When it comes to effective eCommerce website design it takes a level of skill that supersedes mediocrity. Well, yes…just about anybody can build a website for an online store…however, if you want it to work you need a deep understanding of how the world wide web works in conjunction with what you have to offer to it. Make sense? We’ll explain.
More Than Meets the Eye
If you ever get the chance to right-click anywhere on the text of your favorite website then choose the “view source” or “view page source” option from the menu, you should do it just to see what happens. You will be presented with the back end of the website and you will get to feast your eyes upon the source code that makes the website possible to view through a browser.
This is what a website really looks like. If you take a moment to try and decipher what it all means, you might notice that some of the content on the backend is the same as some on the front.
In any event, that code in the back of the web page is only a portion of the entire structure of the website. When it comes to eCommerce sites and the mechanics that make them work we are talking about several files, folders, databases, and external sources that come together to make it all work together smoothly and quickly for shoppers.
An eCommerce website has to function properly at all times while adhering to the strongest of security specifications. If anything is out of line as a customer is making a purchase, they will probably leave and never come back.
Skillful Structure of the Site
Thankfully not all of the eCommerce developers of today have to start from scratch and write all of their own code. Although they surely can if they feel the need, there are several quality platforms that developers can use to build on. Woo Commerce, Shopify, and Magento are just a few of the many platforms that are available.
Now it may be tempting to believe that all one has to do is get a platform and start selling things…however, this is not the typical case.
The platform of the sales end of the site is only a portion of the whole website. While there are many platforms that you can build on, the identity and foundation of the site have to be kept in mind when the site is developed into a working piece of art.
Each item that is to be showcased and sold in the store has to be accounted for and given the proper attention.
The menu of the site, the pages of the site, the content, and the wording of the site all have to come together in a nice package that not only gives items their best look but also engages potential customers and urges people to convert from simply visitors to paying customers.
- Content
- Titles
- Headings
- Menu
- Landing pages
Everything has to work together on the site in order to show up in search results and for people to understand what is before them while navigating the pages.
In addition to what is available on the site, the user has to be able to find other opportunities that they might be interested in so that they buy more and spend more money…
The User Experience
In addition to brilliant web design and the overall look of the site, there is the aspect of the experience that a person has as they land on the pages and search for what they are wanting to find.
In simple terms, the user experience boils down to whether or not a user can find their way around the site and be engaged as they look. A good experience for a user could be summed up as a flawless transaction or a compelling journey from the first encounter with the page through to the end where the transaction is finalized.
A good example of a positive user experience is when a person first lands on a web page that they have never visited before. What do they first see? Does it scare them away, or does it invite them to stay on the site and learn more?
Some of the most important factors of the initial user experience are:
- Images
- Words
- Calls to action
- Navigation route
If a person lands on a page and is greeted with inviting images and clear pathways through the site they are more prone to stick around.
If a person visits a site and it is:
- Slow to load
- Inundated with low-quality images
- Is not clearly labeled
- Has no useful information
They are prone to leave the site and go to another one that has what they need.
Understanding the Target Audience
Believe it or not, there is a science behind web marketing. Effective eCommerce websites are not merely slapped together as the business owner sees fit. In order to get the most out of an eCommerce website the developer must understand the target market before they design the look of the pages.
What appeals to one person may be very unappealing to the next. A teenager who loves to ride skateboards will not see things the same as an older person that would rather go fishing. As the old adage goes, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder…” and this is very true when it comes to what people want to see when they land on a website.
While many companies hire outside marketing agencies to figure out the best way to determine the demographics of the best potential customers, an eCommerce developer will have an understanding of who will want to visit the site before they even start buying.
Keyword research and analytical data that matches the keywords are all part of the early stages of the development of a successful eCommerce website. Why wait until after the website is launched to get a head start on maximizing conversion rates? This is where the true skill lies within the great developers and where the mediocrity stops.
Once the development team understands the target audience they can implement a structure and a style to the site that talks directly to that audience.
Pillar keywords, keyword variations, long-string keywords, and placement of these phrases all come together into the ultimate plan for the success of the website. It all boils down to whether the website should sit on the internet and look pretty, or it should attract people that want to buy stuff and get them to make purchases.
Building for Success
In addition to the site working great, looking great, and being awesome there is the foundation of the site that has to be established before the site is ever built. Some of the things that a developer has to ponder in order to make sure the site has a solid foundation are:
- How many people are expected to visit the site?
- What kinds of products will be available on the site?
- How many people will be on the site at one time?
If the developer has a good idea of how much to expect from the site they will be able to make sure that the site is hosted on a server solution that can accommodate a lot of users at one time.
As the web developer gathers all of the information about the site, how big it will be, how much traffic it will have, what kind of payment portals will be in place, what kind of content will be available and where on the site it will be…and so on…they will be able to generate a successful plan for the site that will have a sturdy foundation. A strong hosting provider and a well-informed team of professionals will always produce great results.
Conclusion
The skills that it takes to build and maintain an effective eCommerce website are vast and wide. A little bit of design skills mixed up with some coding and development skills, a couple of dashes of digital marketing, SEO skills, and conversion rate skills are in there as well. In a nutshell, it takes a great deal of skill to make an eCommerce site work and produce results. If you ain’t got ‘em, you should hire somebody that does…or waste a bunch of time.