Best Practices For E-Commerce UI Web Design
When you envision buyers moving through the e-commerce websites you construct, you basically expect them to follow this journey:
• Step 1: Enter on the homepage or a classification page.
• Step 2: Use the navigational elements to orient themselves to the shop and absolutely no in on the particular things they're looking for.
• Step 3: Review the descriptions and other relevant purchase details for the items that pique their interest.
• Step 4: Customize the item requirements (if possible), and after that add the items they want to their cart.
• Step 5: Check out.
There are deviations they may take along the method (like exploring related items, perusing different categories, and conserving products to a wishlist for a rainy day). But, for the many part, this is the top pathway you develop out and it's the one that will be most heavily traveled.
That holding true, it's specifically essential for designers to no in on the interface elements that shoppers experience along this journey. If there's any friction within the UI, you won't simply see a boost in unexpected variances from the course, but more bounces from the site, too.
That's what the following post is going to focus on: How to guarantee that the UI along the buyer's journey is attractive, user-friendly, engaging, and friction-free.
Let's examine three parts of the UI that consumers will experience from the point of entry to checkout. I'll be using e-commerce websites built with Shopify to do this:
1. Create A Multifaceted Navigation That Follows Shoppers Around #
There as soon as was a time when e-commerce sites had mega menus that shoppers had to arrange through to discover their desired item classifications, sub-categories and sub-sub-categories. While you may still run into them nowadays, the better option is a navigation that adjusts to the buyer's journey.
THE MAIN MENU #
The very first thing to do is to simplify the primary menu so that it has just one level underneath the main classification headers. This is how United By Blue does it:
The product categories under "Shop" are all neatly arranged beneath headers like "Womens" and "Mens".
The only exceptions are the categories for "New Arrivals" and "Masks & Face Coverings" that are accompanied by images. It's the exact same reason "Gifts" remains in a lighter blue font and "Sale" remains in a red font style in the primary menu. These are very prompt and pertinent classifications for United By Blue's buyers, so they should have to be highlighted (without being too disruptive).
Returning to the website, let's look at how the designer was able to keep the mobile website arranged:
Rather than shrink down the desktop menu to one that consumers would need to pinch-and-zoom in on here, we see a menu that's adjusted to the mobile screen.
It needs a few more clicks than the desktop site, but shoppers shouldn't have a problem with that considering that the menu doesn't go unfathomable (once again, this is why we can't utilize mega menus any longer).
ON THE PRODUCT RESULTS PAGE #
If you're building an e-commerce site for a customer with an intricate inventory (i.e. lots of items and layers of classifications), the product results page is going to need its own navigation system.
To assist consumers narrow down how many products they see at a time, you can include these 2 elements in the design of this page:
1. Filters to narrow down the outcomes by item specification.
2. Arranging to order the items based upon buyers' priorities.
I've highlighted them on this item results page on the Horne site:
While you might store your filters in a left sidebar, the horizontally-aligned design above the results is a better option.
This space-saving style allows you to show more products at once and is likewise a more mobile-friendly choice:
Bear in mind that consistency in UI style is necessary to buyers, specifically as more of them take an omnichannel approach to shopping. By presenting the filters/sorting choices regularly from gadget to device, you'll create a more predictable and comfy experience for them at the same time.
BREADCRUMBS & SEARCH #
As buyers move deeper into an e-commerce site, they still may need navigational assistance. There are two UI navigation elements that will help them out.
The very first is a breadcrumb path in the top-left corner of the product pages, similar to how tentree does:
This is best used on sites with categories that have sub-categories upon sub-categories. The more and more shoppers move away from the item results page and the convenience of the filters and sorting, the more vital breadcrumbs will be.
The search bar, on the other hand, is a navigation element that must constantly be offered, regardless of which point in the journey consumers are at. This chooses stores of all sizes, too.
Now, a search bar will definitely help consumers who are brief on time, can't discover what they require or just want a shortcut to a product they already know exists. However, an AI-powered search bar that can actively anticipate what the shopper is looking for is a smarter option.
Here's how that works on the Horne website:
Even if the shopper hasn't ended up inputting their search expression, this search bar begins dishing out recommendations. Left wing are matching keywords and on the right are leading matching items. The supreme objective is to accelerate shoppers' search and reduce any stress, pressure or aggravation they may otherwise be feeling.
2. Show The Most Pertinent Details At Once On Product Pages #
Vitaly Friedman just recently shared this pointer on LinkedIn:
He's. The more time visitors need to spend digging around for important information about an item, the greater the possibility they'll simply give up and try another shop.
Shipping alone is a big sticking point for numerous buyers and, unfortunately, a lot of e-commerce sites wait up until checkout to let them learn about shipping expenses and delays.
Due to the fact that of this, 63% of digital shoppers end up deserting their online carts because of shipping expenses and 36% do so because of for how long it requires to receive their orders.
Those aren't the only details digital shoppers need to know about ahead of time. They also want to know about:
• The returns and refund policy,
• The regards to usage and personal privacy policy,
• The payment choices readily available,
• Omnichannel purchase-and-pickup choices offered,
• And so on.
How are you anticipated to fit this all in within the very first screenful?
PRESENT THE 30-SECOND PITCH ABOVE THE FOLD #
This is what Vitaly was talking about. You don't need to squeeze each and every single detail about an item above the fold. However the shop must have the ability to offer the item with just what's in that area.
Bluebella, for example, has a space-saving design 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 product summary. Since of the varying size of the header font styles as well as the hierarchical structure of the page, it's easy to follow.
Based on how this is developed, you can tell that the most important information are:
• Product name;
• Product price;
• 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 are able to fit above the fold thanks to the accordions utilized to collapse and broaden them.
If there are other important details buyers may need to comprise their minds-- like product reviews or a sizing guide-- develop links into the above-the-fold that move them to the relevant sections lower on the page.
Quick Note: This design will not be possible on mobile for obvious factors. The item images will get leading billing while the 30-second pitch appears just listed below the https://ionline.com.au/web-development/ fold.
MAKE EXTRA UI ELEMENTS SMALL #
Even if you're able to concisely provide the product's description, extra sales and marketing elements like pop-ups, chat widgets and more can end up being just as bothersome as lengthy item pages.
So, ensure you have them saved out of the method as Partake does:
The red symbol you see in the bottom left enables buyers to manage the availability functions of the website. The "Rewards" button in the bottom-right is actually a pop-up that's styled like a chat widget. When opened, it invites buyers to sign up with the loyalty program.
Both of these widgets open only when clicked.
Allbirds is another one that consists of additional elements, however keeps them out of the way:
In this case, it includes a self-service chat widget in the bottom-right that has to be clicked in order to open. It likewise places details about its existing returns policy in a sticky bar at the top, freeing up the item pages to strictly focus on product 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 want to add this product to my cart or not?"
For other products, shoppers need to specify item variants prior to they can include an item to their cart. When that's the case, you want to make this process as pain-free as possible. There are a couple of things you can do to ensure this takes place.
Let's say the store you develop sells women's undergarments. Because case, you 'd need to offer variations like color and size.
However you would not wish to simply develop a drop-down selector for each. Picture how tiresome that would get if you asked shoppers to click on "Color" and they had to sort through a dozen or two options. If it's a standard drop-down selector, color swatches may not appear in the list. Rather, the buyer would need to pick a color name and wait for the item photo to update in order to see what it looks like.
This is why your variants should determine how you develop each.
Let's use this product page from Thinx as an example:
There are 2 variations readily available on this page:
• The color variation reveals a row of color examples. When clicked, the name of the color appears and the product photo changes appropriately.
• The size alternative 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 clear-cut, sizing can alter from shop to shop in addition to region to region. This chart offers clear guidance on how to choose a size.
Now, Thinx uses a square button for each of its variants. You can switch it up, however, if you 'd like to create a difference in between the options buyers have to make (and it's most likely the much better design option, to be sincere).
Kirrin Finch, for instance, puts its sizes inside empty boxes and its color examples inside filled circles:
It's a little distinction, however it needs to be enough to help buyers transition smoothly from choice to choice and not miss out on any of the needed fields.
Now, let's say that the store you're constructing doesn't offer clothes. Instead, it sells something like beds, which obviously won't consist of options like color or size. A minimum of, not in the very same way just like clothing.
Unless you have well-known abbreviations, symbols or numbers you can utilize to represent each version, you must use another kind of selector.
For instance, this is a product page on the Leesa website. I've opened the "Pick your size" selector so you can see how these alternatives are shown:
Why is this a drop-down list as opposed to boxes?
For starters, the size names aren't the exact same length. So, box selectors would either be inconsistently sized or some of them would have a ton of white space in them. It truly would not look great.
Leesa sensibly utilizes this little space to provide more details about each mattress size (i.e. the typical vs. sale price). So, not just is this the very best design for this particular variant selector, but it's also a terrific way to be effective with how you provide a lot of details on the product page.
A NOTE ABOUT OUT-OF-STOCK VARIANTS #
If you want to remove all friction from this part of the online shopping process, ensure you develop a distinct style for out-of-stock versions.
Here's a more detailed take a look at the Kirrin Finch example once again:
There's no mistaking which choices are offered and which are not).
Although some buyers might be frustrated when they understand the t-shirt color they like is just available in a few sizes, picture how irritated they 'd be if they didn't learn this up until after they selected all their variants?
If the item choice is the last step they take in the past clicking "add to haul", do not conceal this details from them. All you'll do is get their hopes up for a product they put in the time to check out, look at, and fall for ... just to discover it's not available in a size "16" up until it's too late.
Wrapping Up #
What is it they state? Good design is undetectable?
That's what we need to bear in mind when designing these essential interface for e-commerce websites. Naturally, your customer's shop requires to be attractive and memorable ... But the UI aspects that move consumers through the website ought to not give them stop briefly. Simplicity and ease of usage require to be your leading priority when creating the main journey for your customer's shoppers.
If you're interested in putting these UI design viewpoints to work for brand-new clients, consider joining the Shopify Partner Program as a shop developer. There you'll have the ability to earn repeating revenue by building brand-new Shopify shops for customers or moving shops from other commerce platforms to Shopify.