eCommerce Web Design is the consideration of primarily helping users shop online, sometimes siloed off by companies to different agencies that focus on optimizing a specific product/category on a website. Even with the best user experience on the Internet, eCommerce Web Design plays a serious role in how product pages appear within the eCommerce platform. The layout, direction and flow of each purchase experience rely heavily on eCommerce Web Design expertise to ensure customers make it to check-out. This is why some online shopping web experiences are better than others.
Web Design KPIs when Developing eCommerce Pages
The average attention span of someone using a search engine is getting shorter, demanding near-instant product results. That is why eCommerce Web Design is so important. With the high pressure to meet performance goals, there is no room for short cuts or “quick fixes” when an eCommerce store is relying on UX/Design expertise. Here are some of the most important factors when designing eCommerce pages, and great points to ask when hiring an agency or consultant.
How do we improve User Engagement?
- Identifying high-level search intent, and organic keyword terms, and addressing each with the appropriate user experience (informational, transactional, commercial & navigational)
- Experiment with CTA Buttons, form descriptions, and page copy
- Collect analytics data and session recordings to uncover gaps to optimize user management
- Collect analytics data and session recordings to eliminate design features that users are not engaging with
- Create fewer options for forms to improve engagement rates
Engagement rate challenges can be rooted in many different types of technical debts. The second most common reason for poor engagement is having an unsophisticated sales funnel. When users are presented with too many options, the wrong options or simply not enough context they will bounce off of the page, hurting engagement metrics. An experienced Web Designer will always consider the Sales Funnel when they are building eCommerce pages, saving time, testing and analytics effort down the line.
How do we optimize the Sales Funnel?
- Perform Audience Research
- Provide Product Information, Educational Content That Supports Product such as FAQ Section
- Use provocative, directive Calls To Action (CTA)
- Optimize UX for Checkout Process & Forms
- QA for SSL/HTTPs, MX Server Issues
- Provide an USP to Stand Out
- Hire a Technical SEO. Check and Fix Broken Pages, Redirects
- Check and Fix Duplicate Content, Canonicals, Index Bloating
Optimizing the sales funnel on a customized eCommerce web design platform carries inherent risks, such as platform compatibility issues, technical challenges during updates, and SEO risks. Keeping up with the necessary technical SEO maintenance items will enhance the performance of any eCommerce website. Often when running an online store web design strategies can include load time optimization, content development, and on-page elements such as forms, popups, or personalized style sheets.
Another very important design consideration of an eCommerce website is taking into consideration the navigational elements, how they flow and what links to include. The development of topic silos, related content and FAQ sections typically doesn’t matter here. However, if users are prone to the FAQ section on mobile devices, it might make sense to include it in the Navigation.
How do they expect things to appear on mobile devices vs. desktops? Are they optimized for accessibility, caching critical elements such as javascript and CSS to improve the browsing experience?
What are the primary web design considerations for eCommerce Navigational elements?
- Page Space: In a mobile-first web, most eCommerce designs incorporate vertical navigations using a hamburger menu to conserve space. This also allows for customization to expand the menu, adapting it for different sections of a website. The filters for Houseware Products might be slightly different than Home & Garden.
- Hierarchy: Someone scanning through the navigation on mobile devices will prefer a vertical menu compared to a horizontal one. Putting the most important links at the top will increase Engagement. This is because of the nature of most mobile resolutions designed with vertical browsing in mind.
- Priority: Typically on desktop, it is better to have a horizontal menu compared to a vertical one. This is because of the nature of desktop browsing, whereas on mobile having a vertical menu conserves more space. In Western cultures where people read left to right, the eyes are primed to always look towards the “left” area of the screen. Therefore, the content and links located closest to the “left” are considered the most important.
Keeping up with the necessary keyword research required to select what menu items are most important to users can improve engagement over time. When navigational eCommerce design research is done correctly it is definitely worth the investment. This also opens the doors for many opportunities within Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO).
How can we use Design to improve our Marketing?
- Set Up Topic Silos, Supporting Content Architecture
- Research Topic, Related Keywords
- Include Subheadings, Paragraph Headings, Target Keywords
- Include External Links, Internal Linking Opportunities
- Include Image Content
- QA for Quality, Expertise & Helpfulness of Content
Following a well-designed SEO checklist will create accountability and transparency between teams collaborating on the project.
What does the Shopping Cart & Checkout process look like?
- Write a Provocative Title Tag based on Keyword Research
- Write a Provocative Meta Description based on intent, Keyword Research
- Create a Secondary Keyword Hierarchy for H1/2/3/4 tags
- Add schema.org or other Technical Markups
- Add internal links, and external links to resources where needed
- QA for Keyword Targets in Title, Description, H1/h2/h3/h4
- QA for Meta Description Copywriting
- QA for Title Tag, H1 Copywriting
- QA for External Links, Internal Linking Opportunities
- QA for Design, UX, Image Content
- QA for Quality, Expertise & Helpfulness of Content
Have we considered eCommerce Accessibility & AODA Compliance?
Building an eCommerce website that is designed without user accessibility compliance can be an expensive mistake. This includes AODA policies if you live in Ontario. Outside of Ontario, the website should always consider auditory, vision, mobility, cognitive and neurological impairments to meet accessibility guidelines within your eCommerce web design scope.
Looking for something a bit more comprehensive? Contact our team for affordable help.