How to Design the Perfect e-Commerce Website

Designing an e-commerce website that appeals to both search engines and potential customers isn't easy but it can be done. The following tips on how to design the perfect e-commerce website will help you design the ideal online store for your business.

Make it Responsive

The most important tips to bear in mind when figuring out how to design the perfect e-commerce website is that the site must be mobile-friendly. A growing number of people are buying smartphones and using them to shop online. Furthermore, it has been estimated that a good mobile experience impresses more than 60% of all online shoppers.

It is also worth noting that Google has begun using mobile responsiveness as a factor in determining page rank. If your site cannot be viewed easily on a mobile device, it will affect your search engine standing even if the person searching for your site is using a desktop computer.

Choose Priority Products

One of the worst things you can do when designing an e-commerce website is cluttering the home page with tons of product images and/or lengthy text. Your home page needs plenty of white or blank space so that people can focus on the most important things you are offering.

Resist the temptation to display every single cool product or service you offer on your home page and instead create categories so that people can click on sections that they are interested in. If you don't have too many sections, you can display a few priority products that are best-sellers on your front page, but don't overdo.

Take High Quality Photos

Every single photo on your page must be high quality. This means:

Use only high-resolution images
Check the lighting. The image should be neither too dark nor too light
Take several pictures of the same product, but from different angles. Make it easy for customers to see what your product looks like and how it works.

Choose a Color Scheme with Care

A white background is crisp and clean, so don't discount it as an option. At the same time, don't make it your default option. Experiment a bit to see which background color scheme would look nice. Each color has meaning and you can add the appropriate meaning to your e-commerce site by choosing the right color. However, bear in mind that if you want people to spend a good amount of time on your site, you will need to pick a background color that is easy on the eyes.

Black is always the best color for text, so never use a black background with white text. Pastel colors can be a good option, as they don't draw attention away from the products. Pale orange, light yellow and light blue are great for many sites. Light pink and purple can be suitable for a site selling products primarily to women. Light green is good for natural products.

Provide all Necessary Information

Take a moment to think about what information you would want to know about a product before purchasing it. Alternatively, you can look at Amazon to see the basic information they post about each product. This information typically includes:

Size and dimensions
Weight
Colors the product is available in
What (if any) accessories are included with the product
Information regarding product assembly (for large products)
Information regarding availability (it should be clear when items are out of stock or nearly out of stock)

Your e-commerce website will also need to have a clear return policy, as there may be a number of valid reasons a customer will need to return a product. Make it clear what the time period for returns is, who pays for return shipping and under what circumstances you will accept returns. If certain items are non-refundable, post this information on the product page of the items in question.

Be sure to also post your full business name, physical address, phone number and email address so customers can get in touch with you with ease.