User Experience / How to Design a High Converting Ecommerce Site

How to Design a High Converting Ecommerce Site

Andy Thorne
How to Design a High Converting Ecommerce Site

As technology advances and global circumstances change, the world is moving more and more towards digital and online environments. Ecommerce is rapidly on the rise and is showing no signs of stopping. In 2021, around 1 in 4 people shopped online, contributing to a 4.4% year-on-year growth rate of online shoppers.

Setting up an ecommerce store is definitely the way forward, but how can you guarantee your visitors are going to buy from you?

If you want to design a high-converting ecommerce site, you might want to consider using an ecommerce website design agency. That’s because they’ll know all about the user experience (UX).

Ideally, you’re looking for a conversion rate of around 3% as a minimum.

If your site isn’t meeting the target you want, keep reading to find out our top tips, best practices and advice to consider when designing your ecommerce site to optimise conversions.

Design for UX

When it comes to designing an ecommerce website, it’s vital that you design for UX (user experience) from the start.

Ultimately, for your website to be successful, you need users to complete purchases with minimal effort.

Therefore, you need to fully understand their, needs, struggles and overall behaviour and design your website to meet their expectations accordingly.

Going above and beyond will improve user perception of your website, and meeting needs before the users even realise they have them will ensure they have a positive experience on your site, and make them more likely to remember you and return to your site.

Optimise for mobile

a table showing Desktop vs. Mobile vs. Tablet Usage on the Web

Data from 2020 shows that the majority of website visits came from mobile.

In 2020, 68.1% of all site visits came from mobile devices. With over half of site visits coming from mobile users, it’s becoming more and more important to make websites optimised for mobile.

Trying to view a website on a mobile device that has only been designed for a desktop is not only difficult for the user but also shows that you haven’t considered your mobile audience. You can check out our favourite mobile ecommerce UX examples for some inspiration.

This doesn’t just involve making websites responsive between devices, but also adapting content for smaller screens and understanding that the behaviour of mobile users is often significantly different from desktop users are important things to consider when optimising for mobile.

Reviews and testimonials

Example of product reviews by customers

Social proof and customer reviews help to build trust between you and your customers.

A fundamental part of driving conversions on ecommerce sites is building trust.

The best way to create trust between you and your users is through social proof – it proves you’re a reliable and trustworthy business – something that is especially important for ecommerce sites that don’t have brick-and-mortar stores where users can see your products in real life.

Two easy ways to incorporate social proof into your ecommerce website are:

  • Testimonials from real customers who value your brand and had a positive experience with your website
  • Rating functionality so customers can review and rate the products they’ve bought from you

The more product reviews you can gather, the more social proof and information you can offer to your customers.

Be professional

As we previously discussed, trust is crucial if you want users to convert on your ecommerce website.

A professional-looking website is another way to build trust with your users.

  • Use bespoke, high-quality imagery to showcase your products
  • Apply your branding consistently throughout your site – avoid using multiple, slightly different, variations of the same colour, and keep typography styling consistent
  • Check spelling and grammar to avoid typos and misspelt words
  • If you are accredited with organisations, offer services or products that have been used by other trusted brands, or won awards, show the relevant logos

Make navigation clear and logical

the Louis Vuitton website navigation for women's products

Your ecommerce website’s navigation should be as easy as possible for the user.

Successful ecommerce sites give users what they need, and require minimal effort in return.

Make it as easy as possible for the user to find what they are looking for, and cause minimal frustration.

Prioritise the search bar, cart & account icons, product categories your logo so that users can get to where they want to go in as few steps as possible.

Use a straightforward checkout

The final and most important step of the user journey is the checkout process.

Any friction at this point could increase your cart abandonment rate and lose a potential sale.

To increase the likelihood of users completing the checkout process, firstly make sure that the checkout is clearly visible and accessible at any point on the website.

Avoid asking for unnecessary information in the checkout; the less information you ask for, the more likely they are to keep moving through the process.

Include an order confirmation screen a the end of the checkout to reassure users that they have successfully completed the purchase.

Now you know how to create a high converting ecommerce site

This should get off to a great start and get your ecommerce website converting well.

And if your ecommerce site isn’t meeting your conversion targets you could benefit from an experienced and knowledgeable ecommerce website design agency.

We would be happy to run an audit for you and find out where you can make improvements.