6 Ways to Improve Your eCommerce Design and Development

A major aspect of running a business online is maintaining a website that delivers excellent user experience. Businesses need to commit enough time to eCommerce design and development to ensure their website functions properly and is user-friendly. Since eCommerce web design can get a bit complicated, we thought we could help demystify the process by listing out a few ways you can improve your brand’s website. Here are six steps you can take to significantly improve your eCommerce website.

Organize Your Categories

Take a look at your brand’s website and imagine you were a potential consumer completely unfamiliar with the site. Ask yourself, “can I easily find what I am looking for.” If the answer is no, then you already know your navigation needs to change. A good website should have neatly organized categories that anyone can click through quickly and easily. Users should be able to scroll and click through confidently. The easier your website is to navigate, the longer time users will spend on your website. Make all of your web pages and product categories easy to identify and intuitive. All of your products or services should be listed neatly under titles that clearly and accurately match them.

Keep a Simple Layout

While it may be tempting to display as many features as possible to improve your eCommerce web design, you should take a more careful approach. Use fewer design elements on your website and focus on creating a clear layout. Having too many designs, text boxes, carousels, and pop-ups can make the web page appear cluttered and harder on the eyes. A simple layout that utilizes negative space can open up the look of a web page and make it immediately more inviting. Add some design elements to display branding like color and taglines, but keep all of the web pages clear and consistent. This makes the website look more professional and attractive to the average user.

Expand Your Descriptions

One aspect of your eCommerce website that you should absolutely take advantage of is web copy. The text used across your website plays a huge role in bringing consumers in through organic search engine results. You want to update the text under your product and category descriptions so they can do more for you in regards to expanding your SEO efforts. Research keywords and list the features of your products or services clearly. Use page descriptions to add more detail and relevant target keywords to your website. The same concept applies to other pages like the homepage or about page which can provide valuable information consumers might seek. This will not only improve the experience of those already on your website but improve the chances of more consumers finding your website online.

Use More Custom Images

Include a good amount of high-quality custom images into your eCommerce web design. Not so many that the web page is cluttered, of course, but enough to balance out all the text. Visuals are excellent at transmitting information quickly and grabbing people’s attention right away. Using custom photos is great for showcasing your company’s branding and style in an authentic way that reads well by consumers who are getting better at instinctively recognizing stock photos. Many people respond strongly to visuals, so you want to capitalize on that with clear images of products or services that get the message across effectively. It also contributes to the website’s overall design and ability to clearly convey branding.

Continuously Update Content

Maintaining an eCommerce business is a commitment that never ends if you want to stay relevant. Review your website often and make sure that everything is accurate, up-to-date, and working properly. As you reexamine your website, be on the lookout for error pages like 404s that hinder your website’s performance and SEO. When making any changes to your product descriptions, logos and taglines, or company policies, be sure that only the most recent and accurate information is displayed to avoid any confusion or uncertainty with your consumers. Your website should be the absolute resource for consumers to learn about your business, which means that all the information it provides should be completely accurate.

Go Mobile-Friendly

As you improve your brand’s online presence, keep in mind which devices people are using to navigate your website. Consumers are more frequently using mobile devices to make online purchases and seek out new brands. Make the shopping experience optimized for all users, including those who shop on mobile devices by utilizing a responsive web design that will look good on any device. Your eCommerce web design should be consistent and easy to navigate across all devices.

With all of these points in mind as you work on your eCommerce website development, you should start to see some marked improvements to the appearance and performance of your website. Potential customers should feel more at ease navigating your website freely and learning more about what your business has to offer. All of this may seem a little overwhelming if you are not experienced in eCommerce web design and development, but it is absolutely beneficial for your brand when competing in an online space.

Website development is complex to manage and can get away from many business owners who are already being pulled in several directions at once. In cases where it becomes too much to optimize alone, an eCommerce design agency is a huge help. A professional eCommerce agency that is knowledgeable about website design and development can be just what you need to get your online business where it needs to be. A skillful team of expert eCommerce web developers can help you combine all the details in understanding your audience, optimizing your eCommerce platform, leveraging SEO, and ultimately improving your website to enhance user experience. It is no easy task, but it is certainly well worth the effort.

If you need guidance in developing and maintaining your eCommerce website, send us a message at info@1digitalagency.com or give us a call at 888-982-6289 to see what 1Digital^® can do for your business. Let’s see where your eCommerce store stands now and where we can take it in the future.