Best Practices For E-Commerce UI Web Design
When you picture buyers moving through the e-commerce sites you build, 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 specific things they're trying to find.
• Step 3: Review the descriptions and other essential purchase information for the items that stimulate their interest.
• Step 4: Customize the product specs (if possible), and after that include the products they want to their cart.
• Step 5: Check out.
There are deviations they may take along the method (like checking out related products, browsing different categories, and saving products to a wishlist for a rainy day). But, for the many part, this is the top pathway you build out and it's the one that will be most greatly taken a trip.
That being the case, it's especially important for designers to absolutely no in on the interface elements that consumers experience along this journey. If there's any friction within the UI, you will not just see an increase 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 ensure that the UI along the buyer's journey is attractive, intuitive, engaging, and friction-free.
Let's examine 3 parts of the UI that consumers will come across from the point of entry to checkout. I'll be using e-commerce sites constructed with Shopify to do this:
1. Produce A Multifaceted Navigation That Follows Shoppers Around #
There as soon as was a time when e-commerce sites had mega menus that buyers had to sort through to discover their desired product categories, sub-categories and sub-sub-categories. While you might still face them nowadays, the much better option is a navigation that adjusts to the consumer's journey.
THE MAIN MENU #
The first thing to do is to streamline the main menu so that it has just one level below the primary classification headers. For example, this is how United By Blue does it:
The item classifications under "Shop" are all neatly organized underneath 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 same reason why "Gifts" remains in a lighter blue typeface and "Sale" is in a red typeface in the main menu. These are very prompt and appropriate classifications for United By Blue's shoppers, so they deserve to be highlighted (without being too distracting).
Returning to the site, let's look at how the designer had the ability to keep the mobile site organized:
Rather than diminish down the desktop menu to one that buyers would require 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 website, but consumers should not have a problem with that since the menu does not go unfathomable (once again, this is why we can't utilize mega menus any longer).
ON THE PRODUCT RESULTS PAGE #
If you're developing an e-commerce website for a customer with a complex stock (i.e. lots of items and layers of classifications), the item results page is going to need its own navigation system.
To assist consumers narrow down the number of items they see at a time, you can consist of these two components in the design of this page:
1. Filters to narrow down the results by product spec.
2. Arranging to purchase the products based upon buyers' top priorities.
I've highlighted them on this product results page on the Horne website:
While you could keep your filters in a left sidebar, the horizontally-aligned style above the results is a better choice.
This space-saving style permits you to show more products at the same time and is also a more mobile-friendly choice:
Consistency in UI style is important to buyers, particularly as more of them take an omnichannel approach to shopping. By presenting the filters/sorting choices regularly from gadget to gadget, you'll produce a more predictable and comfy experience for them at the same time.
BREADCRUMBS & SEARCH #
As consumers move deeper into an e-commerce site, they still may need navigational support. There are 2 UI navigation elements 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 sites with classifications that have sub-categories upon sub-categories. The further and more buyers move away from the product results page and the convenience of the filters and arranging, the more important breadcrumbs will be.
The search bar, on the other hand, is a navigation element that ought to always be offered, regardless of which point in the journey shoppers are at. This chooses stores of all sizes, too.
Now, a search bar will definitely assist consumers who are short on time, can't find what they need or just desire a faster way to an item they already know exists. An AI-powered search bar that can actively forecast what the shopper is looking for is a smarter option.
Here's how that deals with the Horne site:
Even if the consumer hasn't finished inputting their search expression, this search bar begins serving up suggestions. On the left are matching keywords and on the right are top matching items. The supreme objective is to speed up buyers' search and minimize any tension, pressure or aggravation they might otherwise be feeling.
2. Show The Most Pertinent Details At Once On Product Pages #
Vitaly Friedman recently shared this pointer on LinkedIn:
He's. The more time visitors have to invest digging around for essential information about an item, the higher the chance they'll simply quit and attempt another shop.
Shipping alone is a huge sticking point for many consumers and, sadly, too many e-commerce websites wait up until checkout to let them learn about shipping expenses and delays.
Because of this, 63% of digital consumers wind up deserting their online carts due to the fact that of shipping costs and 36% do so because of for how long it takes to get their orders.
Those aren't the only details digital consumers would like to know about ahead of time. They likewise want to know about:
• The returns and refund policy,
• The terms of use and privacy policy,
• The payment alternatives readily available,
• Omnichannel purchase-and-pickup alternatives available,
• And so on.
How are you anticipated to fit this all in within the first screenful?
PRESENT THE 30-SECOND PITCH ABOVE THE FOLD #
This is what Vitaly was talking about. You do not have to squeeze every single detail about a product above the fold. However the store should be able to sell the item with just what's in that area.
Bluebella, for example, has a space-saving design that doesn't jeopardize on readability:
With the image gallery relegated to the left side of the page, the rest can be committed to the product summary. Because of the varying size of the header font styles along with the hierarchical structure of the page, it's easy to follow.
Based on how this is designed, you can tell that the most essential details are:
• Product name;
• Product price;
• Product size selector;
• Add-to-bag and wishlist buttons;
• Delivery and returns details (which neatly appears on one line).
The rest of the item details are able to fit above the fold thanks to the accordions used to collapse and broaden them.
If there are other crucial details buyers may need to make up their minds-- like product evaluations or a sizing guide-- construct links into the above-the-fold that move them to the relevant sections lower on the page.
Quick Note: This design won't be possible on mobile for apparent factors. The item images will get leading billing while the 30-second pitch appears simply below the fold.
MAKE EXTRA UI ELEMENTS SMALL #
Even if you're able to concisely provide the product's description, additional sales and marketing elements like pop-ups, chat widgets and more can become just as frustrating as lengthy product pages.
So, make certain you have them saved out of the way as Partake does:
The red symbol you see in the bottom left enables consumers to control the accessibility features 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 sign up with the loyalty program.
Both of these widgets open just 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 also positions details about its current returns policy in a sticky bar at the top, freeing up the product pages to strictly focus on item information.
3. Make Product Variants As Easy To Select As Possible #
For some items, there is no choice that shoppers have to make besides: "Do I wish to include this item to my cart or not?"
For other products, buyers need to define her explanation product variants prior to they can include an item to their cart. When that's the case, you want to make this procedure as pain-free as possible. There are a couple of things you can do to ensure this happens.
Let's state the store you design sells females's undergarments. In that case, you 'd have to offer variations like color and size.
You wouldn't desire to just develop a drop-down selector for each. Picture how tiresome that would get if you asked shoppers to click on "Color" and they needed to arrange through a dozen or so choices. If it's a standard drop-down selector, color examples may not appear in the list. Instead, the shopper would have to choose a color name and wait on the product image to upgrade in order to see what it looks like.
This is why your variations need to determine how you design each.
Let's use this product page from Thinx as an example:
There are 2 variants available on this page:
• The color variation reveals a row of color examples. When clicked, the name of the color appears and the product picture adjusts appropriately.
• 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 pretty clear-cut, sizing can change from shop to store in addition to area to area. This chart supplies clear assistance on how to pick a size.
Now, Thinx uses a square button for each of its variations. You can change it up, however, if you 'd like to create a difference between the options shoppers need to make (and it's most likely the much better design choice, to be honest).
Kirrin Finch, for example, positions its sizes inside empty boxes and its color examples inside filled circles:
It's a little difference, however it must suffice to help shoppers transition smoothly from choice to choice and not miss out on any of the required fields.
Now, let's say that the store you're developing doesn't sell clothing. Rather, it sells something like beds, which clearly won't include options like color or size. At least, not in the very same method as with clothing.
Unless you have popular abbreviations, signs or numbers you can utilize to represent each variant, you should use another kind of selector.
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 displayed:
Why is this a drop-down list instead of boxes?
For beginners, the size names aren't the exact same length. Box selectors would either be inconsistently sized or some of them would have a heap of white area in them. It truly would not look excellent.
Likewise, Leesa wisely uses this little space to provide more info about each bed mattress size (i.e. the regular vs. price). So, not just is this the best style for this specific variant selector, however it's also a terrific way to be effective with how you present a lot of info on the product 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 develop a distinct design for out-of-stock variations.
Here's a closer take a look at the Kirrin Finch example again:
There's no mistaking which choices are available and which are not).
Although some buyers might be irritated when they understand the t-shirt color they like is just readily available in a few sizes, picture how irritated they 'd be if they didn't discover this till after they selected all their variants?
If the product choice is the last step they take in the past clicking "contribute to haul", do not hide 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 in love with ... only to discover it's not readily available in a size "16" until it's too late.
Wrapping Up #
What is it they state? Good design is invisible?
That's what we need to keep in mind when creating these essential interface for e-commerce websites. Of course, your client's shop requires to be attractive and unforgettable ... But the UI aspects that move shoppers through the site must not give them pause. Simplicity and ease of use need to be your top concern when developing the primary journey for your client's shoppers.
If you're interested in putting these UI design viewpoints to work for brand-new customers, consider joining the Shopify Partner Program as a store designer. There you'll be able to earn repeating revenue by constructing brand-new Shopify shops for customers or moving shops from other commerce platforms to Shopify.