Take any e-commerce business; the success of the business would depend on how well designed the website is. Amazon, the most successful online retail business in the world so far, largely owes its success to effective website design. No matter how great your products are, if the e-commerce website is hard to navigate, then you will not be able to successfully reach the target audience. The anatomy of an e-commerce website can be broken down into several categories. Here is a list of the most important of those features that e-commerce website designers should particularly pay attention to:
The Search Bar
Have you noticed that the biggest e-commerce websites in the world have one glaring feature in common? It’s the search bar that is prominently featured on top of the site. This placement was originally invented by Amazon. The placement played such a crucial role in resulting in customer conversions, nearly all online shopping sites have since begun to adapt it. Therefore, when you build your e-commerce website, make sure you give a prominent place to the search bar. Make it as easy as possible for customers to search for products to drive conversions.
Store Navigation
One crucial feature of any e-commerce website is navigation. The store should be as easy to navigate as possible for consumers. Poor navigation would naturally result in higher bounce rates and low conversion rates. The aim is to allow customers to seamlessly browse for products without getting frustrated. Categorizing products properly and removing annoyances like pop-up ads are simple steps you can take to make the e-store easily navigable. There should be a clear path between a product ad or the landing page and the final checkout. Make sure you choose the proper theme that enables such seamless navigation. If you choose a pro-e-commerce CMS like Magento 2, it would not be hard to find a theme that allows breezy navigation that online shoppers prefer.
Layered Categories
Your store will naturally have products categorised. Instead of listing these categories in order, place the more popular categories on top. Your customers will most likely come for particular products that the e-store offers. When you know certain products categories are popular, place these on top so people can access what they want quickly and easily. This is a tactic large retailers like Kohl’s use. The Kohl’s drop-down menu for product labels place the most popular categories on the top side where customers can quickly see and access the links.
Layout Responsiveness
Take a good look at the layout of your e-store. Does it load the same on all screens regardless of the size? An e-store should be able to load on a mobile screen as effortlessly as it does on a desktop screen. Keep in mind that more customers are now shopping or accessing shopping sites using handheld devices. If these customers cannot properly access your site, then that a significant number of lost sales. Therefore, don’t forget to pay attention to responsiveness aspects of your e-store.
Now that you know which features are most important for your e-store, start right now to fix your site if needed. Hire professional help if your skills are not adequate for creating a perfect e-commerce website.
