Five e-commerce website design elements

With over 2.6 billion shoppers favouring online shopping, website design is vital for attracting customers and growing your business. Let’s look at five design elements you can use to enhance your website and some pointers on where and how to improve.

E-commerce

E-commerce simply refers to a website used to sell products or services. Consider it the digital counterpart to a store on the street, as you are displaying your goods through a global window. As the only requirement is online selling, e-commerce sites can range from small businesses to global retail chains.

Website design elements

Now for what you absolutely need on your website, starting with a homepage. Consider this the window referred to earlier, where you can display anything to the world. A great design will entice customers to seek more and potentially secure you a purchase. An effective homepage will be streamlined and signposted, allowing for user-friendly navigation. This can be tricky for beginners but easy for specialists in website design Surrey, such as Akiko Design.

Two other elements you need are an ‘about us’ section and category pages, which your homepage should signpost. The ‘about us’ demonstrates your unique ethos and services and enables you to fully detail your business. Category pages allow for smooth compartmentalisation, giving customers easy access to all your products and services without overwhelming them.

Your website is like a series of increasingly intriguing doors, with the product pages being the next step after category pages. Here, you should include all the specifications of the product and really make it shine. High-quality photos go a long way in reflecting the quality of your business and services, so don’t neglect your camera skills. A brief guide is available here.  

Finally, we come to payment. Your checkout page should be smooth and streamlined, allowing for easy payments that won’t dissuade your would-be customers at the last minute. Whilst you would like customers to register accounts with you, ensure you keep guest checkouts available; otherwise, you may deter buyers. Above all else, simplicity is key in securing an online purchase.