You’ve got great products, you’ve decided on an affordable price – you’ve even started working on a brand new website to showcase your products and start selling online. 

Everything seems perfect.

But a poorly designed shopping experience can (and will) force users to leave and find a better experience elsewhere. 

That’s why it’s crucial to have a great design on your site.

Have a neat design 

Over 60% of people prefer to interact with a visually appealing site. Sometimes, minimalism works when it comes to website design.

You can compare your homepage with your storefront. Would you clutter it with everything that you sell? Instead, engage your viewers with a few words or phrases that communicate your key messages. 

Having empty spaces, also known as “negative space”, gives room for balance on your website. It reduces distractions and aids customers to best comprehend your products. Making use of short lists when introducing products can also make the content easier to read.

Improve your sales channel 

An outstanding e-commerce site should enable you to reach a new customer who knows nothing about you, turning them from strangers to your buyers.

Each new step taken by the customer on your site should bring him/her closer to a conversion, or the purchase of an item. Your objective as a web designer should be to minimise the mental obstacles between these stages as much as possible. You want to easily move users from one stage to another.

Clear call-to-actions

An effective website design should encompass a clear call-to-action (CTA) for the customer, providing them a reason to click, buy, or sign up. Your CTA should be outstanding, flexible, and intuitive. 

While there’s no single “best” colour for your CTA buttons, commonly used choices include orange and red, which tend to increase conversions. Nevertheless, what is most crucial is that the button should pop off the page and grab the viewer’s attention. This means choosing a colour that nicely contrasts with your background colour. 

You may also consider using trigger words, which help quickly answer questions like “where …?” “Or” how can I …? For example, such triggers might include ‘purchase now’, or ‘click here’.

Build trust

There are several ways you can build trust with your customers:

• Display recognised logos.

Should your e-commerce site sell brand names, then you must display these names as obviously as you can. These logos will help your business be linked to global leaders. Potential customers trust these industry giants – and because of that, they will also trust you.

• Past client reviews

Psychologically, it is natural to look for social evidence. You don’t need to just display these reviews on your product page. In fact, you could post it on each of your pages, perhaps in the footer so as not to interfere with the main content of the pages. 

• Contact details

At the bottom of every page, you should also provide any information crucial in answering key user concerns. These include your contact information and perhaps an “about us” section, as well as your company’s privacy policy or return policy.