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Simplified Web Design Can Help Your Ecommerce Business

Simplicity is key with ecommerce sites, says SmashingMagazine.com. A couple facts about online consumerism:

• No longer do users spend time on a site’s homepage and navigate to content by category search or other product recommendations. Users type product or service names into a search engine, most likely Google.
• Too many options and cluttered design (useless text, widgets or unrelated products) turn the user off and he/she will quickly exit the page to find another site offering the same product with a much simpler interface.
• With only a few seconds to capture their attention, since they use search engines to limit searches to a very narrow field, online shoppers are different from window shoppers in the sense they know exactly what they’re looking for.
• SmashingMagazine also comments on the prevalence of the scatter shot approach – the shock of consumer overload by offering as many options as possible within one page.

Here are a few design tips to help carry your next ecommerce site design:

Less Products –> More Focus!
Customers go online to avoid the hassle of driving to a store to buy a product, so make their online experience as stress-free as possible.

For example:

Apple’s flagship product, or dominant product of choice is the upcoming iPad.

Their site has a few main components:

• Simple header navigation
• One featured product
• Links about the product underneath
• A few news headlines above the footer

Only what you need.
Show only what’s needed to make the sale. Give the user more information by giving them the choice – include “Learn more” links throughout the page.

Reduce clicks.
The less clicks it takes for a customer to buy a product, the higher returns.

Keep all users in mind.
If an elderly person or less technologically-advanced users can figure out how to buy a product on your site, chances are your site is organized effectively.

Reduce the number of columns.
Each time you add a column to a page, the content is pushed into a smaller and smaller space. The result? Less emphasis on the main product, more on excess products the user doesn’t want.

Give less options.
Display your products in a way that eliminates extra thinking and decisions. Streamlining the process will cut down the stress, and the buyer will have a faster, more pleasant experience.

Keep it clean.
Clean and aesthetically-pleasing sites will keep clients happy – they’ll be more likely to be repeat visitors, if not spread the word around about your business and products. Remember to use whitespace and tasteful colors to make the product pop.