Elements of A Successful Ecommerce Website Design
Ecommerce website design is not all about the looks of a website and there are many things to consider you may not have thought of. Here are a few key elements that must be considered in your ecommerce website design to make it a huge success:
Accessibility
An element of design often missed by businesses is the importance of making their website accessible to everyone. This involves steps such as adding alternative text to your images and using a font that is clear and easy to read. By making your ecommerce website design include these accessibility features you are broadening your audience and making your website easier to use.
Aesthetic Design
The looks of your website are not all that is important , however, they can be helpful in portraying the type of business you are and what the value of your products is. An unappealing website can reduce the trust visitors place in your business, and trust is essential in getting people to buy something online.
You should consider colour scheme, font, layout, and marketing techniques such as calls to action when planning a website design. Having a modern and beautifully designed website is a real boost to your business. Especially in ecommerce where your website is your storefront.
Great User Experience
Just like with a physical store when people come to your ecommerce website you want them to feel comfortable and welcomed. A great user experience combines elements like your website's aesthetics with functionality such as navigational tools.
It is important to have users able to find all the information they need as well as products they want to buy. By making your website easy to use your visitors can find shipping information, returns policies, product information, and checkout quickly and easily. Ecommerce is a convenient way for consumers to access products and making their experience buying from your online store easy and painless is essential.
This includes making your checkout procedure fast and easy through payment options, optional sign ins, and wish lists to ensure they can come back to products they like easily.
Mobile Compatibility
An essential tool in ecommerce is having your website function well on phones and tablet devices as well as on desktop. A large quantity of online sales are sales of convenience and are completed through mobile phones. Providing leads with an easy way to buy your product drives sales and encourages people to try out your product or service.
It is also important to note that not everyone has access to a desktop but likely has a mobile phone which they can use to shop online.
Security
Trust is one of the most important parts of developing an ecommerce shop as consumers often cannot come into a physical store so they must build a relationship with your products through your digital marketing and website. In order for customers to trust your website with their banking information to make a purchase you have to ensure your website has strong security.
This includes being PCI Compliant, ensuring that customer GDPR is respected and that their details are encrypted. This is important not only for the trust you build with your consumers but also for legal reasons as being PCI Compliant is a legal requirement in the UK.
Consumers can check your website is safe through measures such as the padlock icon on the search bar or the https in your URL. It is essential to have security built into your ecommerce website design.
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What is Ecommerce?
Ecommerce is essentially the process of buying or selling goods through the internet and it is very common, almost everyone today has bought something through the internet. It could be a physical item such as a book or game. It could be a subscription for something such as a magazine subscription. Or it could be a digital item such as an online gift card or a booking for an in-person event.
There are three types of ecommerce to know about:
1. Business to Business (B2B)
This model refers to commerce happening between two businesses and is common between manufacturers and sellers.
Wholesalers are an example of this type of commerce as they sell bulk stock to businesses who can then sell it in a smaller quantity or create other products with it. A good example of this is restaurants who buy bulk ingredients and use those to create their own product to sell to consumers. If a restaurant then hires another company to deliver their food it is an example of B2B2C commerce. Where a company hires another company to allow the distribution of their products to consumers.
In ecommerce one of the most common forms of B2B commerce is the sale of software to companies. These transactions are entirely digital and can be anything from writing software to cloud storage solutions such as Google Drive.
2. Business to Consumer (B2C)
This model of ecommerce involves businesses selling directly to their consumers. The original form of this commerce model is the act of going into a shop or restaurant and buying something in person. The definition has changed with the rise of ecommerce to include the purchasing of items through online stores.
A good example of this in ecommerce is sites such as Etsy where creators sell their creations to consumers on a marketplace. These items are usually not pre-owned and instead made to sell.
3. Consumer to Consumer (C2C)
Consumer to consumer commerce involves direct transactions from consumer to consumer usually in pre-owned items. In ecommerce the most common place for this type of transaction is auction sites such as eBay. More recent C2C ecommerce also includes online clothing retailers such as Depop or Vinted where consumers can sell unwanted items to other consumers through an ecommerce website or app.
This may be the least relevant form of ecommerce to most businesses as it involves the second life of objects rather than its original transaction from manufacturer to consumer.
Key Ecommerce Terminology You Should Know
When starting your own ecommerce website it can be hard to understand the terminology used which makes starting out harder. Here are a few key terms you may need to know when researching ecommerce and planning an ecommerce site:
Bounce Rate
This is the rate of people who leave your website after viewing one page. Ideally people will travel through multiple pages of your website so you should strategize to ensure they stay on your site and read more.
Call to Action (CTA)
A call to action is a command used in all kinds of marketing to encourage consumers to take action on your page. Examples such as ‘Shop Now’ and ‘Read More’ are very common. They encourage consumers to read more of your webpages and lower your bounce rate.
Click Through Rate (CTR)
Your click through rate is a calculation of how many people click on your advert divided by how many people have seen it. Successful digital marketing should lead to a high Click Through Rate or CTR. This means more people are being directed to your site and may make a purchase.
Conversion Rate
Your conversion rate is calculated by looking at the amount of people who clicked on an advertisement and made a purchase divided by the amount of people who interacted with an advertisement and did not.
You may hear about CRO techniques which are Conversion Rate Optimisation methods which aim to increase the number of consumers who interact with an advert and make a purchase as a result. Getting someone to click on an advert and visit your website is important but without converting those visits to purchases you are not getting the most out of your digital marketing.
Keyword Ranking
A websites’ keyword ranking refers to its place in Google (or other search engine) results in regards to a specific keyword that consumers may search for. Keywords are essential to SEO which drives traffic to your ecommerce website.
Keywords used in your content encourage search engines to recommend your website to consumers looking for information or products.
Long-tail keywords are especially helpful for ecommerce sites as they are used by consumers who are ready to make a purchase.
Long-tail keywords are three to four word phrases that help consumers look for a product or service. For example, a keyword could be ‘handmade soap’ and its long-tail form could be ‘handmade soap near me’ or ‘handmade soap in Belfast’. These keywords have a lower search rate but can lead to more conversions than commonly searched keywords that big companies rank for.
Leads
A lead in marketing and ecommerce is a consumer deemed to be a potential customer. A quality lead is someone most likely to make a purchase in your store or on your website and are best targeted with your digital marketing.
PCI Compliance
Short for Payment Card Industry Compliance, this is a highly important part of security in ecommerce and is a legal requirement for businesses in the UK. There are several requirements that businesses must meet to be PCI Compliant such as encrypted cardholder data and maintaining firewalls and antivirus software.
POS System
A POS System is a point of sale system and every ecommerce site or brick and mortar shop has one. Most POS systems today are actually an EPOS, an electronic point of sale system including ecommerce websites.
PPC Marketing
PPC Marketing stands for Pay Per Click Marketing. This involves paying a fee to feature your website as a sponsored result at the top of a keyword search in the search engine results page (SERP). The fee you pay is calculated on how many people click on your advert.
SaaS
Short for Software as a Service and is a common form of B2B commerce. This is a service in which a business centrally runs a software and consumers, usually other businesses, use it on a subscription basis.
There are many benefits to accessing software through the internet instead of through packaged software. These include greater security, regular updates, infrastructure maintained by the software company reducing strain on your IT department, and scalability to suit any business.
SEO
Probably the most influential on this list is SEO, short for Search Engine Optimisation. This is the way in which you can encourage search engines to feature your business or content in results for certain keywords. Having highly optimised digital marketing ensures you are reaching more consumers, increasing conversion rate, and generating high quality leads.
SERP
Another simple term that is often used is SERP, simply meaning Search Engine Results Page. This is where your website is displayed when consumers search for products or services like yours. Depending on the SEO you may rank differently on the SERP. The higher up on the SERP you rank, the more likely you will have a strong click through rate (CTR) which means more consumers visiting your ecommerce site and potentially making a purchase
What Are The Benefits Of Optimised Ecommerce Website Design?
1. Improves Your SEO
A well optimised ecommerce website design works to appeal to search engines, ensuring you rank for the keywords your demographic search for. Your website should have keyword rich content which enables your business to rank highly in the SERP.
2. Provides A Platform For Content
Pages that are rich in detail and information help consumers understand your business and build trust as well as telling them about the benefits of your product or service.
An ecommerce website is also a great location for a blog which can add depth and content to your website which improves you SEO. Blog content not only helps your website but can be used across platforms to generate digital marketing content for your brand or business.
3. Creates a Great User Experience
If your ecommerce website is well designed your customers will be able to go on a journey through your website gathering information, finding products or services which suit them, and hopefully making their purchases.
Accessibility features, well sign posted tabs, and calls to action that direct customers around the site improve the likelihood of improving your conversion rate and making sales.
4. Improves Bounce Rate
A high bounce rate indicates that when visitors come to your site they leave having only looked at your homepage. By having an interesting and well laid out website that invites visitors to read more and explore the page you can improve your bounce rate.
High quality images of your products, well laid out information and interesting offers on your homepage can help encourage visitors to your site. A better bounce rate also means you are more likely to have leads which convert to become customers.
5. Provides A Secure Place For You To Sell Your Products or Services
Well designed security software ensures that your customers are able to trust your ecommerce site with their private information and that you can meet legal requirements for an ecommerce site. Working with experts to design your site means you have professional guidance on your responsibilities and how you can manage sensitive information.
6. Positively Represents Your Brand
The content you produce and the visuals of your website reflect the brand you build for your business. If you are selling a high value product, a sleek and modern website can help to show the value of your products or services. Having a well designed ecommerce site drives traffic as it is attractive to look at and shows the investment made for your business.
An ecommerce website design is an investment that brings custom and money into your business and having it well optimised and designed is essential to achieve the best return on that investment.
How ProfileTree Can Help with Ecommerce Website Design
We at ProfileTree offer digital marketing services including website design and we ensure that your new website not only looks good but functions as a part of your overall marketing strategy. We offer website design and website hosting services helping you have an ecommerce website that best works for you and your business.
Our team includes web designers, SEO specialists, and video, blog, and social media content creators. We work with you and your team to ensure you can achieve your digital marketing goals and develop your ideal ecommerce website design.
We don’t just offer website design and hosting we also offer a range of training options to ensure you come away with the marketing skills needed to improve your business in the future.
We believe in the value of a solid digital marketing strategy ensuring your business is optimised for the digital world.
ProfileTree is a Belfast SEO company striving to create websites, content, and digital marketing plans which help businesses grow. We don’t only develop websites which look good but develop website design which is optimised for digital marketing and SEO. We believe in the importance of digital marketing through website design and know the benefits that well optimised SEO has for businesses.
We aim to present you with the skills, information, and training to help you grow as a business owner. This article will tell you all about ecommerce website design, optimising website content, key terminology you may come across, as well as other information to help you.
If you are interested in starting up an ecommerce website for your business, or want to update and optimise your existing one, get in touch with a member of our team today. We offer website design services, content creation, and training courses to help you understand and plan for your digital marketing.
Ecommerce Website Design:
The Ultimate Guide
Why Choose ProfileTree?
We are an award-winning content marketing agency based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. We help our clients generate leads and sales through structured digital strategy, sleek web design and engaging digital content.
We can help create a plan for your business's future which enables you to reach new audiences and increase engagement with your brand and content. We have years of experience in the industry and a dedicated content team ready to produce high ranking digital content for your business. Our team works with you to create blog, website, video, and social media content which is true to your business and helps you grow in your industry.
A strong ecommerce website design can make a huge difference for your business and a great cornerstone for your digital marketing strategy. The content you create on your website should work for you and we ensure it does. Investing in an ecommerce website design created by professionals will boost your business and ensure you are ready for the future.
If you want to develop a bespoke ecommerce website and need help ensuring it is optimised and working its best, get in contact with a member of our team to learn more about our training and website design services.