In our article "Technical Prerequisites for Implementing and Managing a Stable Online Store", we introduced you to the benefits of the eCommerce open-source platform - Magento. If you have already chosen the platform on which to base your online store, then this article will be very useful for you. In it, we will share the key points and mistakes made in building the design, structure and UX of any online store.
Online store owners mistakes
Design and user experience are key to your online store!
With our team of designers and UX specialists at Stenik, we have extracted a list of the most common mistakes retailers make when designing their online store:
- Traders do not follow the expert and objective opinion of the designer , who has accumulated years of experience, but impose their personal tastes. Of course, every customer has a vision for their online store, but it must first be tailored to the needs of its end users and trends in the area, not their personal preferences. Professional designers know that they should not consider the end result of their work only from their own point of view, but also from the perspective of the consumer and the business.
- An error is the clutter of the interface with features that lead to cognitive load on the user. Thinking logically, if we offer more functionality than our competitors in a single screen, that's fine, but to a certain extent. Research shows that the more choices one has, the more difficult it is to make decisions and, in a large percentage of cases, not be satisfied with their choices. The designer's job is to predict the most comfortable user experience and direct the buyer to it without burdening it with dozens of different buttons, clicks, messages and promotions in one screen. The streamlined design makes it easier for the user to find the information they need and gives the business space to highlight the most important in the given interface.
- Merchants do not answer the question "why?" when they like or dislike a design solution. Many times more in-depth study of the reasons for changing an element of the interface, provide clearer guidance for the designer, or indicate that the change would not bring the desired effect that the client imagines. Some of the key points to consider when evaluating a design are: readability, consistency, quick and easy access to navigate and navigate the site.
- Merchants do not view the appearance of their online store as an overall vision consisting of logo / branding, web design and banners . Often, a new online store with a nice and modern design can lose all aesthetic appeal, because the seller puts advertising banners with completely different styles, fonts and color scheme than those laid out by design. It's always nice to have a good brand identity ( logo, slogan, message and broadcast ) on a store before moving on to more serious web design. For ready-made designs, a banner solution can be offered in the form of a template ( files) containing the basic font styles, colors, labels to be used by the in-house brand designers.
- Merchants try to combine too many examples from reference sites in their design. It is good to take the great eCommerce leaders in the field as an example, but trying to implement dozens of solutions from dozens of different sources at the same time can lead to the so-called "grape mange". Big global companies are investing serious time in testing concepts and solutions to find out which combinations are best for their customers. Borrowing from a variety of sources without consulting an expert designer or conducting additional tests can lead to "guesswork", which is a bad joke about the user experience.
- It is a mistake to over-specify system texts such as messages, promotions, additional information. In the desire to give the most complete information to the user, many customers go into unnecessary details, unnecessary adjectives, so-called. stretching of locomotives to explain simple things of the type of promotion and its duration, fast and free delivery, etc. Leave the detailed product description texts in a detailed page, and all other system texts and titles should be as concise and easy to read as possible so that one scan makes it clear. However, the user does not read a news site or book, but wants to get the work he or she visits your site as quickly as possible.
- Merchants look at every detail under the magnifying glass in the desktop version of the design and waste valuable working hours, while either the design of the mobile version either does not bother or is much more demanding.
- It happens that merchants work with a freelancer or an outside company to design their online store, and then look for a developer company. And what turns out? The design must be completely redone. Each online trading platform has its own specifics and requirements and the design must be tailored to them. This is also done to make the system easier to upgrade. In addition, if you trust the design of your store directly to the developer company, not only experienced designers but also eCommerce consultants, project managers and programmers will be involved in the design development process, which in their experience will contribute to a better end result.
- When developing a design, marketers do not use their actual photos of the products they will sell. Neither do they use real banner material for design and real texts. They let designers pick them. And designers always choose them to look good on the original design. But we know from experience that it is then very difficult for the online store owner to manage such banners in order to maintain the look of the site. And after putting the actual texts on the site, things can get aesthetically pleasing.
- It is a mistake to overdo it with effects and moving elements . However, we do not make a presentation or image website, but we do an online store that should sell. Open the world's largest online stores and tell if there are things that are constantly spinning, blinking, appearing and disappearing… Oh no! Everything is clean from effects, because the consumer's attention must be focused on the product and the process of buying the product.
Conclusion
We hope that with these valuable tips from our design and UX experience, we will make it easier for you to develop the look of your future online store. Be sure to follow the following helpful articles on our blog , where we have covered a number of technical issues in the development, maintenance and migration of your online store.
