Designing an E-Commerce Website? Here’s the Ultimate Checklist of Dos and Don’ts

Imagine walking into a store where everything is well-organized, products are beautifully displayed, and everything feels genuine and trustworthy. That’s what your e-commerce website should also look like. Launching an e-commerce website shouldn’t only focus on getting customers to add products to their digital shopping carts. It should also improve navigation, build trust, and turn visitors into loyal customers. 

However, most businesses don’t get the expected results from their e-commerce websites because they are often tricky to navigate. From clunky design layouts to slow load times, even a small mistake can affect the user experience and drain your business funds. The solution? A professional website designing service backed by creative vision and expertise.

Skilled web designers know how to blend aesthetics with usability. They handle every aspect of your website, from navigation to customization and payment security, so the target audience loves the website and converts into buyers. In this article, we will discuss the essential dos and don’ts of designing an e-commerce website so you can create a site that professionals approve of and users love. 

Designing an E-Commerce Website: the Dos You Cannot Miss 

A good website design effectively communicates a brand’s message while engaging the visitors. Every factor, from consistency in layout, typography, and imagery to simplicity and functionality, must align to improve navigation, build trust, and increase sales. Here’s a list of dos you should consider to design a great e-commerce website:

DO Focus on the Website’s Purpose 

Your website’s primary purpose is to meet your target audience’s needs. Before you explore different colors, fonts, or navigation features, be clear about your website’s core objective. Are you looking to sell products? Is it for community building? Or do you want to collect leads? 

Every design you choose from your website, from the homepage to the product pages, should align with the primary focus. When you are clear about the core purpose, navigation becomes easier to manage, your calls to action feel natural, and the visitors don’t feel cluttered or confused. 

DO Prioritize Simplicity 

While many website owners prefer to explore different colors and layout styles, nothing beats a classic, uncluttered design. A clean design with pleasing aesthetics is far more attractive to website visitors because it keeps their focus on the products and makes navigation easy. Instead of experimenting with bold colors, choose a harmonious color palette that reflects your brand and doesn’t overwhelm the eye. 

Next, choose readable typography of consistent spacing and sizes instead of fancy calligraphy. Similarly, use high-definition images, illustrations, videos, and different forms of graphics to highlight your products without creating unnecessary clutter.  

DO Maintain Visual Hierarchy 

In website design, visual hierarchy is the arrangement of elements to establish the focal point. It guides visitors through the website and highlights the most critical sections using different sizes, colors, spacing, and contrast for key elements like the product images, headings, and CTA buttons. 

Formatting the important headings with larger fonts or bolder colors will naturally capture the visitor’s attention. You can use subtle tones and smaller texts to highlight the secondary details. When you arrange content in order of importance, shoppers are less likely to be confused and know precisely where to look and what to click to complete a purchase. 

DO Use a Grid-Based Layout

Grids are a widely used framework structure to keep your website content and other elements neatly organized and visually appealing. With grids, you can create consistent structures, rows, and columns to organize your content and make it easy for readers to navigate and digest the information. They also maintain uniformity across the product pages, making your website look professional and aesthetically pleasing. 

Another highlight of a grid-based layout is its flexibility and responsiveness. You can rearrange the products, banners, or CTAs to run promotions, seasonal campaigns, and updates without affecting the overall design. Since most people shop from mobile apps, the grid layout lets your website easily adapt to any device with different screen sizes without breaking the visual and text alignment, thus creating a sense of order, improving user experience, and increasing conversion rates. 

DO Optimize for Search and Social Media

With your e-commerce website, you don’t just want existing customers. You want new shoppers to discover your products as well. Without traffic, all the effort on the design, content creation, and user experience will be wasted. Your website needs to be optimized according to the SEO guidelines for increased visibility and organic search. Here’s what you should do:

• Make keyword-rich product titles and descriptions.
• Write descriptive meta tags and add alt text to every image
• Avoid keyword stuffing in descriptions and links 
• Use structured data for search engines

In addition to consistent branding, mobile-friendly design, and quick load times, social sharing also plays a key role in increasing reach and engagement. Shoppers love to share their feedback and reviews on their favorite social sites. Tapping into social platforms means attracting traffic in volumes and improving search ranking. So, include social sharing buttons for easy content sharing.

Designing an E-Commerce Website: the Don’ts You Cannot Ignore 

While mistakes are a part of the creative process, some slip-ups can mess up the design, confuse users, and even damage the brand image. Knowing what not to do can save you from wasted time and resources and increase organic traffic. On that note, avoid these pitfalls to make your e-commerce website intuitive, user-friendly, and profitable.

DON’T Ignore Your Website Content 

Let’s say you are looking for an article on ways to handle threats and build a safer workplace. You land on a page with a great layout, stunning visuals, and seamless navigation. But the content? It’s bad! 

A good design is irrelevant without great content. No matter how aesthetic your website looks, if the quality of the product descriptions, blogs, and images doesn’t align, shoppers won’t engage and will leave. Everything on the website, from the design to the content, should be fresh, engaging, and high-quality. Only then will the visitors be interested and convert. 

DON’T Use Weak CTAs

A strong CTA positioned above the fold is an effective way to boost conversions. Don’t lower the opt-ins and conversions with generic CTAs like “Click Here” or “Get Now.” It can confuse them about the next step. 

Instead, create clear, action-driven CTAs that encourage them to take action. Think of something like “Redeem My Coupon,” “Get My Discount,” or “Add to Cart” and place it where it’s easily visible. 

DON’T Overuse Website Design Elements

When designing, it’s easy to get carried away with flashy icons, different pop-ups, banners, and sliders. You might think the page shows off your creative skills, but in reality, it clutters the user interface (UI) and confuses visitors. 

A good website is clutter-free, easy to navigate, and purposeful. It gives space to the content and allows users to navigate intuitively. So keep your design clean and avoid flashy fonts and colors. Limit using images, buttons, and media elements so your website looks well-balanced and loads faster. 

Conclusion

Overall, a well-designed e-commerce site is not just about aesthetics; clarity, usability, and user-friendliness also play key roles. It should be easy to engage with and add value so visitors feel engaged and convert. Therefore, follow our list of dos and avoid the don'ts to create a strong web presence and turn visitors into loyal customers.