Ecommerce Web Design Disasters Destroying Your Bottom Line – Here’s How to Fix Them
Ecommerce web design has become the go-to shopping destination for consumers. In fact, according to the EMARKETER, global ecommerce sales are projected to reach $7.4 trillion by 2025. With more and more customers flocking online, having a well-designed ecommerce website is crucial for driving sales.
7 Ecommerce Web Design Mistakes Killing Your Sales
However, many ecommerce web design sites suffer from poor web design that turns customers away. From cluttered homepages to lack of mobile optimization, these mistakes can seriously hurt your business. A study by Adobe found that 38% of users will stop engaging with a website if the layout is unattractive.
In this article, we’ll look at 7 common ecommerce web design mistakes that kill sales, along with tips to help you fix them. By avoiding these pitfalls, you can create a high-converting online store that delights customers and boosts your bottom line.
Poor Navigation
Navigating an ecommerce web design should be intuitive and effortless for customers. However, poor navigation is one of the most common issues that causes frustration and lost sales.
When customers can’t easily find what they’re looking for, they will quickly bounce to another site. Unclear navigation paths lead to aimless wandering as customers click around trying to locate products or information. This lack of direction will make them feel lost and overwhelmed.
Some common navigation problems include:
– Deeply nested menu structures that require too many clicks
– Inconsistent navigation between pages
– Hidden navigation menus that are hard to find
– Cluttered pages that obscure navigation links
– Lack of breadcrumb trails to see your path
– No search function or a poor search experience
These issues make it tedious for customers to explore your catalog or dig for information. The harder you make it for them to navigate, the more likely they will abandon their shopping cart and purchase elsewhere.
Fixing your navigation should be a top priority. Simplify your menus, use clear labels, and ensure consistency across all pages. Test your site navigation thoroughly and optimize the customer journey. Smooth navigation keeps customers engaged so they will convert rather than bounce.
Cluttered Homepage
A cluttered homepage is one of the biggest mistakes an ecommerce web design site can make. When a homepage is packed with too many images, products, menus, banners, pop ups, and more – it overwhelms customers. Shoppers will feel confused about where to look first and what action you want them to take.
Clutter distracts from your primary goal of getting customers to browse products and make a purchase. If the homepage is cluttered with unnecessary elements, the focus shifts away from your products. Customers may get frustrated and leave your site because it’s too busy and disorganized.
To fix a cluttered homepage, simplify the design. Remove any excessive text, graphics, menus and widgets. Highlight only your newest arrivals, best selling items, promotions, etc. Make sure the homepage clearly guides visitors into your product catalog. Remove distractions so customers can easily spot your calls-to-action and focus on shopping. A clean, minimalist design helps customers quickly find what they want.
Slow Load Times
A slow loading website is one of the biggest deterrents to sales. Kissmetrics found that 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less, and 40% will abandon a page that takes more than 3 seconds to load. For ecommerce sites, page load times matter even more, as slow load speeds lead to higher bounce rates and lost conversions.
Every additional second of load time decreases conversions dramatically. Akamai’s research showed that a 1-second delay in page load time led to a 7% decrease in conversions. That’s a huge number of lost sales simply from slow page speeds. (Forbes)
The main reasons for slow ecommerce sites include large page sizes, too many HTTP requests, unoptimized images, inefficient code, and overloaded servers. To improve load times, focus on optimizing images, reducing HTTP requests, enabling compression, using a CDN, and upgrading your hosting. Faster load speeds lead to higher conversion rates, lower bounce rates, better SEO, and increased revenue over the long-term.
Lack of Visuals
Customers are much more likely to engage with ecommerce sites that incorporate quality visual content like images and videos. In fact, studies show that posts with images generate 94% more views than text-only posts. Visuals grab attention, break up blocks of text, and communicate ideas more effectively.
Some key ways visuals boost engagement:
– Images make products more enticing by showing them in use or highlighting features. Shoppers want to see what they’re buying.
– Infographics simplify complex information. Visualizing data makes it more understandable and memorable.
– Videos demonstrate products or explain how to use them. Watching a video is more engaging than reading a description.
– Photos of people using products add a human element that visitors relate to. Lifestyle imagery creates connection.
– Pictures of your business, store, or team put a face to the brand so it’s not faceless. This builds trust and rapport.
– Icons, illustrations, and graphics add visual interest to boring pages. They liven things up.
An effective ecommerce web design site uses a strategic mix of visuals throughout. The homepage should feature eye-catching hero images, product photos, customer photos, explanatory graphics, or promotional videos. Product pages need quality images showcasing the item from multiple angles. Category and blog pages should break up text with relevant photos, infographics, icons, or video embeds.
Visually engaging websites have proven to convert more visitors into customers.
No Mobile Optimization
Mobile commerce has exploded in recent years, with consumers increasingly shopping on their smartphones and tablets. In fact, mobile commerce sales accounted for over half of all ecommerce sales in 2021, and that number is only expected to grow. Yet many ecommerce web designs still aren’t optimized for mobile users, which can significantly hurt sales.
Some key mobile optimization issues to avoid include:
– Small text that’s hard to read on a mobile screen
– Pages that aren’t responsive, forcing users to pinch and zoom
– Important site elements like navigation menus that are hard to access on mobile
– Slow load times or clunky performance due to unoptimized images or code
– Lack of accelerated mobile pages (AMP) for quick loading
– Forms and checkout processes that are difficult to navigate on mobile
Optimizing your site for mobile should be a top priority. Ensure pages load quickly, site elements are easy to access, text is readable, and the checkout process is seamless. Also consider leveraging features like Apple Pay and Google Pay to expedite mobile purchases. Investing in mobile optimization provides a better user experience and will pay off with higher conversion rates.
Hard to Find Contact Info
Having easily accessible contact information is crucial for providing good customer service and support. If customers can’t easily find how to get in touch when they have an issue or question, it will lead to frustration and lost business.
Some key reasons contact info should be easy to find on an ecommerce site:
– Customers expect to be able to quickly contact a company if they need help with an order, have issues with a product, or any other questions arise. If they have to hunt to find contact info, it creates a poor experience.
– Quick access to contact info helps build trust and confidence in your business. Customers want reassurance they can reach a real person if needed.
– Contact info enables customers to get timely support. If they’re unable to find your email, phone number, live chat etc, they can’t get their issues resolved efficiently.
– Lack of visible contact info may make customers think you don’t want to hear from them or care about support, damaging your brand image.
– When customers do locate contact info, they’re often more frustrated from the effort of searching, making negative reviews/feedback more likely.
To fix this:
– Place contact info prominently in header/footer navigation so it’s visible on every page. Don’t hide it away in small text at the bottom.
– Have contact details readily available on product/service pages, checkout, and account dashboard – key areas customers may need to get in touch with.
– Include multiple contact options – phone, email, live chat, social media links. Different customers prefer different channels.
– Make sure contact info is easy to access on mobile devices. Many issues arise while customers are on their phones.
– Feature visual icons and clear language like “Contact Us” so contact info is easy to identify. Don’t rely solely on text links.
Having visible, easy to find contact information should be a top priority for any ecommerce web design business looking to provide good customer service. Don’t make your customers hunt and frustrate them – ensure your contact details are prominently placed throughout your site.
No Social Proof
Social proof in the form of customer reviews, testimonials, and ratings helps build trust with potential customers and improves conversion rates. When an ecommerce web design site lacks any visible social proof, it raises doubts and makes visitors wonder if anyone has used or recommends the products/services.
Displaying positive reviews and high star ratings on product pages reassures shoppers that other customers were satisfied. Featuring video or written testimonials from real buyers on your homepage establishes credibility and shows your offerings are worthwhile.
Make social proof prominent throughout your site – not buried or hard to find. The more quality proof you can showcase, the better. Curate reviews and highlight your best testimonials. Be sure they come across as authentic and genuine.
Social proof is powerful because people are heavily influenced by others’ opinions and actions. We have a natural tendency to follow the crowd. When customers see others happily using a product or service, they gain confidence it will work for them too.
How to Fix Ecommerce Web Design Issues
Improving your ecommerce web design doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. Here are some tips to help fix the common issues and boost conversions:
Improve Navigation
– Make navigation menus clear and easy to find. Top or left placements tend to work best.
– Limit main navigation links to 5-8 choices. Too many links can be overwhelming.
– Include dropdown menus for additional categories.
– Highlight current page and dropdown selections.
– Include a search bar for easy access.
Streamline Homepage
– Focus on primary message or conversion goals like “Shop New Arrivals”.
– Showcase top products/categories rather than squeezing in too much.
– Use clean imagery and minimal, inviting text.
– Remove unnecessary widgets and links.
Optimize Load Speeds
– Compress images and media.
– Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files.
– Use a content delivery network (CDN).
– Defer non-critical JavaScript.
– Lazy load images and videos.
– Upgrade to optimized web hosting.
Add Visuals
– Include ample high-quality product images.
– Use lifestyle imagery to build desire.
– Break up text with relevant graphics and icons.
– Create custom illustrations to explain or highlight.
– Add engaging videos to showcase products.
Make Mobile Friendly
– Use responsive design for optimal viewing on all devices.
– Check the site on multiple devices and connections.
– Ensure buttons and links work for touch screens.
– Avoid horizontal scrolling or small text.
– Test and improve site speed on mobile.
Display Contact Information
– Show phone number, email, live chat clearly on all pages.
– List physical address if applicable.
– Make it easy to reach out with questions.
Show Social Proof
– Display customer reviews, testimonials, and ratings prominently.
– Showcase brand logos of other happy customers.
– Highlight number of sales, followers, subscribers, etc.
– Share press features or awards received.
A well-designed ecommerce web design is crucial for converting visitors into paying customers and growing your online sales. By avoiding common pitfalls like a cluttered homepage, slow load times, and lack of mobile optimization, you can create a site that engages users and makes it easy for them to find and purchase products.
The key takeaways are:
– Optimize site navigation and eliminate clutter so customers can easily find what they need.
– Speed up load times to keep visitors from abandoning their carts.
– Include ample visuals to showcase products and boost engagement.
– Ensure the site is mobile-friendly so customers can shop on any device.
– Make contact information readily available in case users have questions.
– Display social proof like reviews and testimonials to build trust.
By focusing on creating an intuitive, fast, and visually appealing user experience, you can turn your ecommerce web design into a revenue-driving machine. Invest time into getting the design right, and you’ll reap the rewards with increased sales and conversions.
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