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Best Practices For E-Commerce UI Web Design

When you imagine shoppers moving through the e-commerce websites you construct, you basically anticipate them to follow this journey:

• Step 1: Enter on the homepage or a classification page.

• Step 2: Use the navigational components to orient themselves to the store and zero in on the specific things they're searching for.

• Step 3: Review the descriptions and other important purchase information for the items that stimulate their interest.

• Step 4: Customize the item specifications (if possible), and then include the products they want to their cart.

• Step 5: Check out.

There are discrepancies they may bring the way (like checking out related items, browsing different categories, and saving items to a wishlist for a rainy day). But, for the most part, this is the leading path you build out and it's the one that will be most greatly traveled.

That being the case, it's specifically important for designers to absolutely no in on the user interface elements that consumers encounter 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 website, too.

That's what the following post is going to focus on: How to make sure that the UI along the purchaser's journey is attractive, user-friendly, engaging, and friction-free.

Let's analyze three parts of the UI that shoppers will encounter from the point of entry to checkout. I'll be using e-commerce websites built with Shopify to do this:

1. Develop A Multifaceted Navigation That Follows Shoppers Around #

There as soon as was a time when e-commerce sites had mega menus that consumers had to arrange through to find their preferred product classifications, sub-categories and sub-sub-categories. While you may still encounter them nowadays, the much better option is a navigation that adapts to the shopper'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 main category headers. This is how United By Blue does it:

The product categories under "Shop" are all nicely organized beneath 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 why "Gifts" is in a lighter blue font and "Sale" remains in a red font style in the primary menu. These are incredibly prompt and relevant categories for United By Blue's consumers, so they deserve to be highlighted (without being too distracting).

Returning to the site, let's take a look at how the designer was able to keep the mobile site arranged:

Rather than shrink down the desktop menu to one that buyers would need to pinch-and-zoom in on here, we see a menu that's adjusted to the mobile screen.

It needs a couple of more clicks than the desktop website, but consumers shouldn't have a problem with that given that the menu doesn't go unfathomable (again, this is why we can't use mega menus any longer).

ON THE PRODUCT RESULTS PAGE #

If you're developing an e-commerce website for a customer with a complex inventory (i.e. great deals of products and layers of classifications), the product 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 2 components in the design of this page:

1. Filters to narrow down the results by item spec.

2. Sorting to purchase the products based on shoppers' concerns.

I've highlighted them on this item results page on the Horne site:

While you might save your filters in a left sidebar, the horizontally-aligned style above the outcomes is a better option.

This space-saving style permits you to show more products at once and is likewise a more mobile-friendly option:

Bear in mind that consistency in UI style is important to consumers, specifically as more of them take an omnichannel method to shopping. By presenting the filters/sorting choices regularly from gadget to gadget, you'll create a more predictable and comfortable experience for them at the same time.

BREADCRUMBS & SEARCH #

As shoppers move deeper into an e-commerce website, they still may need navigational help. There are 2 UI navigation components that will assist them out.

The very first is a breadcrumb trail 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 sorting, the more crucial breadcrumbs will be.

The search bar, on the other hand, is a navigation element that should always be available, no matter which point in the journey shoppers are at. This opts for shops of all sizes, too.

Now, a search bar will certainly help buyers who are short on time, can't discover what they need or just want a faster way to an item they already know exists. An AI-powered search bar that can actively forecast what the consumer is looking for is a smarter choice.

Here's how that deals with the Horne site:

Even if the buyer hasn't finished inputting their search phrase, this search bar begins providing recommendations. On the left are matching keywords and on the right are leading matching items. The ultimate goal is to accelerate buyers' search and cut down on any stress, pressure or frustration they may otherwise be feeling.

2. Show The Most Pertinent Details At Once On Product Pages #

Vitaly Friedman recently shared this idea on LinkedIn:

He's. The more time visitors need to spend digging around for important details about a product, the greater the chance they'll simply quit and attempt another store.

Shipping alone is a huge sticking point for many consumers and, regrettably, a lot of e-commerce websites wait until checkout to let them know about shipping costs and delays.

Because of this, 63% of digital shoppers end up deserting their online carts because of shipping expenses and 36% do so since of the length of time it requires to receive their orders.

Those aren't the only information digital shoppers want to know about ahead of time. They also want to know about:

• The returns and refund policy,

• The regards to use and privacy policy,

• The payment alternatives available,

• Omnichannel purchase-and-pickup alternatives available,

• 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 discussing. You don't have to squeeze every single information about an item above the fold. The store should be able to sell the item with only what's in that space.

Bluebella, for instance, has a space-saving style that does not compromise on readability:

With the image gallery relegated to the left side of the page, the rest can be dedicated to the item summary. Due to the fact that of the differing size of the header typefaces along with the hierarchical structure of the page, it's easy to follow.

Based upon how this is designed, you can inform that the most essential details are:

• Product name;

• Product cost;

• Product size selector;

• Add-to-bag and wishlist buttons;

• Delivery and returns info (which neatly appears on one line).

The rest 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 details shoppers might require to make up their minds-- like item evaluations or a sizing guide-- build links into the above-the-fold that move them to the appropriate areas lower on the page.

Quick Note: This layout will not be possible on mobile for obvious reasons. So, the item images will get prominence web applications while the 30-second pitch appears simply below the fold.

MAKE EXTRA UI ELEMENTS SMALL #

Even if you're able to concisely provide the item's description, extra sales and marketing components like pop-ups, chat widgets and more can end up being just as frustrating as prolonged item pages.

So, make certain you have them kept out of the way as Partake does:

The red sign you see in the bottom left allows consumers to control the availability functions of the website. The "Rewards" button in the bottom-right is really a pop-up that's styled like a chat widget. When opened, it invites consumers to join the commitment program.

Both of these widgets open only when clicked.

Allbirds is another one that includes additional components, however keeps them out of the way:

In this case, it consists of a self-service chat widget in the bottom-right that has to be clicked in order to open. It also puts details about its existing returns policy in a sticky bar at the top, freeing up 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 choice that consumers have to make aside from: "Do I wish to add this item to my cart or not?"

For other items, shoppers need to define product variants before they can add an item to their cart. When that's the case, you want to make this process as pain-free as possible. There are a few things you can do to guarantee this occurs.

Let's say the shop you design offers women's underwears. Because case, you 'd need to offer variations like color and size.

However you wouldn't wish to just develop a drop-down selector for each. Envision how laborious that would get if you asked buyers to click on "Color" and they had to arrange through a dozen approximately options. If it's a standard drop-down selector, color examples might not appear in the list. Rather, the buyer would have to pick a color name and wait on the product image to upgrade in order to see what it appears like.

This is why your versions should determine how you develop each.

Let's use this item page from Thinx as an example:

There are 2 variants available on this page:

• The color variation shows a row of color examples. When clicked, the name of the color appears and the product photo adjusts appropriately.

• The size variant lists sizes from extra-extra-small to extra-extra-extra-large.

Notification how Size features a link to "size chart". That's because, unlike something like color which is quite well-defined, sizing can change from store to store in addition to area to area. This chart offers clear guidance on how to select a size.

Now, Thinx utilizes a square button for each of its variants. You can change it up, though, if you 'd like to create a distinction between the options buyers need to make (and it's most likely the better design choice, to be sincere).

Kirrin Finch, for example, puts its sizes inside empty boxes and its color examples inside filled circles:

It's a small difference, but it ought to suffice to help shoppers transition efficiently from decision to choice and not miss any of the needed fields.

Now, let's state that the shop you're constructing does not sell clothing. Instead, it sells something like beds, which clearly will not consist of options like color or size. At least, not in the very same method as with clothes.

Unless you have widely known abbreviations, signs or numbers you can use to represent each variant, you ought to use another type of selector.

For instance, this is a product page on the Leesa site. I've opened the "Pick your size" selector so you can see how these alternatives are shown:

Why is this a drop-down list instead of boxes?

For beginners, the size names aren't the very same length. So, box selectors would either be inconsistently sized or a few of them would have a ton of white space in them. It truly wouldn't look good.

Leesa carefully utilizes this small space to provide more information about each bed mattress size (i.e. the normal vs. sale cost). So, not just is this the very best design for this particular alternative selector, however it's likewise an excellent method to be effective with how you provide a great deal of information on the item page.

A NOTE ABOUT OUT-OF-STOCK VARIANTS #

If you want to eliminate all friction from this part of the online shopping process, ensure you come up with an unique design for out-of-stock versions.

Here's a closer look at the Kirrin Finch example once again:

There's no mistaking which choices are offered and which are not).

Although some consumers might be irritated when they recognize the t-shirt color they like is just offered in a few sizes, think of how irritated they 'd be if they didn't discover this up until after they chose all their variants?

If the product choice is the last action they take before clicking "contribute to cart", do not conceal this information from them. All you'll do is get their hopes up for a product they made the effort to check out, take a look at, and fall for ... only to discover it's not available in a size "16" until it's far too late.

Finishing up #

What is it they say? Excellent design is invisible?

That's what we need to remember when creating these crucial interface for e-commerce sites. Of course, your client's shop needs to be appealing and unforgettable ... But the UI components that move consumers through the website ought to not provide stop briefly. So, simplicity and ease of usage need to be your top concern when designing the main journey for your client's shoppers.

If you're interested in putting these UI style philosophies to work for brand-new consumers, consider signing up with the Shopify Partner Program as a shop designer. There you'll have the ability to make repeating income by constructing new Shopify stores for clients or migrating shops from other commerce platforms to Shopify.