Good design and the right ambiance can turn prospects into customers and have a great influence on how much a consumer spends on your store.
Studies have shown that 75% of users make judgments about a company’s credibility based on its website design.
In fact, it’s funny how many people have actually lost their money by getting scammed at online stores that were untrustworthy but designed well.
This just brings into limelight how important the design and layout of your store is. Suffice it to say, if you want to win your buyers’ trust, you must pay attention to the layout of your store.
While a good website design involves a lot of factors, it always starts with the basics – what pages your site is going to have?
Here, we’ll talk about some essential site pages that are a must-have for your e-Commerce store and some designing tips about what to include on those pages.
The Homepage
The homepage serves as the front door of your business and for most of your customers, it will be the first page they visit.
Hence, it’s the perfect opportunity to make a good impression on the visitor, lure him inside and guide him through the rest of the store, and finally convert that visit into a sale.
Here are some tips when designing your homepage:
- Visual Appeal Matters
When designing your homepage, think of it as the window display of your store. If your store sells physical goods, visual appeal matters here. Include high-quality images, featured products, and promotions to catch your visitor’s attention.
- Use Relevant Images
Make sure the images you include are in context with your customer’s lifestyle and goals so your customers can better relate to your brand’s messaging and understand your products.
- Make it Simple to Navigate
Besides the visual appeal, your homepage should also be simple to navigate. The call to action should be clear and prominent and the customer should find it easy to figure out what he’s supposed to do next.
Apart from the main menu, you should use the space on your homepage to include links to category pages or product pages wherever possible.
All in all, this is the page where it should instantly become clear what your site is about, what products you sell, and how your products fit into your visitor’s life.
Here is an example of the homepage of Sephora.
Their page is simple and minimalist but is easy to navigate. They have added banner links to the Category pages, which makes it easy for customers to navigate and quickly find what they want. The Selling Fast and Just Arrived sections underneath help the customer find the most popular products and the new arrivals in one glance.
The Category Overview Page
Creating a category overview page for your top-level category will give your prospect an idea of what products are included in it.
A category overview page makes it easy for the user to find what he wants without spending a lot of time searching through extensive product catalogs.
For example, if your store sells Pet Care products, you can create a category overview page to link to the sub-categories in that department like Pet Accessories, Pet Toys, Pet Food, etc.
Some stores skip this page entirely. Instead of a Category Overview page, they go for a nested dropdown menu, which helps the user navigate through the categories.
If you are using a nested menu, make sure it’s mobile-friendly and works well on touch screens.
A category overview page, however, has an added advantage. You can use this as a landing page when placing ads and building links for referral traffic.
Best Buy chooses to have both – a category overview page and a nested menu.
The Product Page
The product page should be packed with information about the product. When the customer lands here, he should get all the information needed to make up his mind.
Here are some features you can include here on this page:
- 360 Degree Product Images
High-quality product images from different angles are crucial for products that are more physical like fashion products. Showcasing a 360-degree view of your product will, however, take that experience to the next level.
- Well-written Product Description
Write copy that answers your buyer’s questions and sells your product. Good copywriting is critical for this page.
- Question/ Answers
Allow customers to ask questions about your product from this page and display all the questions and answers posted earlier by other customers.
- Customer Reviews
You can’t ignore this particular feature of the product page. Allow customers to upload pictures with their reviews and display them here with their reviews.
Here is a product page example of Sephora’s online store. See how vital information is displayed neatly without cluttering the page.
The Log-In Page
Nobody likes to log in with usernames and passwords that are so hard to remember. It’s just one big hurdle that comes in between you and your customer.
While Guest Checkout is a common way to overcome this obstacle, it often causes friction for repeat customers who would rather prefer to have their information saved for a speedier checkout.
A technique here is to add a Social Log-in functionality that allows customers to log in using their social accounts. It lets users avail of the benefits of having an account without having to remember another username and password.
The Checkout Page
The checkout flow needs to be as simple and quick as can be. Your customer is in the last stages of the sales funnel and losing him now would be a great disappointment. Just make it quick and get it done with.
Many e-Commerce stores create a one-page checkout experience by including everything – account log-in, shipping, payment, and order review on one single page.
Here is an example of a one-page checkout.
Order Confirmation Page
This is a page often ignored by store owners. What we usually see here is a plain, old thank-you message that gives no idea about when the order will be delivered, how to reach out for help in case of any problem, and how to track the order.
It certainly deserves a little bit more attention than that. Your customer just finished making a purchase and you need to assure them that they have made the right choice by shopping from your store.
Here are some points that need attention:
- Information on how to get help and where to contact with queries
- How to make changes to the order if needed
- How to track their order deliveries
- Benefits of creating an account in case the customer checked out as guest
- Invite customers to earn rewards through a referral program
My Account Page
My Account page lists all current and previous orders as well as personal information like addresses, phone numbers, and payment methods that the customer can easily update.
Some extra features you can include here:
- A reorder button that allows customers to place the same order with the click of a button
- A link to the order tracking system that makes it easy for customers to track their deliveries
Floship integrates seamlessly with all major e-Commerce platforms like Magento, Shopify, and WooCommerce so your customers can easily keep track of their deliveries.
Returns Policy
Having a clear return policy is a solid way to gain your customers’ confidence and trust and reduce cart abandonment. Make sure the Returns Policy is laid out well with important information highlighted so that everything is transparent at first glance.
Here is an example of a well-designed Returns Policy page by Walmart. After stating their returns policies, they give a neat Start a Return button to help customers return the product if needed.
Help Page
Make it easy for customers to find help if anything goes wrong. Your help page should include a FAQ section and clear cut instructions on how to reach out with help queries.
See how Walmart does it with a well laid-out FAQs section and then a Contact Us button at the bottom that connects the customer with their chatbot.
Blog Page
This is one page most e-Commerce sites skip entirely and even when they do have it, they don’t give it as much attention as it deserves.
While creating optimized and targeted blog content on a regular schedule can take a lot of time and effort, the benefits are well worth it.
Interesting, informative, and targeted blogs can help drive traffic, boost SEO rankings, grow your audience, and build email lists.
What to include here:
- Valuable content that drives traffic
- A freebie that helps you get email subscribers
- Links to your product pages and category pages wherever they fit naturally
Hopefully, the above list will help you design an awesome store that’s optimized for selling.
