How Can a Better Looking Website Earn You More Money

Web design tips are a dime a dozen on the internet. Everyone has an opinion. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder—or the mouse holder in this case.

website mockup

While it’s true that different people have different opinions, there are still a few ground rules you should follow to make your eCommerce design more appealing to potential customers. This way, you’ll have better chances of converting leads. More conversions. More sales. More money.

If you want to find out how you can do this, continue reading below for web design tips that are guaranteed to grow your business.

How to design a website that will boost conversion of eCommerce store

It’s a given that you need to offer high-quality products or services if you want to increase your eCommerce conversion rate. But that’s only half the picture.

You also have to have a well-designed website to attract potential customers. A poorly designed website will have users out of your page faster than you can say “discount.”

A good eCommerce design will be easy to navigate and will entice leads to convert by showcasing your products. Here are ten website designs that can help improve your sales.

website on laptop

1. Using Negative Space to Your Advantage

Many people have a hard time understanding what negative space is. In a nutshell, negative space—or white space—is the space between words and segments on a webpage. When poorly executed, it can make your site look awkward and empty in some areas or too crowded in others. However, when properly implemented, it can help direct a user’s attention, so they can quickly find the information they are looking for—contributing to seamless user experience.

If you’re having a hard time understanding the concept behind white space and how to use it, a professional webpage design company should be able to explain to you in detail what it is and what it’s for.

2. Limit the Call to Actions on Pages

A call to action (CTA) is a must for every e-commerce website, as it encourages leads to convert and become actual customers or clients.

Your CTAs can increase the overall success rate of your online shop. However, too many CTAs can do the exact opposite, as it can overwhelm your users. So instead of them doing what you want, they may get stuck in a limbo of indecisions.

Likewise, providing only one CTA might be too limiting. It may also be an option that users are simply not interested in. So, how do you use CTAs, and how many should you put on each page?

website analytics page

The answer to the question is not a simple one, however. That’s because different website pages have different objectives. For example, the homepage—being the starting point of your website—will have multiple CTAs. At this point, you are also not sure what your site visitor wants, so you should provide them with different options.

If the user wants to learn more about your brand or the products or services you offer, you should have a CTA for each one of them. You’ll also want to have a CTA that will direct them to your ‘contact us’ page.

In most cases, product pages have at least two CTAs because there are typically two different types of visitors: one that is ready to buy and the other still looking for more information. You should be able to cater to both of them.

3. Show More Product and Better Product Images

Ecommerce is a very lucrative industry. However, selling products online has its challenges. For starters, buyers cannot physically assess the item. Of course, as a buyer, it’s only natural for them to want to check out the product first. If there is only one image for each product, and they are too small or blurry, customers will hardly be inspired to buy it.

That’s why high-quality product images are very important. You should also make sure to capture as many photos showing every detail of the product to entice more customers to view it.

4. Remove Clutter – Don’t Stuff Your Pages

When was the last time you’ve read every word on a webpage that’s not yours? Can’t remember? Well, that’s probably because people hardly ever do. So instead of overstuffing your page with sentences and keywords, you should focus on appealing to the users’ emotions. Additionally, the fewer users have to click on, read, or remember, the more they will be able to focus on the core content of your webpage.

Text and call to actions are, of course, necessary for any website. But to avoid clutter, make sure to break them up into legible paragraphs and larger subheadings. Alternatively, you can make use of icons and images to communicate your point.

5. Have an Easy to Use Navigation

Patience is a virtue—but not when it comes to e-commerce websites. People won’t stick around for long if they can’t figure out in the first few seconds how to navigate your page. So make sure that your navigation menu is in plain sight. It also needs to be intuitive and straightforward.

Here are some more essential tips to keep in mind.

  • Avoid putting more than seven items on the menu.
  • Users should be able to get the information they are looking for in three clicks or less from the homepage.
  • Users should be redirected to your homepage when they click on your logo.
  • Search engines have difficulty crawling drop-down menus, so try to avoid them for your website.

6. Add Social Proof and Reviews

The internet is an excellent tool for selling products and services. However, it’s not just business owners who are leveraging the power of the web. Many people are also using it to scam people.

revenue chart

To show that you are a legitimate business that sells high-quality products or services, you can add reviews and social proof on your page. Showing potential customers your positive reviews can help ease their minds while doing business with you. Aside from positive customer testimonials, you can also show your number of social shares and media mentions on your page.

7. Use a Colour Wheel when Picking Colours

Colors can express messages, spark interest, create ideas, and even generate certain emotions. Some may also hold universal significance. For example, green means go. Red, on the other hand, is often associated with warning signs. But when used together, people link red and green to Christmas. Likewise, bright colors are often used to set a happy and positive mood, while dark colors tend to project the exact opposite.

When it comes to the psychology of colors, cool shades embody calmness, harmony, and peace. On the other hand, warm ones symbolize creativity, optimism, and excitement.

So choosing the right color combination for your website is not about what your favorites are. It should strengthen your business by clearly representing what your brand is all about. Additionally, many colors work well individually. But when used together, they may not be as pleasing to look at. Using a color wheel may be able to help you pick the right combination for your website.

8. Keep it Simple

Have you ever heard of the saying, “less is more?” Well, this also applies to website design. You’d think that having a lot of elements on your website is a good thing. But a study conducted by Google showed that people don’t like visual complexity. In fact, people don’t perceive complex web designs as beautiful at all. Having too many components, such as sidebars, carousels, tabs, and sliders, can throw people off.

Keeping your eCommerce design simple may be the best thing you can do for your business. Here are a few ideas for you to ponder on.

  • Ditch the unnecessary website elements. Sidebars are great. In fact, many websites have them. But they can take the focus away from your content. Likewise, carousels, tabs, accordions, and sliders often go ignored. This is because site visitors hardly ever take the time to make extra clicks just to see the content of your website. That’s why more and more e-commerce websites are opting for a single-column design.
  • Stick to standard layouts. Non-standard website designs can be perceived as artistic. However, it can also weird people out. This is especially true for e-commerce sites. Customers are on your site to buy something and not to appreciate its artistry. If they can’t find what they need within a few seconds, they will abandon your page. So stick to standard layouts that people are familiar with.

9. Use Videos on Your Product Pages

Product videos are just as important as product images, but they are not as widely used. If the customer is hesitating to buy or do not understand how the product works, videos give you the opportunity to address these concerns right at that moment of a potential purchase. It may even be the push your customer needs to buy the product. Here are more reasons why you should add a video on your product pages.

designer is working

  • It can significantly increase conversion and sales.
  • It can improve your SEO ranking.
  • It helps build trust and improve engagement.
  • It offers customers a virtual demo of your product.

Moreover, humans are naturally visual creatures. Most of us prefer watching videos for information rather than reading it.

10. Optimize for Mobile Devices

Nowadays, people do almost everything using their mobile devices–including online shopping. That’s why responsive design is a crucial element for every e-commerce website, as it ensures a better user experience.

Now, if a certain website is not optimized for mobile devices, people will just move on to the next one. If that’s you, you just lost a potential sale. That’s why it’s important to ensure that your website is responsive enough to adapt to any mobile device screen size.

person is shopping using smartphone

Let the experts help design your website

Designing an e-commerce website is more complex than you think. There are a lot of factors to consider that can have a significant influence on the success of your website. That’s why you should know exactly what you are doing. The internet is a treasure trove of information. For example, the techniques mentioned above can be used to improve your conversion rate, as well as the other success markers of your website.

However, relying on research alone is not enough. You also need to know how to implement all the tips and ideas you have collected. Plus, there are still many best practices that only experts can execute really well.

So if you find yourself overwhelmed trying to figure how to include all the above-mentioned techniques on your website, you can always hire an expert. The right Melbourne based design agency can give you the bump you need in the right direction.