Launching an E-Commerce Business? Here are 7 Web Design Mistakes To Avoid
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The growth of e-commerce is simply phenomenal. In 2017 alone, the ecommerce industry accounted for around $2.3 trillion in sales, and the number will grow to $4.5 trillion in 2021 according to Statista. In the U.S., e-commerce accounts for 10% of retail sales with a projected increase of 15% each year. But it is not all rosy because millions of ecommerce stores collapse within a few months of launch. According to a Fortune Report, more than half of startups fail, and this should be a warning sign. One of the main reasons for such failure is poor web design. Now that all your transactions will happen online, you need a professionally designed website to meet growing demand from your customers. Many online retailers rush to set up stores only to experience hiccups arising from unreliable e-commerce designs.
This article highlights some of the most common design mistakes that online retailers make and proposes tips to avoid them. Read on.
- Poor Image Quality
The power of visuals in marketing cannot be overemphasized. Your e-commerce website images are the first thing visitors will see and if they are not impressive, it is likely you will lose business. The online shoppers have many choices with other online stores competing for their attention. If you don’t display high-resolution product images, you risk turning off potential buyers because they will question your credibility. Investing in high-resolution images is similar to a brick-and-mortar store investing in lighting and other techniques to improve product displays.
- Confusing/ Scanty Product Descriptions
When potential customers visit your ecommerce store, they expect to get all the information they need about your products or services. A major pitfall in ecommerce web design is a failure to include clear, helpful product description or worse still, using scanty and confusing descriptions. Good copywriting and product descriptions are integral in your e-commerce web design to avoid high bounce rates and high cart abandonment rates. Provide relevant information but avoid overloading the product descriptions as this might confuse the readers.
- Limited Payment Methods
One of the most important aspects of a good e-commerce web design is seamless user experience. To provide this, you not only have to take payments online but you must make the process fast and easy. You should use a payment gateway that allows multiple payment options to deliver an enjoyable user experience. Your e-commerce design must integrate multiple payment options to avoid cart abandonment and to ensure the customer completes the purchase journey.
- Lack of Customer Support Information
While online shopping has increased tremendously over the years, most shoppers still need a lot of information before completing purchases. For this reason, your e-commerce web design must integrate a well-detailed contact page for easy communication. Include all communication channels including phone, email, social media networks, and live chat among others. If a customer needs to contact your store, it should be a quick and simple process. For this reason, add your contact information in strategic places on the web pages.
- Failure to Include Shipping Information
A quick glance at most online customer complaints shows that shipping is a very critical issue. It can make or break your e-commerce store. If you want to create a seamless user experience, make sure you provide comprehensive shipping information on your e-commerce website.
Failure to include shipping details including proper shipping rates, timelines, product tracking and other details is a common web design mistake that you have to avoid. It leads to low revenues because shoppers need these details before making a purchase.
- Cluttered/Over-Crowded/ Complicated Design
Don’t fall for the temptation to include everything in your website because this will lead to loss of business. Online shoppers have a short attention span and they want to find whatever they need fast. Avoid an overcrowded web design as it is ugly and confuses potential buyers.
- A Non- Mobile-Friendly Web Design
Google has already indicated that mobile internet has surpassed desktop access and this is enough reason to invest in mobile-friendly web designs. A responsive e-commerce website helps leverage the growing mobile internet market. With Mobile First Index, Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) Project and other initiatives emphasizing the importance of mobile, you can only overlook a mobile-friendly web design at your own peril.
There are many other web design flaws such as slow loading time, complicated sign-up forms, dated design, lack of clear call to action (CTA) among others. Avoid these web design mistakes to deliver a world-class customer experience which in turn leads to reduction in bounce rates, higher sales conversion, customer loyalty, and a good brand image.
