10 Peculiarities of Successful Internet
Retail Website Designs
by Ann Davlinin Designon 6th Apr 2012
Many of you probably wonder what’s best for huge retail online stores home
page designs. Nobody knows for sure which feature or design element will
generate more sales. There is no panacea to grab web surfers’ attention and to
make them desire to spend their money with your online store.
So if you are expecting to learn magic words which will praise your business to the
skies of profitability (like hocus pocus or abracadabra) then we will be
disappointing you: there is no magic, just thoughtful everyday work. But don't be
upset! There are several things that online store customers expect to see on the
home pages of retail websites. All these things have already been explored and all
you need to do is just to apply this knowledge to your web store design.
In this article we are going to tell you about 10 peculiarities of successful internet
retail website designs. They are quite simple but they will help you to significantly
increase your business profitability.
10 Peculiarities of Successful Internet Retail Website Designs
1. The simpler, the better
Your customers don’t expect to be confused by a super innovative and
inconvenient navigation or non-readable text. Inappropriate innovations are bad
for the reputation of eCommerce websites. Your main goal is to help people to
find what they are looking for but not to surprise them with mind-blowing design
ideas.
Don’t overload your store’s home page with a complex navigation structure.
People won’t spend precious minutes learning how to act on your web store even
if you sell exclusive and rare things. Make sure that all the links are active and that
they lead to the right pages. And thoughtful short call to actions will complete the
home page look.
Want to know more about successful eCommerce web designs? Look at some
examples below.
Amazon
Nineteen 47
Lulu's
John Lewis
Watches
2. New Products, Hot Deals and Favorable Shipping Terms
Everybody likes discounts. So, if you give the chance to save at least $1 people will
try to cash in on this chance. People prefer to think that they are absolutely
unique, so they want to have something nobody else has. To buy a thing at a
lower price means to get something special and you can easily give it to your
customers.
One slider banner with several rotating images (with vivid titles, discounted prices
and special buying conditions) will be enough to grab visitors’ attention and to
make them follow the link to take a closer look at the featured products. It will
work for both first-time and returning visitors.
And new products tabs are mainly intended for returning customers. Usual site
visitors are already versed in your assortment and each time they enter the store
their primary interest is the latest offers.
These are some of the most important elements of eCommerce websites that’s
why you should put them at the top of a home page. This area is the most viewed
part of the page and it wouldn’t be right to miss such an opportunity.
Walmart
Chronicle Books
Bass Pro Shops
3balls
Staples
3. Shop By Some Criteria
Huge and famous internet retailers (or even networks of shops like Drugstore.com
and Beauty com) always have many goods and services on sale. It can be
impossible to place all links on groups of products on a front page. Experienced
online store owners suggest letting customers shop by their preferred criteria: by
category, by brand, by age, by gender, etc. Such website filters increase the
efficiency of your store for customers and can save them much time while
shopping. Don’t forget that a satisfied client is the best client you can have.
eToys
Tilly's
School Specialty
Drugstore
Wiltshire Farm Foods
4. Search Box
When it comes to online retail websites there are two types of customers: those
that know what they’re looking for and those who don’t mind spending some
money but they don’t really know what they need. Search boxes were created for
the first type of clients.
There are hundreds of retail stores on the web and if, a few seconds after
entering your site a potential customer can’t find a thing he/she needs, more
likely he/she will go away and find another store. So, you need to grab visitors
attention by presenting that very product he’s looking for at the moment. What is
the best way to give a customer the product he’s interested in? Give him freedom
of choice. So, in this situation a good search through the website is a must have.
Just try to imagine a website with thousands of goods and brand lines but without
the ability to search for something definite. Visitors will have to look through long
product lists and waste much time. Would you like to be such a customer? It’s
doubtful.
So, here are several examples of popular internet reselling websites with a search
box (note that this item works perfectly well in the top right corner of a website):
AbeBooks
Versapak
Blue Nile
The Home Depot
Sears
5. Products List
If your store is offers a huge range, you’re not able to mention every product on
the home page directly. Moreover, there is no point of doing that. Thoughtful
products categorization will bring better results and help to arrange your web
space better. If in doubt, you can follow the examples of the most popular online
stores of your trade niche and learn from them a little (hey, we all need to learn
from time to time).
And another aspect which is extremely important is an availability of images. You
know, people shop visually. They see attractive colors or forms or whatever else
and they’re already on the hook. Do you understand what we’re talking about?
Yeah, you should illustrate your products with images (upload several pictures of
each product, so that people are able to take a good look at them from different
perspectives).
Of course, home pages can’t include numerous pictures of all products, but they
can be illustrated with the most eye-catching ones. Sometimes it happens that
images are too small to be recognized and then they could even be harmful for
your business. A good idea can be to open photos in new tabs. Think about it
while observing the next web stores designs.
Newegg
Online Gadgets Store
Office Depot
Buy
Musician’s Friend
6. Contact Info
The bigger the online store is, the more questions its customers can have.
Shipping conditions, some guaranties for products quality and other pre-sale and
after-sale questions require a solution in the shortest period of time. That’s why
an ability to get personal help using different communication channels is very
important. E-mail support is the most popular way of client contact. Also many
people prefer live chats and phone calls as they contribute to faster problem
solving.
If you have purchased on the web (which you definitely have) you probably know
how important it can be to get in touch with an operator and to know that your
order is safe. For example, once waiting for a package from Amazon I was a little
bit nervous about shipping terms.
Probably, I was quite annoying because every day I was asking store operators
about my long-awaited device and every time they reassured me that there was
nothing to worry about. You know, it was so great to know that this famous shop
takes care about me! And now as a thankful customer I tell this story to all my
friends and now to you, and I compliment this site because I received good help
and I’m very pleased with such services.
Toolup
Thomas Pink
FourEleven
Softmart
eCost
7. Wish list
All huge online retailers have wish list facilities. These services allow you to create
your personal list of things that you want to buy. You can also create wish lists for
other people and look through their notes. Such wish lists are real godsends at
holiday times when you’re confused by what gifts to buy.
Such small helpful things can win people’s hearts forever. Thus, you can buy
presents and send them to the addressee without any personal participation.
As long as you’re going to create a powerful and popular online store, spend a
little more time on such customer care. It’s worth trying, really!
Sunglass Hut
Shoon
Books-A-Million
Best Buy
Cabela’s
8. Payment System Icons
Online stores are often open to the international market: their customers live in
different countries and can use different payment tools. It is impossible to use
some payment systems in different regions, that’s why online stores should
provide for such possibilities and create the most favorable conditions for
purchasing. The majority of shops accept several payment options.
Credit cards are the most popular way to make payments, however some online
shops can accept alternative payment means such as checks, debit cards, gift
certificates, electronic money of different types and others. Sometimes it happens
that eCommerce websites allow their customers to combine payment methods
(for example Apple Sore).
Payment system icons are usually located at the bottom of the home page or
even through the entire website. They are not clickable and just let you know how
to you can pay on this store. Here you’ll find several examples of how payment
system icons can be arranged on a page.
Brand Neusense
Chocomize
US-Mattress
HSN
Etronics
9. Shopping Cart/Checkout link and Login Form
Probably, there is no need to explain why it’s so important to place a shopping
cart and a login form in plain view. As usual, people should create an account (but
it’s not an obligation). It will not take much time but customers will be able to
check their previous orders. Also some stores track their customers account
activity and present them with some discounts or special buying conditions.
Shopping carts are usually depicted with a basket or a bag icon, so there is no
need to re-invent the wheel. A small user-friendly icon at the top right corner of
the site will be good enough. It’s considered that the upper left part of web pages
is the most viewable because visitors start looking through a website’s content
from there. But it’s established historically that shopping cart and login links are
located at the right. So, you can place the shopping cart icon and login form
wherever at the top of the page. It will be ok.
Macy’s Inc.
Williams-Sonoma
Overstock
Amway
PC Mall
10. Name, Logo
This small tip will probably apply not only to internet retailers but also other
online business owners. The absolute majority of customers are interested in
goods and services you sell and not too much about your company.
The home page is not a place for self-promotion. Clear logo, store name and short
descriptive sentences about what you are will be more than enough. Moreover if
your web shop is quite popular its name will speak for itself. Don’t overload the
front page with useless information, potential customers won’t appreciate it.
Ok, here you can look at several eCommerce websites with well designed logo
areas. You can design the logo to your liking. Just remember that the story of your
success is not the topic of this page, ok?
Beauty
Watches
Keurig
OfficeMax
Nordstrom
Conclusion
So, as you can see, there is nothing complex in creating and managing
eCommerce websites. All the tips from this post are quite intuitive and if you
think a little about them you'll probably be able to remember other examples of
internet reselling sites to confirm the post statements.
Don't agree with some article items? We'll be glad to discuss your opinions in the
comments section below. The more you think about it, the better results can be
reached. So go ahead and we're waiting for your feedback!
http://www.onextrapixel.com/2012/04/06/10-peculiarities-of-successfulinternet-retail-website-designs/