Improving E-commerce Conversions Through Site Design
Often entrepreneurs obsess a lot over the kind of ads that will draw the most traffic, the copy that will seal the deal, and software that will maximize conversions, that they end up overlooking the most critical aspect of success—website design. The wrong design will make your users confused and unsure about what to do next, thereby hindering sales and conversions.
Sales and conversions are integral for every business, especially for e-commerce businesses. When it comes to improving ecommerce conversion rates, no part of the customer journey can be overlooked. Right from your landing page to the checkout page, you should put careful consideration into every aspect of your ecommerce website’s design. Nonetheless, crafting a user journey that excellently balances an immaculate shopping experience with a hurdle-free path is easier said than done.
To help you design a more intentional conversion path on your e-commerce website, here are some of the best practices to follow.
Optimizing E-commerce Operations
A conversion is an action a visitor takes when on your website in response to a call to action (CTA). A CTA can be anything from watching a video to making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter. It essentially is a button that invites the user to take the desired action, and when the user takes action, it is regarded as a conversion.
When you try to embrace conversion-based web design, you should know that calls to action become the core principle. So, the rest of your web design will work to get the user to respond to the call to action. This includes everything from the colors used on your site to the layout, text, and images.
Typically, a lot of website owners work to build a great-looking website. But the catch is that what looks good in your eyes might not look that great to someone else. Each of your target audiences will have its own tastes and preferences. For this reason, design experts have come up with several designs that work well with the general public. These findings are based on real data and scientific explanations for why people respond a certain way to a specific layout.
If you look at various well-performing websites, you will find that they follow the same layout—a navigational menu on the top, copy that sells, and a call to action right below. Most websites also paste trust badges or any other certifications that are relevant to their site.
This pattern keeps things simple for the user. Your users are familiar with this layout, and hence they find it easy to navigate your site find what they are looking for. By reinventing the wheel, you will create confusion for your visitors, leading them to search longer for what they want. And chances are, they will leave your site before taking the desired action.
Influencing Action
As it turns out, nearly 48 percent of people believe that website design is the most crucial factor in determining a business’s credibility. Furthermore, 38 percent of people say they would stop engaging with a site if it was unattractive.
Here are some best practices retailers should follow based on the actions they want customers to make on their website.
Performance Issues
Users want websites to load in three seconds or less, if it takes longer, you will lose nearly 40 percent of your visitors. This is really a short span of time. So, it is important you optimize the images and designs to load quickly. Also, you should steer clear of using large media files on your website. If your website speed is poor, your conversion rates will suffer.
Focus on User Experience (UX)
When your users have a great time on your site, they will be more likely to return. They might also refer your website to their friends. However, UX goes much beyond web design. It also includes staying relevant when it comes to the content. Your content should match your offerings and shouldn’t mislead the users. Additionally, information across your website should also be easily accessible.
Shipping Fulfillment Issues
Any issues in order fulfillment which includes warehousing, packaging, and shipping the products to the end-user, can also significantly impact your conversion rates. Incorrectly filled orders, poor inventory management, and time-consuming pick-and-pack processes are some of the common issues that surface during this phase. So, ensure you take all measures possible to turn your ecommerce shipping fulfillment operations fault-free.
Not Providing Enough Information
Whatever your visitors and customers come to your website for, ensure you offer them accurate information to make a purchase. This can include anything from product descriptions to pricing, product imagery, videos, and other media, and stock/warehouse levels. You might want to leverage a Product Information Management (PIM) system here as it will be integrated with your commerce and ERP solutions.
Not Influencing Their Target Buyer
You have to put together a clear conversion path for the prospective customers that enter your website. This includes using the right colors, design, and layout to guide your customer towards the important pages of your web store. For instance, setting up a light CTA button on a light page won’t attract your visitors. Instead, use eye-catching colors where possible and expand or adjust your guide to allow for increased conversion rates.
Keep it Simple
Creating an easy-to-follow journey that improves conversion rates is actually quite easy than you imagine. All you have to do is stick to a clean look—more white spaces, less text, and bigger images.
It might seem daunting to redesign your e-commerce site to be more minimalistic, but it is actually quite straightforward. Just follow a few simple rules like focusing on product imagery with fewer distractions, making your CTA buttons stand out, optimizing your website for various devices, and streamlining the checkout process.
