Do you remember the last time that you went out and got something - anything? That might have made you scratch your head a little. Because over the last few years, everything has been available online - or even better: everything has been bought online. All you have to do is ‘add to cart’ and simply press ‘buy now’. As the world continues to enjoy shopping digitally, businesses are also increasingly recognizing the need to establish a strong online presence to stay on their feet and meet (even exceed) customers’ needs. The significance of eCommerce websites cannot be undermined in 2024.
When it comes to eCommerce websites, this need for a stunning design with a user-friendly experience cannot be understated. According to Baymard Institute, design-related factors contribute to 94% of initial impressions formed by visitors to a website. A website that has been carefully planned, built, and looked after can assist in establishing a robust presence on the internet.
Good web design isn’t just about aesthetics. 88% of online shoppers say they would not revisit a website after a negative user experience, and the most crucial element in a website's design, according to 76% of consumers, is that "it makes it easy for me to find what I want."
So without further ado, let’s dive right into this blog where we shall explore the key elements involved in beautiful website designing, trends for eCommerce website designing in 2024, case studies of eCommerce for websites, and finally, some secrets to high-converting eCommerce websites.
Key Elements of Beautiful Ecommerce Websites
Responsive Design
Responsive design is a crucial element in creating any beautiful website. This includes how websites adapt and respond to different screen sizes and devices. Here, responsive design on mobile seems to be a prime need, with 68% of mobile users saying they are more likely to stay engaged on mobile-responsive websites. With the rise of usage of phones and tablets, developers have to ensure that their websites are optimized for smaller screens and also touch commands.
A responsive layout that automatically adjusts itself to the layout of the device is advised; because, this ensures that irrespective of the device used, the customer can have easy accessibility to your website.
Since mobile-friendly websites experience a 40% higher conversion rate than non-optimized sites, website optimization for mobile can increase engagement, which in turn results in sales growth.
Let’s take Amazon as an example. Amazon is one of the largest retailers in the world that sets an unmatched standard for a universal shopping experience. Be it any device, laptop, phone, or tablet - the layout beautifully adjusts itself and offers customers a seamless shopping experience. It comes as no surprise that Amazon has pretty much aced its mobile eCommerce game with the major segment of shoppers: 68% Gen Z, 75% Millennials, 73% Gen X, and 64% Baby Boomers, according to Statista.
Source: aboutamazon
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Visual Appeal
It is often said that the first impression is the best. Design-related factors are believed to contribute to 94% of initial impressions formed by visitors to a website. When considering this aspect of an eCommerce website, the factors to be considered are high-quality product images, consistent branding, and visual identity.
Another factor that has recently come to the limelight is the innovative use of graphics and animations. According to SEMRush, websites with interactive elements often have a 40% lower bounce rate than static ones, and they can increase user retention by up to 60%. Furthermore, 50% of users find parallax scrolling effects appealing and engaging, and liquid swipe effects are now present in 29% of mobile websites. Graphics and animations can significantly enhance the overall user experience and captivate their attention, further triggering their imagination and emotional appeal.
⭐ Further Reading: 5 Incredible Ideas to Create Interactive Websites
Moreover, considering high-quality product images, having crisp detailed images of the product that showcase its color, features, and textures helps the customer to build trust and confidence in the minds of potential customers. In a research by Baymard Institute, 67% of online shoppers say that the importance of product image quality is "highly significant" when choosing and buying a product.
In terms of branding and identity, consistency is key. A noticeable side note is that using color strategically has been proven to increase conversion by up to 24%, and good typography can increase user engagement time by up to 10%! Having a well-thought-out and cohesive look across the website, whether it is the logo or the color palette helps enforce trust and brand love.
As Thomas John Watson Jr, former president of IBM said it well: “Good design is good business”.
User Experience
A beautiful eCommerce website is also about how well it functions in helping shoppers to move around, easily navigate, and close the deal. Not convinced yet? Here are some impressive figures about the unsung hero of UX design:
- On average, every $1 invested in UX returns $100. That’s an impressive ROI of 9,900%.
- A well-designed user interface can increase your website’s conversion rate by up to 200%.
- Improving the UX design of a website can enable a business to achieve a conversion rate as high as 400%.
- 66% of customers are willing to pay more for a great experience.
- 84% of customers say a company’s overall experience is as important as its products and services.
- 72% of customers will tell 6 other people about their good user experience. This is excellent for brand reputation and winning new customers.
When it is easier for users to navigate through the eCommerce website, it automatically increases their chance of making a purchase or even exploring more. Adding on this, if there is a streamlined checkout process, it reduces friction and increases conversion rates. The application of vital sales-boosting features in eCommerce websites like personalized recommendations improves UX and contributes to nurturing loyalty in the long run.
💡 Expert Tip: 5 eCommerce UX Best Practices that Increase Sales
Speed and Performance
Speed and performance are crucial parameters when measuring the success of an eCommerce website. This factor essentially impacts user satisfaction, engagements, conversion rates, and other crucial eCommerce website metrics.
Research has shown that even small delays in page loading can lead to significant drops in conversion rates and user engagement.
Source: queue-it
40% of shoppers won’t wait more than 3 seconds before abandoning an eCommerce site. Why should they, when it is proven that our stress levels increase by 33% when content takes more than 6 seconds to load, the equivalent of a math test or watching a horror movie?
Unfortunately, the average retail site speed on mobile recorded in 2024 is still a horror movie for many of us: In the US, retail sites take 6.3 seconds to load, while it’s 6 seconds in the UK.
Source: queue-it
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Trends in Ecommerce Website Design for 2024
The eCommerce website design trends of 2023 have come in a mixed bag, but they have undeniably paved the way for what’s coming next in 2024.
AR and VR
Online shopping on eCommerce websites has always carried the challenge of not seeing and experiencing the product in real life, which keeps us wondering whether it will match our taste and style. This brings Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in eCommerce for websites into action.
AR has allowed customers to virtually try on products before making a purchase, while VR product showcases help customers interact with the products in a lifelike manner. VR helps view products from all angles, and zoom in and out. A survey of over 1,000 consumers showed that 61% of shoppers prefer to shop at stores that offer AR.
The best example for this case remains to be IKEA’s AR app, ‘IKEA Place’, which allows users to visualize how furniture and accessories can fit into their own space. Customers can view 3D renderings from different angles of over 2,000 products before reserving the ones they want in the app, which directs them to the Ikea site to complete purchases. Long story short, this app masterfully resolves the issue of more than 75% of customers worrying about buying the wrong size of furniture.
How did the results turn in? Although we have no way of measuring the financial business impact, in the weeks following the release of Place, searches for IKEA spiked according to Google Trends, and the company has enjoyed strong news media coverage such as being featured by Fast Company as one of the 50 most innovative companies. From a brand and marketing standpoint, Place has earned an A+.
Voice Commerce
Voice Commerce, also popularly known as V-Commerce, has also been an important part of the trend. According to Statista, in 2022, there were nearly 142 million users of voice assistants in the US alone, equal to almost half of the country’s entire population. By 2026, the number of voice assistant users should grow to 157.1 million.
Having the option of a voice assistant helps users search for products, ask questions, receive personalized recommendations, and even make purchases or place orders using voice commands. It makes their overall experience with eCommerce websites extremely hassle-free!
In 2021, shopping via voice commerce in the US totaled approximately $5 billion - and recent statistics project a nearly fourfold increase for 2023, to $19.4 billion. Moreover, shoppers are aware of it: 72% of queried consumers say they have used voice search with assistants like Siri, Alexa, or Cortana, making voice commerce a logical extension of that habit.
Sustainability
In today’s extremely environmentally conscious world, inclusivity of sustainability is sure to have the user’s attention. According to Dodonut, “This means considering not only the user, but also the environment in which they live, including all living beings like animals, plants, and people, as well as the planet's future.” In short, sustainability has 3 pillars: profits, planets, and people.
According to a Deloitte report, about 25% of both Gen-Z and millennial employees have asserted that a company having a sustainability agenda has influenced them to stay.
eCommerce websites can raise awareness of sustainability and ethical practices by having a separate filter that only shows sustainable products.
Furthermore, brands can also be transparent about the product sourcing and manufacturing process. These practices in eCommerce for websites can help build trust with the consumers.
In addition to reducing eye strain and improving the aesthetics of an interface, dark mode can also have significant accessibility benefits, for example:
Reduced Glare: Bright white backgrounds can cause glare, making it difficult for some users to read text or view images. On the other hand, dark mode reduces glare and makes it easier for these users to interact with an application or website.
Improved Contrast: For users with low vision or color blindness, high contrast between text and background is essential for readability. Dark mode often provides better contrast than light mode due to lighter text on a darker background.
Better Visibility in Low-Light Environments: Users with sensitivity to bright light may find it uncomfortable or even painful to view a bright white screen in low-light environments. Dark mode reduces the amount of light emitted from the screen and can make it more comfortable for these users to use an application or website.
Dark Mode
Dark mode is a design trend that has gained popularity in recent years; this is because it also serves as more visually striking than the traditional light-themed backgrounds. One of the main advantages of having this would be reduced eye strain, particularly in dim-light conditions. This encourages users to browse for longer hours which helps boost overall eCommerce for website stats and metrics.
Case Study of Stunning eCommerce Websites
Amazon
The most popular online retailer is Amazon. Famously known for offering customers a wide selection of goods - from groceries to electronics and everything in between.
The design and key highlights of the website are user-friendly interactions, product reviews and ratings, and best of all, the Amazon Prime benefits.
Despite being the market leader in eCommerce, Amazon’s UX has always been scrutinized. Designed to inspire, Amazon’s site is believed to instantly create “a sense of awe with its minimal, search-oriented user interface (UI) that caters to both digital natives and newcomers”.
Moreover, Amazon’s design fosters cognitive ease, which is the pleasant feeling associated with familiarity, ease of understanding, and readability. Jason Brush, Head of Innovation at Wunderman Thompson, notes that while Amazon’s site is not traditionally beautiful or simple, it “excels in delivering a simple, efficient, and highly functional user experience.”
According to this case study, Amazon’s customer satisfaction is approximately 79% in 2022; proving strategies boosting eCommerce for websites can be really beneficial.
Zara
Fashionably stylish clothing and footwear for all genders and kids are what is well-known by the international brand Zara.
Zara’s homepage mirrors the experience of visiting their physical store. It features ample white space and refrains from overwhelming visitors with products and promotions. Surprisingly, actual products are absent from the homepage.
Central to the homepage is an image carousel displaying different photos every few seconds, alerting users to the new collection. Despite usability experts often criticizing image carousels, Zara effectively utilizes this feature because the minimalist content keeps it from distracting users.
Clicking on a category in the navigation bar immediately reveals subcategories, facilitating easy navigation without multiple clicks.
Nike
Another well-known international brand for sportswear, accessories, and footwear is Nike. The eCommerce website of Nike serves as one single access place for all the new and trending products that are launched.
The Nike homepage exemplifies the dynamic evolution of web design. Featuring striking graphics, it showcases a prominent photo of a new product. The bold pattern illustration in the background effectively captures viewers' attention, setting the site apart from competitors with simpler designs. This unique illustration adds a customized touch, avoiding the common eCommerce pitfall of using plain product images.
The homepage layout is relatively simple. Instead of a lengthy, cluttered page filled with product images and text, it features a full-spread image and a compelling call to action, drawing customers further into the store. Despite the basic wireframe, the clean and professional design allows the product to take center stage, making it the hero of the page.
Tips For Crafting Your Stunning eCommerce Websites
Creating stunning eCommerce websites outlines a lot of factors that include detailed planning and focusing on users having an exceptional experience and so many other factors. Here are a few tips that help you craft stunning websites of your own.
Define your brand identity
Develop and design a cohesive visual identity that includes a logo, color palette, and imagery to create familiarity amongst the users.
⭐ Further Reading: Ecommerce Branding: Connecting with Audiences on Facebook
Prioritize user experience
When crafting stunning eCommerce websites, prioritizing the user experience stands on high priority. One way of doing it is to optimize your eCommerce websites for mobile devices which can enhance user feasibility.
🔥 You might also like: 5 eCommerce UX Best Practices to Increase Sales
Keep up with technological advancements
To stay on the playing field, eCommerce websites are advised to be abreast of new technological innovations around them.
Incorporating innovative features and functionalities like AR and VR technologies enhances user experience and other metrics of eCommerce for websites.
A better alternative for keeping up with technological advancements is relying on trusted enterprise eCommerce platforms; after all, they stay updated on all the new trends in the industry.
Test and iterate for continuous improvement
It is of primary importance that you frequently monitor your website to identify areas of improvement. This, in turn, will significantly contribute to better user engagement and conversion rates.
Another way is to use surveys and analytics to gain perspective from customers’ viewpoint which can be used to make data-driven decisions.
📚 Read More: How to Transform eCommerce Marketing Data into Profits
Conclusion
Crafting stunning eCommerce websites requires a strategic and dynamic approach that comprises a lot of factors like defining brand identity, bettering user experience, and continuously testing and iterating for constant improvement.
Using the tips and principles above, you can create your stellar eCommerce website.
If you do not want to invest much time and effort in exploring these, you can always use web development services offered by professional companies.
