Before we move forward, I have a few things to ask you.
How effective is your website? Is it a sales channel attracting customers or simply a costly interface with no conversions?
Now, take a step back for a moment. You put in all the hours and hard work into designing an attractive storefront space and displaying your products beautifully. However, are your efforts paying off?
Or do your design and product visuals fall short, and customers leave their shopping carts midway out of inconvenience caused by a complex checkout process?
eCommerce website design mistakes may seem small, but repeatable occurrences deplete the profit of a significant number of businesses. Misplaced and too many links, cluttered user interfaces, poor checkout design, and dull CTA are all challenges that can drive customers away from a business and stunt its growth online.
Let us help you navigate the treacherous waters of eCommerce website design, as well as steer clear of getting burned by making the once-off costly mistakes. We will go through some of the most recurrent design errors that affect eCommerce site sales, as well as strategies that could make your site successful.
Get ready to turn the course of your e-commerce store onto the winning track!
Table Of Contents
A Lack of Design Consistency: Creating a Cohesive Brand Experience
Discrepancies in the web design or mobile app can all contribute to a very bad user impact experience.
These issues include poor and cross-branded designs, incongruent images, and unwarranted click-throughs, which make it impossible for a customer to navigate the site and hence prevent them from making their intended purchases. This sometimes leads to annoyance and confusion, which in turn leads to lost sales opportunities.
Set a verbal explanation or documentation that clearly states what your brand is all about. Never violate these instructions throughout your website. Easy: Include the same colors, font, images, and tone of voice.
Think of your website as a cohesive story, where each element contributes to a seamless and engaging brand experience.
2. Not Mobile-Friendly: Alienating Mobile Shoppers
As the world becomes more mobile-centric, ignoring the need for mobile optimization is one of the biggest blunders in e-commerce.
Statistics reveal a worrying fact: a good number of consumers who shop online do it while scrolling on their phones or tablets, meaning a responsive web design is pivotal for eCommerce sites.
Websites with a responsive web design strategy can make it easier for users using any handheld devices to interact with the website. Otherwise, the potential customers may find the interfaces complex to use, the content awkward to comprehend, or the product images challenging to view, which is extremely annoying and may cause them to leave.
Optimize your site to comfortably fit various screen sizes without compromising the ease and fun of using the site regardless of the device.
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3. Tiny Product Images: Failing to Showcase Your Products
No eCommerce site can thrive without clear and attractive pictures of the products on offer.
They help potential customers see the products closely, discern their specifications, and choose what to buy. However, most eCommerce retailers err in their use of websites by using images that are disregarded and too small to show their products well.
Think about the site that sells shoes. If you want to buy a pair, all you see are the shoe pictures. There are not even clear images of the shoe stitching, the leather, the heel, or a close-up of a shoe image.
You would, most likely, do not buy, right?
Use enlarged, clear pictures that allow a customer to see all the features of a shoe up close. Give several pictures from varied perspectives so that the buyer can get a full view of the shoe.
For any business, images are the non-moving sales staff who always promote the message to non-verbal audiences.
4. Generic Calls-to-Action (CTAs): Missing Opportunities to Convert
CTAs are the desirable actions that include adding a product to your cart, proceeding to checkout, or filling in an opt-in form for newsletters.
However, they occur in most eCommerce sites in generic forms, like “Click Here” or “Learn More,” which is discouraging.
To maximize the chances of the CTA being fulfilled, CTAs must be clear and actionable and succinctly explain the benefit to be accessed.
Rather than saying ” Learn More,” change it to “Shop Now and Get 20% Discount” or “Check Latest Collection”. Adjust the CTAs to bold, bright colors and short, strong words that get people moving.
A good CTA is always actionable and can turn what would have been a lost opportunity into a conversion.
5. A Long or Confusing Checkout Process: Losing Customers at the Finish Line
The checkout stage is the last stage of the eCommerce process. If customers experience a prolonged checkout process or if it is somewhat confusing, the cart may not be modified and will be abandoned.
It will help if you make the transaction process less tedious by eliminating unnecessary steps and providing enough guidance. Thus, guests can check out without registering an account.
Remember to include a variety of payment methods and reassuring security seals to increase customer confidence that their data is secure. A correct buyer’s attitude towards the check-out process provides maximum conversions with minimum sales opportunities lost.
6. Obnoxious Pop-ups: Annoying Your Visitors
Pop-ups are good elements for generating leads and advertisement offers, but excessive use of them can be a real headache.
Such obnoxious pop-ups that interrupt the context or content of the pages or aggressively overuse them – will only scare your visitors and leave an unpleasant mark on the brand.
The pop-up feature has benefits but use it cautiously and only on special occasions.
It’s best to show pop-up ads after a visitor has spent a certain amount of time on your website or is just about to exit a page. Make sure your pop-up ads are related to the site’s content and benefit the user in some way.
Even more importantly, don’t make the ads so that your users feel frustrated and cornered when trying to get rid of them.
7. Hiding Contact Information: Eroding Trust and Credibility
When it comes to web purchases, nothing is more crucial than trust.
The clients appreciate that they can reach out without any hassle if they have any questions or procedural problems concerning their orders. When you are considering hiding information such as contact details that buyers might need, it is a terrible strategy.
Make sure your phone number, e-mail address, and physical address are displayed on all website pages. You can also implement a live chat, which is ideal for quick responses.
Customers appreciate such features because they give them a chance to establish trust and certainty, and the ability to keep in contact adds to the sense of clarity.
8. No Security Certificates: Raising Red Flags for Shoppers
Along with a great shopping experience, online security remains a significant concern for people, especially when dealing with sensitive information such as credit cards or bank details.
Not having an updated website with proper security measures may raise red flags and drive away customers who are willing to purchase.
When it comes to an eCommerce website, the best way to overcome this issue is to have a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate. This protects customers’ data by encrypting all information exchanged between your website and customers’ browsers.
Having an SSL certificate visible to users also offers tangible indicators of trust, which could help convince users that their information is not in danger.
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9. Requiring an Account to Order: Adding Friction to the Checkout Process
While creating customer accounts can benefit repeat purchases and personalized experiences, forcing customers to create an account before purchasing can add unnecessary friction to checkout.
This can lead to increased cart abandonment rates, as customers may hesitate to provide personal information or create another online account.
Implement a guest checkout option to enable customers to pay for goods/services without creating an account. This eliminates intercessions and provides a better total checkout experience as it is less complex.
You can always encourage customers to open an account after purchase by describing benefits like order history, speed of payment, and recommendations.
10. Poor Customer Service Options: Leaving Customers in the Dark
Excellent customer care establishes customer friendship, addresses concerns, and enhances customer retention.
Still, quite a number of eCommerce websites need more customer support, which leaves consumers angry and abandoned.
It should be convenient for customers to look for solutions to their queries and request assistance when needed.
Include all the information that can be used to contact the company, including a dedicated FAQ section, a ticket system, or even a live chat option.
This is advantageous since it enables positive brand experiences whenever customers feel the need to seek assistance and keeps them coming back for more.
Conclusion: Invest in Effective eCommerce Website Design
Professional eCommerce website design heavily impacts e-commerce businesses. No matter how brilliant your products are and how attractive your marketing strategies are, if your website design needs to be appealing or build credibility, everything will be a good use of effort.
Once you know what potential problems to avoid when designing your eCommerce website and how to approach the task correctly, you can create a stunning eCommerce website that will turn visitors into customers and help build brand loyalty.
As a marketer, if you want to avoid costly web design mistakes, hire a professional company capable of delivering results. Top Notch Dezigns can perform a thorough inspection of your site and its flaws and then concentrate on amending its aesthetics and marketing strategies to improve traffic to your site.
Let us assist you in creating a magnificent eCommerce website that will not be hampered by design issues that knock it down and ruin its potential.
