Best Practices For E-Commerce UI Web Design
When you imagine shoppers moving through the e-commerce websites you develop, you basically anticipate them to follow this journey:
• Step 1: Enter on the homepage or a category page.
• Step 2: Use the navigational components to orient themselves to the store and no in on the particular things they're trying to find.
• Step 3: Review the descriptions and other pertinent purchase information for the items that stimulate their interest.
• Step 4: Customize the item specifications (if possible), and after that include the products they wish to their cart.
• Step 5: Check out.
There are discrepancies they might bring the way (like checking out related items, browsing various categories, and saving items to a wishlist for a rainy day). For the a lot of part, this is the leading path you build out and it's the one that will be most greatly traveled.
That holding true, it's specifically important for designers to zero in on the user interface aspects that shoppers experience along this journey. If there's any friction within the UI, you will not simply see a boost in unforeseen deviations from the path, but more bounces from the site, too.
That's what the following post is going to focus on: How to ensure that the UI along the buyer's journey is appealing, instinctive, interesting, and friction-free.
Let's examine 3 parts of the UI that buyers will encounter from the point of entry to checkout. I'll be utilizing e-commerce sites constructed with Shopify to do this:
1. Develop A Multifaceted Navigation That Follows Shoppers Around #
There as soon as was a time when e-commerce websites had mega menus that consumers needed to arrange through to discover their wanted item classifications, sub-categories and sub-sub-categories. While you may still face them nowadays, the much better option is a navigation that adapts to the buyer's journey.
THE MAIN MENU #
The very first thing to do is to streamline the primary menu so that it has only one level underneath the primary classification headers. This is how United By Blue does it:
The item categories under "Shop" are all nicely organized underneath headers like "Womens" and "Mens".
The only exceptions are the classifications for "New Arrivals" and "Masks & Face Coverings" that are accompanied by images. It's the very same reason "Gifts" is in a lighter blue font and "Sale" remains in a red font style in the primary menu. These are incredibly timely and pertinent categories for United By Blue's consumers, so they should have to be highlighted (without being too distracting).
Returning to the website, let's look at how the designer had the ability to keep the mobile website organized:
Rather than shrink down the desktop menu to one that shoppers would need to pinch-and-zoom in on here, we see a menu that's adapted to the mobile screen.
It requires a few more clicks than the desktop website, but consumers shouldn't have an issue with that given that the menu doesn't go unfathomable (again, this is why we can't utilize mega menus anymore).
ON THE PRODUCT RESULTS PAGE #
If you're constructing an e-commerce site for a client with a complex inventory (i.e. lots of items and layers of categories), the item results page is going to need its own navigation system.
To assist buyers narrow down the number of products they see at a time, you can consist of these two elements in the design of this page:
1. Filters to narrow down the outcomes by item spec.
2. Arranging to purchase the items based upon consumers' concerns.
I've highlighted them on this item results page on the Horne website:
While you might store your filters in a left sidebar, the horizontally-aligned style above the outcomes is a better choice.
This space-saving style allows you to reveal more products at once and is also a more mobile-friendly option:
Bear in mind that consistency in UI design is important to shoppers, especially as more of them take an omnichannel approach to shopping. By presenting the filters/sorting options regularly from gadget to gadget, you'll create a more foreseeable and comfy experience for them while doing so.
BREADCRUMBS & SEARCH #
As buyers move deeper into an e-commerce website, they still might need navigational assistance. There are two UI navigation aspects that will help them out.
The first is a breadcrumb path in the top-left corner of the item pages, similar to how tentree does:
This is best used on websites with classifications that have sub-categories upon sub-categories. The additional and additional shoppers move away from the product results page and the benefit of the filters and arranging, the more crucial breadcrumbs will be.
The search bar, on the other hand, is a navigation element that need to always be readily available, no matter which point in the journey consumers are at. This goes for stores of all sizes, too.
Now, a search bar will certainly assist shoppers who are brief on time, can't discover what they require or simply want a faster way to a product they already understand exists. Nevertheless, an AI-powered search bar that can actively forecast what the buyer is searching for is a smarter option.
Here's how that works on the Horne site:
Even if the buyer hasn't finished inputting their search phrase, this search bar starts serving up tips. On the left are matching keywords and on the right are leading matching products. The ultimate objective is to speed up consumers' search and reduce any tension, pressure or aggravation they may otherwise be feeling.
2. Program The Most Pertinent Details At Once On Product Pages #
Vitaly Friedman just recently shared this suggestion on LinkedIn:
He's right. The more time visitors need to invest digging around for important details about an item, the greater the opportunity they'll simply give up and try another store.
Shipping alone is a huge sticking point for many consumers and, sadly, a lot of e-commerce sites wait up until checkout to let them understand about shipping expenses and hold-ups.
Because of this, 63% of digital consumers end up abandoning their online carts because of shipping expenses and 36% do so since of for how long it takes to receive their orders.
Those aren't the only details digital consumers would like to know about ahead of time. They also would like to know about:
• The returns and refund policy,
• The terms of use and privacy policy,
• The payment choices readily available,
• Omnichannel purchase-and-pickup alternatives offered,
• And so on.
But how are you expected to fit this all in within the first screenful?
PRESENT THE 30-SECOND PITCH ABOVE THE FOLD #
This is what Vitaly was speaking about. You do not need to squeeze every detail about an item above the fold. The shop needs to be able to sell the product with just what's in that space.
Bluebella, for instance, has a space-saving design that doesn't compromise on readability:
With the image gallery relegated to the left side of the page, the rest can be dedicated to the website design product summary. Due to the fact that of the varying size of the header fonts along with the hierarchical structure of the page, it's easy to follow.
Based on how this is developed, you can inform that the most crucial details are:
• Product name;
• Product rate;
• Product size selector;
• Add-to-bag and wishlist buttons;
• Delivery and returns information (which neatly appears on one line).
The remainder of the item details have the ability to fit above the fold thanks to the accordions used to collapse and expand them.
If there are other crucial information consumers might require to comprise their minds-- like item evaluations or a sizing guide-- build links into the above-the-fold that move them to the pertinent sections lower on the page.
Quick Note: This design won't be possible on mobile for obvious factors. So, the item images will get top billing while the 30-second pitch appears just below the fold.
MAKE EXTRA UI ELEMENTS SMALL #
Even if you're able to concisely provide the product's description, extra sales and marketing aspects like pop-ups, chat widgets and more can end up being just as irritating as lengthy item pages.
So, make certain you have them kept out of the way as Partake does:
The red symbol you see in the bottom left allows consumers to control the availability features of the website. The "Rewards" button in the bottom-right is in fact a pop-up that's styled like a chat widget. When opened, it welcomes consumers to sign up with the loyalty program.
Both of these widgets open just when clicked.
Allbirds is another one that includes extra elements, however keeps them out of the method:
In this case, it includes a self-service chat widget in the bottom-right that needs to be clicked in order to open. It likewise puts info about its present returns policy in a sticky bar at the top, maximizing the item pages to strictly concentrate on item details.
3. Make Product Variants As Easy To Select As Possible #
For some products, there is no decision that consumers have to make other than: "Do I want to add this item to my cart or not?"
For other items, shoppers need to specify product variations prior to they can include a product to their cart. When that's the case, you want to make this procedure as pain-free as possible. There are a few things you can do to guarantee this occurs.
Let's say the shop you create offers females's underwears. In that case, you 'd have to offer variations like color and size.
However you would not want to simply create a drop-down selector for each. Envision how tedious that would get if you asked consumers to click "Color" and they had to sort through a dozen or two choices. If it's a basic drop-down selector, color examples might not appear in the list. Rather, the consumer would have to choose a color name and wait for the product image to update in order to see what it appears like.
This is why your versions must determine how you create each.
Let's utilize this item page from Thinx as an example:
There are 2 versions readily available on this page:
• The color variant reveals a row of color examples. When clicked, the name of the color appears and the item photo changes accordingly.
• The size alternative lists sizes from extra-extra-small to extra-extra-extra-large.
Notification how Size comes with a link to "size chart". That's because, unlike something like color which is quite precise, sizing can alter from store to shop as well as region to region. This chart supplies clear guidance on how to select a size.
Now, Thinx uses a square button for each of its versions. You can change it up, though, if you 'd like to produce a distinction in between the options shoppers need to make (and it's probably the much better style choice, to be sincere).
Kirrin Finch, for instance, positions its sizes inside empty boxes and its color swatches inside filled circles:
It's a little distinction, however it must suffice to assist consumers transition smoothly from decision to choice and not miss any of the required fields.
Now, let's state that the shop you're building does not offer clothing. Rather, it offers something like beds, which certainly will not consist of options like color or size. A minimum of, not in the same way similar to clothing.
Unless you have well-known abbreviations, symbols or numbers you can use to represent each variant, you should use another kind of selector.
This is an item page on the Leesa website. I've opened the "Pick your size" selector so you can see how these choices are displayed:
Why is this a drop-down list instead of boxes?
For beginners, the size names aren't the exact same length. So, box selectors would either be inconsistently sized or a few of them would have a lots of white space in them. It actually wouldn't look excellent.
Likewise, Leesa wisely uses this small space to provide more info about each mattress size (i.e. the typical vs. list price). Not just is this the finest style for this specific variant selector, but it's also a fantastic method to be effective with how you provide a lot of details on the item page.
A NOTE ABOUT OUT-OF-STOCK VARIANTS #
If you want to get rid of all friction from this part of the online shopping procedure, ensure you develop a distinct design for out-of-stock variations.
Here's a closer look at the Kirrin Finch example once again:
There's no mistaking which choices are available and which are not).
Some buyers might be frustrated when they recognize the shirt color they like is only readily available in a few sizes, think of how irritated they 'd be if they didn't learn this till after they picked all their versions?
If the product selection is the last action they take before clicking "add to cart", do not conceal this info from them. All you'll do is get their hopes up for an item they put in the time to read about, take a look at, and fall in love with ... only to find it's not offered in a size "16" until it's far too late.
Concluding #
What is it they say? Good style is undetectable?
That's what we require to bear in mind when designing these essential user interfaces for e-commerce websites. Obviously, your customer's shop needs to be attractive and remarkable ... But the UI elements that move shoppers through the site ought to not give them pause. So, simpleness and ease of usage require to be your top concern when designing the main journey for your client's shoppers.
If you're interested in putting these UI design philosophies to work for new customers, think about joining the Shopify Partner Program as a shop designer. There you'll be able to earn recurring earnings by developing new Shopify shops for customers or moving stores from other commerce platforms to Shopify.