Follow the simple steps to complete your Ecommerce Check-up.
Homemade Web sites aren’t like homemade cookies. No one likes the way they look. Worse, an ugly site makes shoppers wonder: should I enter my credit card number in this funky looking site? Select a Web design firm with great care, and be prepared to pay for quality work – you’ll get nowhere without it.
Products, discounts and campaigns are clearly displayed on the homepage. The information that the user will need for shopping and after-sales services is included. The simple interface does not confuse the user.
Newlook's UI/UX Example
It Looks Ok!
Should be Better
No, Definately
Doesn't Fit
Responsive websites are websites that adapt to all screen sizes and resolutions, not only on desktop but also on mobile, tablet, and sometimes even TV.
King Arthur provides the user with a familiar interface with the same site structure on both the website and the mobile screen.
KingArthurflour's Responsive Website
A direct, one-click link to the homepage is a must-have on websites. There are several reasons why: - Going back to the homepage is a common task. People often go to the homepage when they’re disoriented, they have gone too deep into a site, or they’re ready to start a new task. - Because of their dependency on search engines, most users enter websites through an interior page and bypass the homepage entirely. Easy access to the homepage provides a new starting point for those who are on the wrong page or want to explore other parts of the site.
No matter where it is, clicking on the logo always leads to the home page.
Weebly Logo Example
An e-commerce homepage has a variety of tasks to perform for users, from helping people to find and buy products, to signposting other key information such as help from customer service.
On the promotional homepage of Skype, information about the product and a short description of what can be done with the Skype clearly indicate why the user can comfortably use the Skype service.
Skype Homepage Example
A high product mix—or a wide range of merchandise—can reduce the risk of dependence on limited items, but selling unnecessary products that don’t connect to your brand’s image can be harmful. For example, if Apple began offering refrigerators, it could confuse customers and hurt the brand.
What the Hickory Farms brand sells is divided into simple and straightforward categories. The category titles that the user is used to seeing make it easy to find what they are looking for.
Hickory Farms's Product Catalog
Encourage your visitors to explore the site. If you are running a sale or a promotion on a selection of products, be sure to have this on the home page and include a call to action like “See Our Latest Deals” and include a link to a product listing of all products that are included in the sale. Other examples of call to actions include “See our range of birthday ideas”. Your prominent call to actions must be relevant to the product you sell.
Sales methods that will appeal to the user, such as promotions and discount opportunities, are clearly stated.
Farfetch's Sale Example
People are often hesitant to buy online, which can lead to low conversion rates and sales. Having this policy helps alleviate some of that hesitation since they know they can return the product and get a refund if their expectations aren't met while making a not-in-person purchase.
The question marks in the mind of the user have been removed as much as possible by mentioning the return and transportation policies on the homepage.
NewAir's Shipping and Returns Policies
Having a clear navigation menu helps to identify the different types of product categories your website sells to your customer. It is important that you use general terms to segment your product items. For example, a fashion brand will differentiate their product range by “Men”, “Women” and “Kids”.
General terms are used to segment your product items. In this way, the user can easily find what he is looking for in the site.
Ikea's Menu Example
Having parent categories be part of the actual product catalog hierarchy (and not just shallow text labels) is critical in supporting explorative product browsing. Users who haven’t fully decided what they want, or who are looking for inspiration on what to purchase, can dip their toes in broader categories before diving into highly defined ones.
H&M's Clickable Parent Categories
The most common placement of an onsite search-box is on the top of the page either in the center or on the right. We strongly recommend checking where your top competitors placed their search box. This gives you insight into where shoppers look for the search box.
Thanks to its layout on the page, the search box can be easily displayed on every page.
Kohl's Search Bar
Search engines predict search queries as they are typed. By providing auto-complete versions for specific queries you manage to guide the visitor to the most in-demand and relevant products. If submitted queries don’t have an exact match, the least you can do is show potential matches. This may well be what the user was looking for.
Used with autocomplete bugfixing.
Urban Outfitters' Search Tool
Total number of results indicates to customer the quality of search query and helps him decide to scan results or enter new query.
The number of results with the search word is specified.
Patagonia's Search Results
There are at least three possible ways of implementing indicators: - Oftentimes, but not always, indicators are implemented as icons. Easily recognizable icons can make very effective communication tools. - Typographical variations can also be used as indicators; examples include the common convention of boldfacing unread email messages or color-coding stock symbols in an investment account if their price has changed substantially. - Though less common, enlarged size or animation (e.g., vibration) can also be used to make certain items stand out from the crowd and thus serve as an indicator.
Discounts are indicated in the product catalog so that the user can easily notice them.
Castlery's Visual Indicators
For example, if users clicked a promoted filter on a home furnishing site’s homepage for “Armchairs under $300”, 3 filters could be automatically applied to the product list they arrive on. If those applied filters aren’t shown in an overview, users may misinterpret the range and type of products the site offers, as the filters that are narrowing the scope of the list aren’t immediately obvious.
Seeing the filtered options on the page made it possible to master all the selected filters, and if any one is desired to be removed, the user can easily remove that filter.
Kohl's Filter
Show a variety of photos showing different angles of the product. If possible, add a “zoom in” feature so customers can get a closer look at the product.
Thanks to the detailed and high-resolution images of the products, even the texture of the product can be understood. For users who cannot physically examine the products, detailed photos are an effective factor in decision making.
Sephora's Product Page
When they shop for apparel items on global sites, users are concerned about sizing. Ease their concerns by providing corresponding local sizes, comprehensive size charts, and supplemental measurements.
By showing the international measurement units, it is possible for the user to choose the size that suits her/him.
Sustain Wear's Measurement Guide
Testimonials from existing customers can help to persuade new visitors that a site is trustworthy, and that they’ve been happy with their purchases. These are different from product reviews, and normally talk about customer service and delivery rather than the products themselves. It can help, especially when customers may be less familiar with the retailer.
User comments are displayed like a blog and real photos are taken by actual users. This provides a reliable reference for potential customers.
Yelp's Social Proof
Use a feature on the website that provides product recommendations for maximum impact based on what other customers have purchased (i.e. customers who bought X, who also bought Y). This helps create a personalized shopping experience on your website and also increases the sales of the product.
In the example of Gucci, the user was offered both similar/complementary products and combined with the combination options.
Gucci's Complementary Products
Social share buttons give customers the ability to display their ecommerce purchases on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or other platforms. The majority of online shoppers also use at least one form of social media, so these buttons create free promotion for an online store.
With many social sharing buttons, Aliexpress allows customers to share their e-commerce purchases on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or other platforms.
Aliexpress' Sharing Buttons
During the ordering process, it is nice for users to have an overview of what is already in their shopping cart. The shopping cart dropdown has been developed for this. By clicking on the shopping cart in the menu, the user sees a concise overview of the contents of the shopping cart. This shows the last added items, including the option to remove them. It also shows the price and the quantity.
In the example of Proviz Sports, the user, who encounters a pop-up after adding a product to the cart, can continue shopping as there is no redirection to a new page.
Proviz Sports' Cart Popup
Allow your users to easily edit the product on the cart page itself without having to navigate to the product page. There are variety of ways this can be achieved the two most common are inline editing and a pop-up screen. With either option make sure that the product image and details are updated once the user edits the item.
It is possible to change the product quantity.
Pipsnacks' Cart
You need to make sure that the cost display is clear and easy to understand, both on your mini and full shopping cart page. If a customer is surprised by hidden fees or unexpected costs later down the line (e.g. in the “Payment and Review stage”), they will feel as if they have been deceived. 49% of people cite extra costs as the primary reason for abandoning shopping carts.
Adidas shows the amount to be paid to the user with all the details such as discounts, shipping charges, promotions.
Adidas' Cart Cost
The truth is no one wants to create yet another account unless there’s a clear benefit. In fact, 86% of shoppers are bothered by the need to create new accounts on websites, especially those who find it time-consuming typing on the smaller keyboards of their mobile devices. This is where guest checkouts come in handy, as it does not require customers to create accounts to complete a purchase.
Stradivarius offers a "Guest Purchase" option for customers who want to complete their purchases without creating an account.
Stradivarius' Payment As A Guest
There are three elements of eCommerce payment processing, including: - Payment gateway: an online payment service integrated into the eCommerce platform through which customers can make payments for online purchases. - Payment processor: a company that communicates with and put money in your merchant account on behalf of customers. - Merchants accounts: It is the gateway that talks to your bank. The store’s gateway connects to the merchant account and it charges the customer’s payment information directly.
In the example of Green Shop, with the fast payment option, the user can easily complete the order on the channel they want to pay directly.
Green Shop's Payment Methods
Coupon code fields are useful for giving customers special discounts. However, putting a coupon code field at the beginning of your form without promo codes available on that page can hurt your conversion rate. The coupon code box acts as a trigger that prompts users to search for a coupon if they don’t have one. Once the user leaves the checkout process to find a coupon it can lead them to find a better deal on a competitors site and it also trains them to expect some sort of discount each time they visit your site.
With a question like "Have a prodomo code", a place is reserved in the order summary for users to enter their existing codes.
Kiko's Promo Code Field
Allow the customer to proceed to checkout without registering for an account. Enforcing account creation acts as an obstacle in the checkout process, and will deter the purchase process. Give the users an option to login if they are returning customers.
Bombshe encourages its customers to continue browsing by directing them to the shopping page after completing their orders.
Bombshe's Example
If nurtured, your customer base can be the lifeblood of your business. According to Brad Sugars, a contributor to Entrepreneur, “The reality of business is that it costs anywhere from six to eight times as much to generate a new customer as it does to sell to an existing customer.” By having a solid customer management strategy and system that nurtures your customers appropriately, you can: - Improve your customer experience - Optimize your marketing efforts - Build relationships - Increase revenue
Various benefits offered to the user when they become a member are available in Reebok's pop-up. The user is encouraged to become a member with options such as discounts and free shipping.
Reebok's Account Benefits
For shoppers, the social login functionality means almost instant access to a particular store. Since not every store allows guest visitors to make purchases, social login buttons become a time saver for those who don’t want to spend time indicating their personal info to register on the site. More to it, thanks to social login buttons, customers can quickly login to their accounts every time they need to access them. Filling out registration and/or authorization fields might seem particularly irksome for mobile users that have to do this by tapping buttons on their virtual keyboards.
Users can select the social networks they are familiar with and log in. In this way, they can register more easily and quickly through the social network where they know the registration.
Pinterest's Login
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