As technology progresses further each year, businesses evolve alongside it. Nowadays, most businesses have moved online to have a better chance of reaching out to their desired audience. That’s where websites make a difference between a business that will stand out and a business that will soon be forgotten. The eCommerce industry is growing rapidly year over year.
But that doesn’t mean that your eCommerce business is necessarily growing at the speed you’d like. Whether your sales are lagging or are simply okay, most businesses are intent on growing their revenue faster. Good web design is one of the most effective growth tools for an eCommerce business.
However, very few business owners realize the importance of a well-designed website and the benefits it brings to their business. Every aspect of your eCommerce business, from your company’s logo to your website’s appearance and usability, to your marketing brochures, must be smartly designed to maximize the user experience. Conversely, poor design can kill your business.
1. Optimize your eCommerce business for mobile access.
Cell phones have undoubtedly emerged as the prime selling channel for ecommerce businesses today. Buyers love the convenience of browsing and shopping on these devices because they can do it anytime and anywhere The way people access the Internet has changed. Over the years, the number of users accessing the internet from computers has declined dramatically, while significantly more people access the internet from their mobile devices.
When you build an eCommerce site, it must be optimized for mobile users. Otherwise, it’s behind the times and you will be losing business. Your eCommerce website design should be responsive.
This means that it needs to be designed to visually adjust to the size/shape screen wherever it appears. The best most responsive websites not only adjust to new screen sizes — they’re also intuitive and easy-to-navigate. So, make sure you hire a talented professional designer to help your eCommerce business execute its responsive website design.
2. Power of the landing page.
If your eCommerce business is serious about achieving rapid growth, then you need to embrace the landing page. A landing page is a web page specifically devoted to a single product or offer.
And unlike your traditional website homepage, every element is laser-focused on a single call to action and intentionally designed to convert a browser into a customer. Feature each marketing offer and product with a unique landing page on your website. You may even consider creating landing pages for specific target audiences.
When designing landing pages for your eCommerce website, remember to eliminate distractions, provide a clear call to action, and make it easy for the customer to complete that call to action with a purchase.
3. Optimize your website load speeds.
Your eCommerce business is only as strong as your website. If visitors are met with inept design and painfully slow load speeds, they’re going to leave before you’ve had a chance to make your pitch.
If your site takes more than three seconds to load, you lose almost half of your visitors before they even arrive on your site. Research from Stanford reveals that 75% of internet users will make judgments about a business’s credibility based solely on how their website looks.
A Kissmetrics Infographic shows that by the time your website hits 4 seconds of loading time, you’ve already lost 25% of your potential viewers. This is a deadly statistic, as many first-time ecommerce businesses don’t invest enough money and talent into their website development to overcome this barrier.
“If your eCommerce website hosts data-intensive graphics and photos, it takes much longer to load than a sleek, cleanly designed website with minimal graphics. The lesson is to use design elements smartly for maximum impact and quicker load speeds.”
Also, when working with your website designer, be sure to communicate that quick load speeds are a very high priority. You can use a free tool like Pingdom to test your load time for the average user by location.
4. Target existing customers with remarketing ads and email campaigns.
When it comes to selling products and services, most businesses focus solely on acquiring new customers and undervalue the possibility of retaining their existing customers. It’s more cost-effective to sell to existing customers than it is to acquire new ones.
If you want to grow your eCommerce business quickly, focus some of your marketing efforts on gaining repeat sales from your current customers. Two great strategies for engaging with existing customers are remarketing ads and email campaigns. Google’s remarketing ads target users who have already visited your website.
You may also want to consider reaching out to previous customers with an email campaign. Email is still a highly effective tool for contacting customers – especially web-savvy, smartphone-toting customers who are comfortable shopping online. Customer retention shouldn’t be overlooked if you want to increase your sales and revenue.
5. Provide social proof to build customer confidence.
People are social creatures. We all want to belong. Seeing other people sharing a certain opinion encourages us to share that opinion, too. If you’re like most people, you’re likely heading into one that has people in it. You’ll probably even do it without even giving it a second thought.
When designing your eCommerce website, be sure to leave room for customer testimonials and reviews. Testimonials and reviews show that others have gone before you, and were happy that they did, giving new customers the confidence to take the plunge.
6. Recover abandoned shopping carts to boost sales.
For every eCommerce store, the shopping cart is the final barrier between a prospective customer and a sale. And, shopping cart abandonment is an issue that all eCommerce businesses face. Customers load up their carts with items — and then promptly disappear.
There are many reasons for cart abandonment: shipping price shock, a confusing check-out process, and using the cart for storage with the intent of purchasing later, are examples.
But, great design can help you nudge those almost-sales into actual sales. Lundin suggests you start by reviewing your shopping cart design for the following flaws:
- Is it confusing?
- Does it take too many steps to complete?
- Is it too slow to load?
- Is the process buggy or cumbersome?
The less your customers have to do, the happier they’ll be. They’ll also appreciate knowing where they are in the check-out process and how much remains left to do. Smart design improves the user experience, which can tip those “almost-there” shoppers into loyal customers. And that’s going to grow your eCommerce business fast.
Final Words:
So, don’t skimp on the design side of creating a compelling and useful website. Work with your web designer and graphic designer to find the very best way to execute these strategies for your business. Then, let the orders roll in!
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About Author
Mr.Vivek Chaturvedi
Vivek Chaturvedi is the co-founder and CTO at Vidhema Technologies. He is responsible for the overall technical operations of the company and has played a major role in bringing Vidhema up from its humble beginnings and, with his immense energy and drive, transforming it into a globally trusted name in IT solutions.