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Top 8 eCommerce Website Design Tips

Just about everything is online these days – including shopping. That’s why there’s never been a better time than now to be in the eCommerce industry! Whether you’re selling t-shirts, jewelry, or just about anything, you need to have a high-quality designed eCommerce website. But we get it – running your business and creating a killer website simultaneously can be challenging! That’s why we have crafted our top 8 website design tips for a fantastic eCommerce website. 

What makes an eCommerce website well designed?

Web design is crucial when it comes to creating an eCommerce website and if you are looking to grow traffic. Good eCommerce web designs include using the right colors, images, fonts, and graphics to help visitors purchase your products. Your eCommerce website should not only attract customers but provide a great user experience while showing off your products and services offered. 

Well, how exactly do you do all that? How do you create and design the website that will push customers to take action and checkout?

Top 8 eCommerce Website Design Tips

Here are the top 8 eCommerce website design tips that’ll take your eCommerce’s website to the next level!

1. Keep it clean and simple

This is one of the most essential rules you should follow when designing your website. Simple is almost always better. The more you have going on within a page (think pop-ups, banners, bright colors, and different fonts) can take away from the website’s purpose – to help you close a sale. 

Top 8 ecommerce website design tips

Leen Heyne, an eCommerce store that sells jewelry, keeps their website’s design clean, clear and minimalistic.

Don’t worry about packing in a ton of bells and whistles. Instead, minimize distraction. By keeping your design crisp and clear, you can use the “fancy stuff” to emphasize certain aspects of your site that help drive customer action. 

2. Prioritize branding 

With millions of sites popping up on the web, maintaining a consistent aesthetic and branding is mission-critical to standing out. We bet you’ve stumbled across a website where something seemed…off. If you took time to think about it, the lack of branding probably stood out to you like a sore thumb. When it comes to e-shopping, customers desire to purchase from established brands, not faceless, nameless sites that look like they might steal your credit card information!

Building trust is essential in driving sales. Thus, it would help if you put some serious thought into branding. Good branding is similar to the DNA of your business. It shows off what your company is all about and how you’re different from competitors. Good branding or bad branding can be a deal-breaker in building a connection with your audience. 

top 8 ecommerce websites design tips

Harry’s consistent use of branding elevates it above over brands in the shaving industry.

If you aren’t sure what your branding is, it may be time to define your brand. Ask yourself a few questions to help determine your branding:

  • You have three words to describe your brand. What would they be?
  • If my brand was a person, who would it be?
  • What differentiates my brand from an eCommerce business similar to mine?
  • What does my company do better than others on the market?

Once you know a bit more about who you are, you can work that into the branding on your website. If you need help determining the specifics, feel free to contact us. We specialize in web design, development, and business branding.

3. Use Color Wisely

Remember what we said about branding? It’s essential to keep it simple. Choose your colors wisely and sparingly. Color can be a potent tool, especially when you understand the psychology behind color. Use it to your advantage.

Think about famous brands – what colors come to mind when you picture them? Usually, few colors will stand out connected to a particular emotion. Different colors cause different emotions and feelings, such as the color red. 

top 8 ecommerce websites design tips

The use of color (in this image, the color red), immediately draws attention, driving the customer to purchase.

There is a reason many fast food companies primarily use red in their branding (think McDonald’s, Wendy’s, or Burger King). Red inspires a feeling of passion and excitement, which are driving factors behind spending. Studies show that making your checkout button red can increase conversions by over 34 percent

Take a look at the color palette and choose colors that inspire the emotions you’d like to draw out of your customers. Blue, for example, encourages feelings of trust and calm. There’s a reason why blue is the go-to color in the business world.

Using the right colors across your site can be a huge asset.

4. High-Quality Images

Images can increase conversion; this is a well-known fact in the world of web design. This is even more true when it comes to the eCommerce industry. People don’t want to buy a product they can’t see! If you desire people to purchase from you, you will have to show them what they are buying with high-quality images. If your pictures aren’t high quality enough, then you may need to get professional shots taken. If your customers feel confident knowing what they are buying, they are more likely to purchase. 

Just go ahead and do yourself a favor – make sure you have high-quality images of whatever you are selling on your website!

5. Scannable Content 

While you could spend days crafting long descriptions for the products on your website, that may be a waste of time. Studies show that web visitors read only about 20 percent of the text on a given page. This means your web pages shouldn’t contain too much information, or people will glaze over it. Instead, you need to ensure your content is scannable!

Break up your content either using headings or product descriptions. Make it easy to scan. Keep paragraphs short, and feel free to use bolding to bring attention to important information.

The easier it is to scan your content, the more likely readers will absorb the important messaging and click purchase. 

6. Make Your Site Look Professional 

With thousands of websites popping up every day on the internet, you must ensure that your content is professional. What do we mean by professional? 

top 8 ecommerce websites design tips

Bite’s website is professional, with consistent branding, clear messaging and crisp images.

A professional site makes sure customers feel comfortable submitting their personal information to you (i.e., credit card information!). A professional website is also 100 percent free of typos and misspelled words. On top of this, your website should have consistent, high-quality branding on every page, photos should be professionally taken, and your overall design should look modern and clean.

The bottomline is this – if you want your customers to take you seriously, you need to show them you are taking business seriously. And this is done by showing off a professional website

7. Use Social Proof 

Trust is a critical element of making a sale online. Another way to bolster trust is through reviews and testimonials. Even if you haven’t been in the business long, you probably have a few positive reviews handy. Publicize those reviews on your website! People want to see what other people think of the product – both the good and the bad. 

It could also be a great idea to add a ratings and reviews section to your site or products. That way, as you make more sales, your customers will help market your products for you. It may even be beneficial for you to ask customers to review products. This could be a great blog post that also works to improve your image and footprint online. 

The more people see other customers having a positive experience shopping with you, the more trustworthy you will seem. And, the more trustworthy you are, the more likely customers will buy and keep buying.

8. Make Your Site Responsive

Did you know that over 40 percent of eCommerce purchases are made on smartphones? Your site must be responsive to mobile users! If it’s not easy for shoppers to access your site, look through your products, and checkout via their cell phones, then you’ll lose customers quickly!

Ready To Implement These Ecommerce Website Design Tips?

We understand that eCommerce is website design can be tricky. There are a lot of things to think about when creating the perfect site for shopping. However, incorporating the above tips will help your site not only look great but convert! 

What are you waiting for? If you’d like more advice, need a website overhaul, branding advice, or simply need some help with your website, we’re here to help! We offer complete, comprehensive services for eCommerce businesses. Whether you need a little help or an entirely brand new website, we’ve got you covered.

Contact us today!

6 Ways to Grow Website Traffic as an eCommerce Business

There are many ways you can increase traffic to your eCommerce website. Here are 6 ways to boost traffic to your business’s site. Whether you are trying to start a business or currently struggling, these tips will help any business owner optimize their website.

1. Content Marketing For Your Online Business

The key to mastering content marketing is the balance between quality and quantity.

From blog posts to video tutorials, content marketing means investing in any written or visual content that will bring potential consumers to your website.

While it may sound like a hefty bill, you can use content across all platforms. One long-form blog post can be reused to create weeks of social media infographics.

Regularly posting blog articles will help raise your Google search ranking as a reliable source. Create a content calendar for each month in advance with scheduled blog posts and trending topics. Having the content ready to go will allow for much-needed time to edit and ensure top quality.

Look to the leaders of your industry. Do they have a regularly updated blog? Consistent content production? Intentional posting schedule?

2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

When customers search for your product or service, will your online store appear on the first page of Google’s search results?

If your answer is no, you need to invest in search engine optimization.

Your website will shoot to the top of search rankings and increase profits by researching and utilizing SEO tips and tricks.

When mastering SEO, here are the key aspects to remember:

  • Backlinks
  • Keywords
  • Location tagging
  • Target audience
  • Analytics

Are you struggling to utilize SEO on your own? At Elevare, our team of professionals has a decade of experience helping businesses raise their Google search rankings to the very top. Schedule a free consultation today.

6 ways to grow traffic as an ecommerce business

3. Social Media Marketing

Most business owners know the power of social media. However, not as many know how to best use it.

According to Statistica, 91.9 percent of U.S. marketers in 2021 were projected to use social media for marketing purposes.

When creating a social media presence, it is vital to prioritize the schedule. Although algorithms change all the time, one thing that will never change is the value of consistent posting.

No matter how unique your content is, it isn’t very sensible unless consistent.

Social media marketing also allows for cheaper advertising opportunities. It won’t break the bank to spread your content to other users. On average, Instagram promotions cost $6.70 per 1,000 impressions.

These numbers are changing the advertising space, which previously required thousands of dollars to make a dent in engagement.

4. Email Campaigns

With all the bells and whistles of social media, many marketers have thrown email out the door. However, there is still value in a traditional email campaign.

According to Hubspot, there are 4 billion daily email users. Although many of these users have grown accustomed to constantly deleting spam emails, these are still huge numbers.

About 64 percent of small businesses still use email campaigns as a cost-effective and straightforward way to market their brand.

Email campaigns allow businesses to increase brand awareness with little to no budget, only requiring internet access.

However, since spam emails have become such an oversaturated form of communication, teams must get more creative when writing emails. If a user is already on the lookout for spam emails, your email must catch their eye within seconds.

5. User-Generated Content

Social media has united communities across the globe, allowing businesses to get instant feedback from consumers.

Use your current consumers to get to your potential consumers.

In the age of influencers, many have grown accustomed to trusting online recommendations. If your favorite influencer posts about a new product they’ve been loving — are you more likely to try it out? The answer is probably yes, even if you’ve never met the person or know how trustworthy they are.

Consumer reviews make us feel validated in our purchases, and user-generated content works the same way.

Many apparel brands have adopted this marketing strategy by re-posting customer content on their platforms. These photos and videos show potential customers the product’s popularity and imagine how their lives could change with the product.

6. Landing Pages

People want things to be easy.

If you’re looking at an advertisement for a store’s seasonal sale, you do not want to be redirected to the company’s homepage. This will restart the sale process and force customers to search for the specific information they want.

However, if you link a custom-made landing page to this advertisement, the customer won’t have to search anywhere.

Landing pages make customization simple for both parties. By consolidating critical information into one page, customers are much more likely to purchase products.

Landing pages can also inform business owners of the success of each campaign. When web traffic increases, it may be hard to pinpoint what specific campaign is driving the traffic.

With customized pages and analytics, you won’t have to guess where the numbers are coming from.

Direct Traffic To Your eCommerce Store

Struggling to get customers to your site? Elevare’s professional team is here to help. We don’t copy paste from templates or eCommerce website builders. We’ll start from scratch in creating or optimizing your website. A great eCommerce website should have all the bells and whistles, built on a solid business plan, including multiple payment options.

With a decade of experience, we have helped countless eCommerce businesses increase their website traffic and expand their customer base to the next level. Let us help you with your website management systems and boost your online sales.

Looking to grow your business and boost retail sales today? Let you help us perfect and optimize your eCommerce site. Schedule your free consultation and start selling now.

Will E-shopping Prevail Over In-store As Vaccinations Increase?

Since March of 2020, brick-and-mortar stores have seen a devastating decline in sales. However, while in-person shopping fell, eCommerce sales soared. As in-store vaccinations increase, will e-shopping prevail?

The Shopping Power Shift

According to Retail Dive, eCommerce sales increased 195 billion dollars from 2019 to 2020.

Meanwhile, foot traffic decreased 49 percent from February to April of 2020.

While people were stuck in their homes, no one was able to leave for multiple months – to either work or shop in retail stores. Countless stores closed their doors for good, while some even filed for bankruptcy.

As in-store closures continued, companies shifted their focus to online stores and social media marketing which has created many oversaturated industries.

The pandemic also fueled more eCommerce companies like Amazon, where customers can get almost any item delivered within a few days by just clicking a button. The ease of online shopping can not be replaced by in-store purchasing, and many consumers have become accustomed to not having to leave their homes.

Although most people are excited for vaccinations to help foster normal life, many are left wondering – why would I go out and search for something when I can get exactly what I need delivered to my door?

will-e-shopping-prevail-over-in-store-as-vaccinations-increase

Retail Is Rundown

Since most people had no place to go — or dress for — the apparel industry was hit the hardest.

According to Deloitte retail sales decreased 20 percent from February to April – while traditional retailers like clothing/accessory stores, plummeted 89 percent.

Pajamas replaced business casual as Zoom meetings only required presentable looks from shoulders-up. Countless TikToks and online memes were made to poke fun at pandemic apparel culture since so many people paired a dress shirt with sweatpants for virtual meetings.

As vaccination numbers rise and people return to in-person shopping, the apparel industry is now battling the popularity of sustainable fashion and thrift shopping.

TikTok has fostered an online community of environmentally friendly young people who prefer to shop at secondhand stores rather than apparel legends like Forever 21.

The Future Of E-shopping

So, what is next for shoppers? Although 56 percent of the United States is fully vaccinated, many people are still skeptical of in-person shopping.

Mask mandates vary state by state, but private businesses have the right to require masks in-store no matter what the state government allows.

In states like Texas that have halted the mask mandate, but in-person stores are struggling to require masks without losing foot traffic since so many locals have gotten used to maskless life.

Stores are also struggling to financially stay afloat after being forced to close in 2020. Also, it is costing stores to invest in reopening with social distancing guidelines, mask mandates, and plexiglass checkouts.

Not only are in-person stores fighting to stay in business, but consumers are also grappling with their own shopping decisions.

Shopping has always been a beloved American pastime, supported by the modern rise and expansion of upscale shopping malls. While many people have rushed back to in-person shopping as an escape from home life, some purchases are still reserved for online.

Amazon’s Subscribe and Save feature has been a big part of this shift, as consumers can buy one bottle of dish soap but sign up for a monthly subscription to have a fresh bottle delivered each month when you run out.

With just one click, you never have to worry about running out again.

While in-person retail shopping will never fully die due to its beloved culture, e-shopping is expected to account for 27 percent of overall sales by 2023.

The unbeatable efficiency and ease will keep pushing e-shopping to the top of the retail industry, even as vaccinations increase.

Want To Capitalize On The Rise Of eCommerce?

At Elevare, we have a decade of experience helping eCommerce businesses get to the top of Google search rankings.

With our stunning eCommerce website, content marketing, and social media secrets, our team can help your online business become a leader in selling your digital products or services. Whether you are a small business selling business to consumer (B2C), business to business (B2B).

Schedule your free consultation today!