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Essential UX Tips For eCommerce

23 June 2016
Ecommerce Tips
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When we think of great customer service, we might imagine a plucky store attendant giving us recommendations, or a shop floor defined by clear layouts. Similarly – and with increasing importance, given online sales figures are skyrocketing – an eCommerce website should mimic the basic tenants of consumer engagement: make it easy, make it fast, and do it with a wink in your eye that’ll get people coming back for a unique user experience.

We’ve helped dozens of clients integrate superb UX into their online stores, so here are some tips on creating a vibrant, welcoming eCommerce platform that’ll boost your sales figures:

No Arduous Load Times

Online shoppers can be fickle, so it pays not to waste their time when thousands of alternative sites are merely a click away. Splurging creative talent on fancy graphics, animations, and video streams does no favours for an eCommerce page that doesn’t load quickly enough to show it.

Coupled with the popularity of browsing on mobile devices, it’s imperative that a website forms itself fully within a few seconds, as every delayed moment can mean a customer hitting that ‘back’ button.

A Helping Hand When It’s Needed

Brilliant UX should be about guiding people logically to whatever they’re looking for. eCommerce layouts should place links to product categories at the top of their homepage, making navigation easy and intuitive.

A visible FAQ section is useful as long as it focuses on specific issues, whilst customers will appreciate a live chat feature, provided the chat box isn’t always intruding on the screen.

Reviews Are A Good Thing

Word of mouth is the oldest marketing tactic in the book, and it’s particularly relevant for online sales. Product reviews give the impression that quality and feedback are your utmost concern, and people respond well to businesses that prove their claim to satisfaction.

Interest in popular items can arise organically with a few five star ratings. In addition, a comments section lets buyers communicate with you and each other, which is valuable currency for a digital enterprise. 

Instant Checkout Features

When someone likes what they see, they don’t want anything to roadblock their purchase. Every eCommerce site should aim for a one-click checkout system, streamlining the buying process as much as possible. Even if there’s an option to create an account, it shouldn’t be obligatory; no-one wants to be conscripted into filling out personal details when they can help it. 

Meanwhile, delivery charges shouldn’t be tucked away in the corner of the screen, lest a customer finds them deceptive. Laying out charges with no room for accusations of foul play is the honourable route to a firm sale.

These are just some of the lessons we’ve learned working on all manner of ecommerce design. Our clients come to us, amongst other things, for advice on giving a great UX, and we’re happy to pull this mission off in style, time and again. We can make your eCommerce platform go above and beyond the call of duty, to create happy customers and ultimately drive sales. 

To explore what we can do for your online business, contact Show+Tell today on 01423 313237 or hello@showandtell.agency.

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