.

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✅ Do: Clean & Simple Design

Use a clean and simple layout that highlights your products and makes it easy for customers to find what they are looking for. Ensure that your website has plenty of white space, which can help reduce visual clutter and make your content more readable. Use a consistent layout across all pages of your website, with clear headings and intuitive navigation. Finally, test your layout with real users to ensure that it provides a positive user experience.

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3. Product Images

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❌ Don’t: Poor-Quality Images

Product images are essential in e-commerce web design. Poor-quality images can turn off potential customers and decrease their trust in your products overall. When images are blurry or low quality, customers may think your products are low quality or that your business is unprofessional.

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✅ Do: High-Quality Images

Make sure you’re using high-quality images that clearly show the product from different angles, and offer zoom-in options to give customers a better view. It’s also super important to ensure that your product images are consistent in terms of size and placement throughout your website.

4. Checkout Flow

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❌ Don’t: Long & Complex Checkout Flows

Avoid creating a checkout process that is long and complex. This can result in cart abandonment, leading to lost sales. When the checkout process gets too long or confusing, the customer might start to feel frustrated and give up on making the purchase.

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✅ Do: Quick & Simple

Simplify the checkout process by reducing the number of steps required to complete a purchase. Ensure that the checkout process is intuitive, and only asks for essential information.

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5. Responsiveness

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❌ Don’t: Ignore Mobile Responsiveness

Making an e-commerce website mobile-friendly is crucial in today’s world, as more and more people are shopping on their mobile devices. If your website is not optimized for mobile, you may be losing quite a lot of potential customers.

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✅ Do: Ensure Mobile Experience

Ensure that your website is responsive and adapts to different screen sizes. Use a mobile-friendly design, with large buttons and easy-to-read text. Test your website on different devices and platforms to ensure that it works well on all of them. Additionally, consider implementing mobile-specific features, such as click-to-call or location-based services, to enhance the user experience on mobile devices. By making your e-commerce website mobile-friendly, you can reach a wider audience and increase your sales.

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6. Load Times

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❌ Don’t: Lengthy Loading Times

Load times are crucial for e-commerce websites. Slow loading times lead to high bounce rates and low conversions. In the current day and age customers expect websites to load quickly, and if your website is slow, they may choose to shop elsewhere.

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✅ Do: Optimize

Optimize your website’s loading speed by compressing images, minimizing HTTP requests, and leveraging browser caching. Use a content delivery network (CDN) to reduce server response times and ensure that your website is mobile-friendly.

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That wraps it up for some of the top dos and don’ts of e-commerce web design. By considering these in your design process, you can create a website that not only looks great but also delivers a seamless shopping experience for customers.

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