The ecommerce market is set to hit 3.8 billion this year, with the number of global ecommerce users jumping by 9.5 per cent every year. This is a trend that is only set to continue. Therefore, for your business to stand out from the crowd and make a real impression, you need to have an ecommerce presence, and this is something we are going to help you with in this ecommerce website design guide. 

In today’s day and age, convenience is what matters. People want to be able to have the ability to purchase their goods online with ease – they expect a website that is easy to use, quick and convenient, and they expect their products to be delivered quickly as well. A lot of people simply do not have the time to go shopping in-store. Plus, they do not enjoy the experience as well. 

Considering that, we are going to take you through everything you need to know when it comes to ecommerce website design. After all, you need a website that looks incredible and functions effectively too. It needs to be easy to use, quick to load and provide an enjoyable experience. So, how do you achieve this? Let’s take a look.

What is ECommerce Website Design?

Ecommerce website design is the process of creating an online store so that your company can sell digitally to your target consumer base. For an ecommerce website to be designed effectively, you must plan, conceptualise, and arrange your products and content in an effective manner. 

Why Design Matters in Ecommerce?

You may be wondering why design really matters when it comes to ecommerce. Well, there’s one stat that can sum this up perfectly: it only takes 50 milliseconds for you to make a good impression when someone visits your website. So, if your website is poorly designed, you will end up creating a negative impression, and people certainly won’t want to stay on your website for long. 

So, it is imperative to make sure that you design a beautiful and impressive ecommerce website. After all, the first impression you make is going to be related to the design. Your products and copy don’t come into question until people start to dig deeper into your website.

Benefits of Responsive ECommerce Website Design:

Now that you have a good understanding of what ecommerce design is and why it matters, we need to delve into responsive design.

Your ecommerce website design simply needs to be responsive. This is not a luxury anymore. It is a necessity.

For those who are unaware, a responsive website is one that will adapt to the size of your screen. Therefore, if someone is viewing your website on a mobile phone, the device will adapt to suit the smaller screen, ensuring it is optimised for this experience. 

With that being said, let’s take a look at the ten benefits you can expect to experience by opting for a responsive website design:

1. Excellent User Experience – There is only one place to begin, and this is with the incredible user experience your website will provide if it is responsive. If your website is not responsive, viewing it on a mobile phone can be highly frustrating. After all, you can find yourself scrolling and scrolling for ages, and it can be hard to find what you need. More often than not, people will be irritated and they will simply hit the back button and look elsewhere. This is the last thing you want to happen, which is why opting for a responsive website is vital. 
2. Load the site faster – You can also speed up your website by opting for a responsive website. When an e-store is not responsive, it can take much longer to load on a mobile phone. When you consider that a mobile phone is the most popular device to use for the Internet, it is not hard to see why you need to consider this first when it comes to online customers and appealing to them. 
3. Improve visibility in search engines – Google has already announced that they are going to have the Mobile First approach. This has been the case for quite some time now. This means that they are going to put a website’s mobile website first when it comes to ranking, hence why this is also critical for SEO. 
4. Brings more mobile traffic – This leads on from the former point about making sure your website ranks as highly as possible. This is naturally going to lead to you bringing in much more website traffic as a consequence. 
5. Lower bounce rates – If you try to view a website on your mobile phone that has not been optimised for a smaller device, it can be incredibly frustrating. Buttons don’t work. The website requires excessive scrolling. It can be nothing short of a nightmare. This means that your bounce rates will be incredibly high. So, going responsive will enable you to lower your bounce rates considerably. 
6. Higher Conversion Rates – Another benefit of making your ecommerce design responsive is that you can expect higher conversions. Yes, more sales! This is because the checkout process will be seamless and there are not going to be any hurdles for your customers along the way. 
7. Easier to monitor analytics – Your web design specialist will also be able to set up easy analytics and monitoring so that they can get to the bottom of how your site is performing. 
8. Consistency in design and brand – Another benefit associated with going down the responsive route is just how consistent it will be. It is important to make sure that your desktop website and your mobile website match up. If your desktop website works and looks amazing but your mobile website lets the side down, it is going to make your brand come across as rather messy. 
9. Save Cost and Time – Aside from all of the benefits that we have mentioned above, you can save a lot of time and money by going down the responsive route. This is because you do not need to spend money on getting another website created for your mobile viewers. 

10. Easy to Maintain – Last but not least, a responsive website is also a lot easier to maintain when compared with having another website built for the mobile experience.

As you can see, a responsive website is a must, and you can leverage all of the benefits that we have mentioned above by having a responsive store created for your business. 

E-Commerce Design Considerations

There is a lot that needs to be considered when it comes to building the perfect ecommerce website for your store. Here are seven elements to look at: 

• Responsive Web Design – Of course, this is something we have explained fully in the section above. However, you need to give thought to how you are going to make your website responsive and ensure it works effectively across all screen sizes.
• Website safety and security – This is one of the main considerations that anyone should have when selling products online. Firstly, there are rules and regulations in place that you need to adhere to, such as PCI DSS. Failure to do this can result in hefty fines. Plus, it seems that a day does not go by without news of a data breach. They are increasing all of the time. This is why you need to make sure you put strict measures in place to protect your business. Otherwise, you could end up with bad press and huge fines to pay, which is the last thing anyone needs.
• User-friendly interface – You also need to make sure your website is easy to use. People should not have to think twice about what to click on next or where to go. If your website is challenging to navigate, your bounce rate will be high, and your search engine ranking will suffer too.
• Mobile functionality – Google has announced their Mobile First approach, and mobile phones are most commonly used for accessing the Internet today. Therefore, you need to make sure you offer a perfect mobile experience for all. 
• Search and filtering functionality – How easy is it for people to find the products they want? Can they easily search terms? Can they organise products in different ways, for example, based on price or what’s new? You need to make it as easy as possible for people to find the items they are interested in. The more products you have for sale on your website, the more important this becomes. 
• Proper product showcase and descriptions – You also need to make sure that you show off your products effectively. Product videos are becoming increasingly popular because they enable people to view products in their entirety while also being able to see products in use. At the least, you should have numerous high-quality product images from different angles. You also need to make sure your product description contains all of the critical information while being clear, concise, and easy to understand.
• Easy to Navigate – You also need to make sure that your website is easy to navigate. It should be easy to get from A to B. People should not have to think twice about adding products to their basket or heading to the checkout and navigating through this part of the process. Everything should be done with ease. 

Ecommerce Website Design Process

There are a number of different steps that you are going to need to follow in order to create the perfect ecommerce website. So, let’s take a look at the ecommerce website design process in more depth:

1. Research your audience – You need to have a thorough understanding of your target audience, as well as the businesses you are going to be competing against. After all, if you do not understand your audience and what they are looking for, you are not going to be able to create a website that caters to their wants and needs.
2. Choose a good domain name – Next, you will need to choose a good domain name. Of course, you need to factor in your own business name here. However, you may want to think about adding keywords into the URL. Either way, make sure it is simple and easy to remember. 
3. Figure out your branding – You should spend some time carefully considering your branding. What colour palette will you use? What is your go-to font? What’s the sort of vibe and feel you want to give off on your website? These are all factors that you need to think about when it comes to creating the perfect ecommerce website for your business. 
4. Select an ecommerce platform – Next, you need to select an ecommerce platform. There are plenty of different options for you to choose from, ranging from Magento to Shopify. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes ot choosing an ecommerce platform. It is all about taking a look at the different features they offer and determining which one is going to be the most suitable for you. 
5. Take product photos –  You will need to take professional phtoographs that show off your products in the best light. While stock photos are available, you should not use them for your store, as they look generic and they will not set your brand apart. Instead, you need unique and premium quality product photos to really sell online.
6. Plan your content – You also need to plan your content effectively. Of course, you need to put together compelling and clear product descriptions. You also need to make sure you have a clear shipping, returns, and terms and conditions section on your website. An About Us section is a great way to tell your story and give people a glimpse into your brand. Aside from this, adding a blog comes highly recommended. You will be able to show yourself as an authority in the industry and this can also work wonders in terms of your search engine ranking as well.
7. Optimise your store – On the subject of your ranking, optimising your site is also critical. This includes everything from naturally including keywords in your descriptions and meta titles to making sure that you have a good link profile. If this is something you do not have experience in, there are lots of ways to go about this. If you use WordPress, you can download Yoast SEO. There are other plug-ins for other platforms as well. Alternatively, you may want to consider using the services of an experienced SEO team who will be able to assist you. Remember, though, SEO is not a one-time thing; it needs continual work.

Review your site – Last but not least, it is critical to make sure that you regularly assess your store’s performance and that you make changes based on this. After all, if you do not track how your estore is performing right now, how are you going to be able to make the right changes to move your company’s online presence forward? By understanding how people are interacting with your online store, you will know what is working and what is not working and you will be able to make adjustments based on this.

Best ECommerce Website Examples

For some inspiration, we highly recommend checking out some of the leading Australian eCommerce websites, including:

WoolWorths

Coles

eBay Australia

Experts Advice on Ecommerce Website Design

Finally, we are going to take a look at some top tips that can help you to build the best possible ecommerce website. 

• Reduce the number of forms people need to fill out to the bare minimum – Shopping cart abandonment rates tend to be very high when you require customers to fill out heaps of information in order to be able to checkout. Instead, you need to keep forms to a bare minimum. Otherwise, you are going to end up losing out on customers that otherwise would have purchased from you. 
• Break up your product description with bullet points – Don’t write a big block of text for a product description. It needs to be easy to read and pleasing on the eye. People should be able to skim your product information and get all of the details they require.
• Consider adding live chat to your website – Another great way to make sure your shopping cart abandonment rates are not high is by adding live chat to your website. If you do this, people will feel like they have somewhere to turn if they are struggling to complete a purchase or they have a question about a product on your website. In today’s digital age, convenience is key, so if someone is unsure about an item, they are unlikely to email in, wait days for an answer, and then complete the purchase. Having a live chat option available ensures you do not miss out, and with AI advancing all of the time, the options are greater than ever before in this regard. 

Use colour wisely – Our final tip is to use colours with care. Colours create different feelings and emotions, and this is something you can use to your advantage. Red is often used whenever there is a sale because it creates a sense of urgency, yet you need to make sure you use it sparingly, as too much red can be irritating. Of course, you need to consider your brand colours as well, ensuring that everything is consistent and speaks to your brand character. When used correctly, colours can be a secret weapon in terms of website design.

Wrapping Up

As you can see, there is a lot that needs to be considered when it comes to creating the perfect ecommerce website for your business! From ensuring the design is responsive to optimising the checkout process, there is a lot that needs to be taken into account. 

We hope that this guide has given you a good insight into what is going to be required to build the perfect online store for your company. Plus, the importance of this really cannot be overlooked. Ecommerce is thriving at the moment, and so you don’t want to miss the boat and the profit potential that this can provide you with. 

ECommerce website design FAQs

We often receive a lot of questions about ecommerce. Here are answers to some of the most common questions that we receive: 

How much does it cost to design a website for ecommerce?

It really depends on the solution that you use. There are free website design solutions out there today but you will find that most are incredibly limited, and so it can be impossible to create the site that you really want, especially as most do not enable you to sell on their free packages. Therefore, it all depends on the type of e-store you want to build, i.e. how comprehensive it is, and what sort of solution you use. 

What are the benefits of ecommerce? 

There are a number of different benefits that are associated with ecommerce. This includes all of the following:

• Faster response to buyer/market demands
• Price and product comparison
• No reach limitations
• Flexibility for consumers 
• Affordable marketing and advertising 
• Cost reduction
• Product listing and store creation
• Quicker buying process 

What is the difference between ebusiness and ecommerce? 

Ebusiness refers to performing all sorts of business activities online. However, ecommerce only refers to the act of Internet transactions. 

How much do ecommerce owners make?

Data from Arka has revealed that new ecommerce stores can make over $63,000 in monthly revenue. In one year, the average revenue can be $127,000 per month. However, your profit depends on how high your costs are. Moreover, the types of products that you sell is going to make a difference, as well as how much money you have to invest in your business, to begin with. 

What are the three main types of ecommerce?

There are three different types of ecommerce, which are as follows:

• Consumer to consumer, for example, eBay
• Business to consumer, for example, Amazon 
• Business to business, for example, Shopify