Digital Marketers' Blog

The main aim of any eCommerce website is to convert visitors into buyers, with the hope of them becoming repeat customers. However, if your website does not provide a good user experience (UX), there is little chance of your venture finding the kind of success you may expect. For starters, your target audience will take little time to move to a competitor’s website. In addition, poor user interface (UI) and user experience can hurt your website’s search engine rankings too. What helps is that improving eCommerce UI/UX is possible, provided you know how to go about the process.

Table Of Contents

What is UI?

What is UX?

Why is eCommerce Website UI/UX Important?

Improving eCommerce User Interface and Experience

Conclusion

What is UI?

The user interface of a website incorporates all the elements of an application, be it menus, controls, blocks, or buttons. These elements work in creating a distinct feel of the product or service on offer. eCommerce UI development involves defining a brand’s identity, selecting colors, and making use of the latest design principles.

Simply put, you may think of eCommerce UI as a set of commands that give users the means to interact with a website or an application. While the interface is among the first aspects that come to the attention of users, it also plays a role in determining if users will remain on your website or leave.

What is UX?

UX, in the online world, refers to how people feel during their interactions with digital offerings such as websites and mobile apps. The efforts that go into web design and development have a significant impact on user experience. However, individual preferences and some environmental factors may also have a bearing on overall user experience. Some factors that affect eCommerce UX include design, accessibility, usability, utility, and performance.

Why is eCommerce Website UI/UX Important?

The effects of poor eCommerce website UI/UX as well as the benefits of good UI/UX are plain to see if you take a look at these numbers collated by Startup Bonsai.

• 88% of users are unlikely to return to websites that deliver poor user experiences
• This number increases to 90% with mobile apps
• 46% of users who have negative user experiences will tell someone about it
• 78% of users judge the credibility of a website based on its appearance
• 32% of consumers will abandon a brand after a single bad experience
• 45% of consumers want web content to display in the right manner no matter which device they use

Improving eCommerce User Interface and Experience

Boosting the sales of your eCommerce website requires looking beyond your offerings, marketing, and providing incentives. Trends in eCommerce UX show that improving user experience, especially when consumers go through the checkout process, can have a significant effect in reducing shopping cart abandonment rates. If you are wondering how to improve user experience on an eCommerce website for your target audience, various aspects require your attention.

Get Feedback

The best place to start when looking to offer a good eCommerce user experience is to get feedback from your existing customers and target audience. However, it is important that you formulate suitable questions. According to eCommerce UX best practices shared by experts from this field, you need to ask specific questions, because you do not want feedback that might seem vague.

Some of the questions that you might consider adding to your questionnaire include:

• Are users running into any bugs or software problems?
• Are they having any other problems with your website?
• How much effort do they have to put into performing specific tasks?
• What kind of information do they need and why?
• Do your offerings exceed expectations formed during the purchasing process?
• Do your customers feel you have delivered on your promises/claims?
• How often do they use your offerings?
• How likely are they to recommend your offerings to others?
• How satisfied are they with the customer service you provide?
• Have they looked for alternatives since starting to use your products or services?
• Are they looking for anything in particular through your new offerings?

Increase Brand Visibility

Getting your branding right is crucial when it comes to providing products that consumers can put a face to. It plays an essential role in eCommerce website UI design, especially if you want to use online platforms to attract more potential customers.

Integrating your brand’s identity into the UI design process gives designers an easy yet effective way to build brand awareness. To maintain a balance across spheres, UI designers take the general branding concept into account and work on the interface, colors, types, fonts, and shapes accordingly.

Ideally, aspects such as user and market research, defining the target audience, analyzing competitors, and developing brand identity should take place before the UI design process begins. This increases the possibility of your offerings becoming recognizable easily and quickly.

Simplify Navigation

If you try to understand eCommerce UX patterns, you will notice consumers tend to look for websites that are easy to navigate. From your point of view, the revenue your website generates defines its efficiency. A great design will not do you much good if it does not lead to desired levels of sales. This is where simplified navigation plays a key role.

Here are some aspects digital agencies need to address to get eCommerce navigation UX right.

• The number of products on offer
• Use of symbols, signifiers, and slide-outs
• Search history-enabled navigation
• Suggesting next logical steps

eCommerce UX research suggests that users look for some distinct information and features when it comes to navigating websites. These include:

• The brand or company providing the offering
• The page they are visiting
• Location of the menu
• Accessibility to the homepage
• Search boxes
• Search filters
• Page loading time
• Access to detailed information about offerings
• Ability to choose from alternatives
• Ability to save items in carts or lists
• Seller information
• Access to ratings and reviews

Think Responsive Designs

Data released by Google shows that the probability of people making purchases through eCommerce sites reduces by 62% if they have poor experiences on mobile devices. Besides, around 70% of online shoppers might return to responsive websites, and more than 65% are inclined to shop through responsive websites.

The benefits of responsive web design for eCommerce sites are plain to see, given that the number of people who turn online to shop using mobile devices remains on the rise. Responsive web design not only offers a better eCommerce user experience, but it also finds favor with search engines such as Google. One of the benefits is that search engines have to deal with only one URL per page.

Improving Page Scannability

Scannability refers to the effect produced by using different formatting and writing techniques to make up for people not reading all the content they get to see online. This aspect plays an important role in eCommerce UI/UX design because, according to a report released by the Nielsen Norman Group, people are prone to scanning content, looking for particular words or sentences, as opposed to reading word for word.

Some ways to improve page scannability with the aim of offering a better eCommerce UX experience include:

• Highlighting the benefit of any offering
• Including relevant sub-headings
• Highlighting keywords
• Providing information through bulleted lists
• Limiting a paragraph to a single idea
• Going easy on the word count

Minimizing User Effort

An integral aspect of improving eCommerce UX is to save the time and effort people put into making purchases through your website. A few simple measures implemented by the web design and web development teams can address this aspect rather effectively.

• Keep the sign-in and checkout process simple
• Use suitable algorithms to display related products
• Minimize the need for multiple operations, keeping the required clicks to a minimum
• Use color and shape markers to group items or content
• Ensure that the layout appears harmonic and natural to the human eye

Using Landing Pages Effectively

Another common factor in all eCommerce UX best practices talks about the effective use of landing pages. A landing page refers to a standalone webpage designed to target a specific section of your target audience by providing a more tailored experience. This is done to increase conversion rates.

While an eCommerce website cannot create individual pages to cater to all its customers, it can work on coming up with distinct online storefronts. Landing pages give businesses the ability to adapt according to their user base, which they may use to create positive impressions and increase user engagement.

If you follow a highly personalized customer-centric approach, you also get to benefit by relying on the emotions that work in influencing user reactions. From your customers’ point of view, landing pages reduce delays when they are looking for specific offerings or information.

Making the Homepage More Informative

The homepage of your website, web application, or mobile application should serve more than one purpose. It functions as the window to your online store, it provides users with direction, and it is an important marketing tool. In several instances, it is the first point of contact between your business and its target audience. By making the homepage aesthetic, accessible, and usable, you stand a great chance of delivering a good eCommerce user experience.

The information you may provide and the layout of your homepage essentially depend on the expectations you have from your website as well as target audience research. Some of the elements that typically find their way to eCommerce website homepages include:

• Branding
• Search box
• Contact details
• Bestsellers
• Links to social media accounts
• Awards, reviews, and testimonials

Simplifying the Checkout Process

Website functionality plays a vital role in attracting your target audience and enhancing eCommerce UX. The design and development stages should ensure that the checkout process remains simple and seamless. A two-step checkout process, for instance, makes for a way better user experience than one that requires five or six steps.

Consider offering a guest checkout option because some customers see no value in creating new accounts, especially when they plan to make small or one-off purchases. Since concerns around privacy continue to grow, not all users might feel comfortable sharing more information than they feel is actually required. Besides, this step gives your probable customers an extra opportunity to abandon their carts.

Using High-Quality Images

The use of high-quality images to improve eCommerce user experience is a move in the right direction. This is because shoppers want to see the details of the products they plan to purchase clearly. The best way to accomplish this is by using high-resolution images.

Incidentally, using high-quality images does not limit to product listings. Images give you a powerful way to grab the attention of your target audience by differentiating your brand. While images hold the potential to convey messages more effectively than text, they also work in crossing language barriers with ease.

Providing Contact Information Where Needed

You typically find contact information at the footer of a website. However, it may appear as part of the header or the pre-scroll area if it plays a role in increasing conversion. This is usually the case with eCommerce websites where users might need to get in touch frequently.

Make sure the contact information is not hard to find as this may lead to frustrated people leaving your website. Phone numbers should be clickable, as should addresses that then open up in maps. Links to your social media accounts may also prove to be beneficial. Paying attention to these seemingly simple aspects can go a long way in offering a better eCommerce user experience.

CONCLUSION

Online shoppers have come to expect a quick and seamless purchasing process, fast shipping, access to accurate information in a timely manner, as well as experiences that get as close to the real world as possible. What might have served as good eCommerce UI/UX a couple of years ago may well be passé today. Users, after all, have evolved, and they now look for added elements of delight and inspiration. If you wish to attract and retain your target audience, you need to go above and beyond, making it ideal that you partner with an experienced web design company.

Originally posted in: https://www.topnotchdezigns.com/a-guide-to-improving-ecommerce-ui-ux/

Addressing problems of ebusinesses is possible only after identifying them correctly. Besides, challenges in online businesses have changed significantly over the last couple of decades. For instance, driving traffic to an eCommerce website now takes much more than using the right keywords. In addition, the need to use a suitable product information management (PIM) software has never been more amplified.

Making Sense of Numbers

Here are numbers that should give you some indication of where online shoppers stand and what they want.

• Around one-third of all consumers make online purchases weekly or more often.
• Mobile eCommerce sales are estimated to account for over 70% of global eCommerce sales in 2021.
• More than 90% consumers prefer shopping in their local currencies.
• Around 75% consumers buy products through websites made available in their local languages.
• Close to 80% smartphone owners have used their devices to make online purchases in the preceding six months.

Selling the Right Products

Many basic challenges to ecommerce that existed until a few years ago have been eliminated by the entry of prominent online shopping platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce. These platforms have made entry into the sphere simpler, and they also provide a variety of tools for sellers. However, finding the right products is sell is still a crucial starting point.

While there is no dearth of online sellers selling just about everything one can imagine, finding your own space is possible if you:

• Work on solving a customer pain point.
• Select products based on your own passion.
• Make use of your professional experience.
• Identify and capitalize on latest trends.
• Check customer reviews for ideas.

Managing Product Information

Cost-effectively managing product-related data is among the top challenges of eCommerce businesses. Fortunately, this problem is rather simple to fix. All you need to do is select suitable product information management (PIM) software. With good PIM software in place, you can look forward to various benefits, which include:

• Collecting data from multiple sources and combining it to generate reports.
• Identifying and fixing data-related problems.
• Sending required data through multiple channels of distribution.
• Creating and managing multiple product categories.
• Effective filtering of products during searches carried out by consumers.
• Business process management and catalog management software integration.

Verifying Identity

One of the key challenges facing the eCommerce industry as of now is online identity verification. For instance, how do you know if someone browsing your eCommerce website is genuinely interested in making a purchase? Has the person even entered a real name and contact details? You can get answers to these questions only if you use some kind of an online identity verification system.

You get numerous options when looking for online identity verification software, which makes it important to select one based on your needs. For example, verifying identity of consumers remotely by using images and selfies is suited only for low-risk operations, given that the method is not very reliable or secure.

Good identity verification software should include features such as:

• Electronic identity verification
• Social Security Number (SSN) verification
• Instant authentication
• Multi-layered authentication
• Sending automated verification links
• Making automated calls to verify cash-on-delivery purchases

Dealing With Competition

Several marketing experts feel that the biggest challenge for online businesses comes in the form of competition. Given that just about every business that is trying to provide its mettle has an online presence, this cannot be far from the truth. As a result, businesses in the online world have to make sure they provide great products and services coupled with competitive pricing, while paying due attention to branding.

Small and mid-sized businesses may work around the price competition aspect by offering clearly laid out value propositions that their customers cannot find elsewhere. Distinguishing your business from its competition is vital, especially if you hope to attract new customers. Fortunately, you can do this by having a well-optimized user-friendly website created to suit modern-day search engine algorithms. Businesses that are starting out in the online world may also benefit by providing unique products and focusing on smaller demographics.

While competition comes from other online sellers, you also need to worry about direct-to-consumer (D2C) retailers. This is because the age of eCommerce has given manufacturers easy means to reach out to their customers directly.  Recent research has shown that using PIM systems can help online sellers reduce their time to market by as much as 400%, and this gives online sellers one way to remain competitive with D2C retailers. Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the supply chain can also give eCommerce players a way to hold their own against D2C sellers.

Increasing Visibility

One of the basic challenges to eCommerce in today’s world is visibility. While you might have a great eCommerce website or an online store, it would serve no purpose if it does not attract probable customers. Consider this – if you business does not show up in the first two pages of Google’s search results, the chances of customers finding your online store remain slim.

An easy way to get by this eCommerce challenge is to invest some time and money in search engine optimization (SEO). This would involve carrying out keyword research, devising and implementing on-page SEO strategies, as well as building high-authority links. Doing this in the right manner results in increased online visibility as well as a higher percentage of qualified leads.

Depending on the type of products or services you offer, you may consider increasing your brand’s visibility by turning to social media platforms, using paid advertisements, or employing the services of influencers. Determining which mediums might work well for your business requires that you identify your core target audience first.

Identifying the Right Market

Finding the right market fit is important for any businesses, and this applies to eCommerce businesses as well. Product market fit refers to how well any product or service meets a market’s demand. A simple way to find this fit is to come up with a product that solves an existing problem.

If you are unsure about your target audience, start by assuming that it spreads across a reasonably broad category. Then, run ads on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to target this audience. Once you have adequate data, try to understand all that you can about consumers who interacted with your business as well as ones who went on to make purchases. After you get more information about your products’ market fit, you can narrow down on the best ways to reach out to potential customers.

Building Customer Loyalty

The fact that it takes around five times more money to attract new customers when compared with retaining existing ones is well known in the world of digital marketing. However, several businesses still continue to spend more money in trying to attract new customers, as opposed to building loyalty among their existing customers.

Since you cannot expect face-to-face interactions with your online customers, building trust and loyalty requires that you put in the required time and effort. Some tips that can help include:

• Make the entire process seamless – from browsing, to purchasing, to shipping.
• Offer complete transparency in pricing.
• Provide contact details.
• Provide support via live chat.
• Make use of loyalty programs.
• Increase credibility by providing relevant and informative blog posts.

Providing a Multichannel Experience

Data suggests that multichannel consumers spend up to three times more money than shoppers who use single channels. When addressing the challenges of eCommerce, businesses need to understand that consumers are spread across various channels. These include eCommerce stores, social networking websites, public forums, and live chat platforms. Fortunately, online sellers can adopt different multichannel strategies to reach out to their existing and potential customers.

First, you need to identify the online channels that your target audience uses the most. Then, you need to provide optimized content, personalized messaging, and one-on-one interactions. It is important that you remain consistent in your efforts. You should also be able to direct conversations based on context, even if it means going through conversation histories.

Addressing Cybersecurity

Businesses that wish to enter the eCommerce space need to have proper policies that enable them to create secure frameworks. Formulating suitable response plans to deal with cyber attacks is crucial. If a business website in at the receiving end of a cyber attack, a contingency plan should be in place to address any possible downtime it faces in operations or sales.

As a small or mid-sized business owner, you can stay on top of cybersecurity threats by:

• Managing your own servers
• Backing data up regularly
• Updating you eCommerce software regularly
• Installing safety plugins and other safety-related components

Dealing With Abandoned Shopping Carts

Abandoned shopping carts are all too common an eCommerce challenge, and one that is faced by just about every online seller. According to statistics, close to 70% of online shoppers abandon their carts at some stage. The number can be as high as 90% for some eCommerce stores.

Dealing with this challenge of eCommerce requires that you:

• Remove all bugs.
• Ensure that customers don’t have to fill long and tedious forms.
• Engage with customers during the buying process by providing live chat.
• Make your website optimized for use with mobile devices.
• Send automated reminders about abandoned carts via email.
• Use behavioral retargeting to reach out to probable customers based on their previous actions.

Handling Returns and Refunds

A significant number of online shoppers pay close attention to return policies before making purchases. In addition, an inconvenient or lengthy return policy can act as a deterrent for several buyers. One of the problems of ebusinesses is giving their customers easy means to carry out returns, while not suffering significant losses – monetarily or in terms of reputation.

It is important for online sellers to offer complete transparency surrounding return and refund policies. Providing multiple options when it comes to shipping and refund methods tends to put consumers’ mind at ease. By addressing this aspect in the right manner, you can also work in building customer loyalty.

Keeping Up With Evolving Technology

Given the number of people who use mobile devices for shopping, it is imperative that you have a completely responsive website. A number of prominent online retailers such as LEGO and IKEA have started using augmented reality (AR) with the aim of providing better visualization of products, and more businesses are bound to follow suit.

eCommerce is already moving beyond desktop and mobile devices, and into the quickly growing Internet of Things (IoT) space. Form smart speakers, to smart cars, to smart homes, consumers will soon have multiple options from where they may use voice searches to make purchases. As a result, retailers will have way more touch-points to explore.

Conclusion

While difficulties in online businesses exist, addressing them effectively is possible if you know what measures to take. For instance, implementing suitable SEO strategies can give you an easy way to increase organic traffic to your website. Business owners need to understand that aspects such as online searches will only get more complex, and they need to stay on top of the learning curve to keep up with their competition.

If you are not sure about what you need to do to boost online sales, or if you have any questions surrounding the challenges of eCommerce, seeking an expert’s opinion might be in your best interest.

Originally posted in: https://www.topnotchdezigns.com/13-challenges-of-ecommerce-and-ways-to-address-them/