E-commerce design is very different from traditional site design. An e-commerce website has to serve two main purposes, the first one is to meet the needs of customers and the second one is to sell more products. Web consumers in general are easily distracted and quickly lose their patience. The key is to focus more on usability and less on cool but difficult to use features. Once they reach your online store they should be able to get a good idea of what to look for, your job is to let them find it in as little steps as possible. Last but not least the words and images on your product pages should convey a clear message of how great the product is, its features and benefits.
The homepage is definitely one of the most important pages on an ecommerce web site. There may be a number of pages on the web site that serves as a landing page, however none of them can be used as effectively for announcements and promotions as the homepage. E-commerce design for a homepage has to be clean and simple. Fancy flash animation and other types of animated graphics will only frustrate your consumers. The most important content area should contain either one large image, separate areas for images or text or a slideshow to display multiple images. This section is ideal for featured products, top sellers, new arrivals, promotions, discounts or special offers. Eye catching images, bold colors, catchphrases and an urgent message are all commonly used in the homepage. Use your creativity to make the most out of this area.
The header, sidebar and footer act as the frame of a site and they can be effectively used for branding, usability and navigation purposes. This entire section is a crucial part of e-commerce design, because it appears no matter which page the visitor is on. When online shoppers have the urge to navigate away from a particular page, they will generally rely on these areas to help them decide where to go. Here are a few of the most common features that can be found in each of the main sections:
Header
- Name, logo and tagline for your store
- Link to 'My Account' if this feature is available
- Link to shopping cart and checkout
- Search box
- Top navigation menu featuring company details, faqs, contact information and more
Sidebar
- Link to product listings pages by category, brand or price
- Subscription opt-in box for email list
- Search box
- Featured product with image and price
- Links to special category pages for featured products, top sellers, promotions and new arrivals
Footer
- Copyright statement
- Link to information pages such as about, contact us, shipping & return policy, privacy policy and terms & conditions
- Additional links for my account, shopping cart and checkout
- E-commerce privacy and security logos
Great e-commerce design focuses on the product page. Whether or not the visitor makes a purchase depends largely on how well the product page is constructed. It's important for these pages to be short and concise, and to use persuasive words and images to get the visitor to take action. Traditional e-commerce design places the product image on the left side and the description on the right. It is important not to break with tradition, because web visitors are used to this layout and their eyes will naturally look at a web page from left to right. For optimum results, it's important to keep both the main images and description above the fold. Use several product images, show the product at different angles, and depending on the product, its fit, size and how it looks when in use. Always make sure the images are high quality and if possible, add a zoom feature for additional visual benefit. The description should be short and concise, make sure important information such as available colors and sizes appear above the fold and use bullet points when possible. Online shoppers generally focus on the image and skim the rest of the content so there's no need to give them too much to read. Most important of all, be sure your call to action button is prominent.
E-commerce design can very easily be achieved without having any technical skills or a lot of money to hire a professional designer. Many ecommerce solutions are offering tools to customize the design of your online store. Basic features you should look for include:
- Choice of templates for users with no html knowledge
- Ability for those with html knowledge to upload their own design
- Ability to customize pages with built-in WYSIWYG tool
- Gives you complete control of online store design
- Choose from commonly used e-commerce call to action buttons
- Create thumbnails with automatic image resize function while keeping image quality
Being able to build great e-commerce design depends in large part on the e-commerce solution you choose. Look for features and tools that lets you customize and design an online store that is entirely unique instead of a generic one. Add easy navigation and usability functions to provide your customers with the best shopping experience.
What you need is a full service all-in-one hosting, design, and marketing software made specifically for e-commerce businesses. One that lets you set up a store in minutes, and provides powerful tools to help with not only e-commerce design, but also SEO, product marketing and mobile commerce. Check out the best possible e-commerce solutions available at http://www.makeanonlinestore.com and try them out yourself absolutely free, no credit card required!
