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It takes visitors of your online store mere seconds to judge the desirability of your products. Often, they decide based on their very first, usually visual, impressions. That is why you should not leave your online store's design to chance. Instead, a few basic principles will help you hit the ground running when you start out on your e-commerce journey. Here, we will introduce the three most important principles to get you started.
1. Match design to target customers and product portfolio
An online store for party supplies that presents itself in sombre grey hues is not likely to make customers rush to the checkout. Anyone selling premium jewellery will do well to select a layout that exudes quality and luxury. The important thing is that the visual language and colour scheme of your online store match your product portfolio and are suitable for the customers you want to attract. Ask several objective people for their impressions and get advice from specialists.
2. Create a recognisable corporate design
Your corporate design is the visual identity of your online store. You need an attractive, unique logo to distinguish yourself clearly from other companies. It is imperative that you task a professional graphic designer with designing this logo. After all, the logo communicates your brand. As such, you should position it in the upper part of your online store's website. Use this logo in all other customer facing channels to increase your brand recognition value, i.e. in your social media profiles, on your letter head, your business cards, etc. Even if you are still building up your online store and money is tight, it would be a false economy to skimp on your professional market presence.
3. Structure, structure, structure
We can't emphasise this third point enough: Your online store's design not only serves to attract and retain visitors, but should also allow them to quickly navigate through your portfolio. This means you need a well structured main menu which shows at a glance the products you offer and where to find them. Create subcategories to guide potential customers through your portfolio. Special offers should be presented on a separate page. After all, your customers should be able to find them quickly. A good rule of thumb is that it should take no more than three clicks to navigate from the main menu to what you're looking for.
A well planned online store design is important to create a professional first impression. At the same time, it allows you to purposefully guide your customers through your portfolio and help them to transition from prospective buyer to loyal customer.