e-commerce

When you plan to develop a web or mobile e-commerce site, on which aspect do you focus more. Most of the time features and functionality. Am I correct?

But, if your design is messy and the users are not able to find what they are looking for, then do you think they will stay on your mobile e-commerce site and keep struggling to search their required products?

Of course, not.

They will simply consider the other website or install another mobile app. Features are very essential in e-commerce stores. However, to engage users, e-commerce design plays a vital role.

Let’s delve into the most common e-commerce design mistakes that hurt your e-commerce business. Take action on an instant basis if you find any relevant ones in the below list.

6 Most Common E-commerce Mistakes to Avoid in 2020

1. Not considering multiple device compatibility

Make sure your e-commerce store is accessible through smartphones as well. If you have a mobile app, then it is great. But, if you don’t have the budget for a mobility solution, then make your e-commerce website responsive as more and more people prefer to browse the website from their smartphones.

These days people make shopping using their smartphone. If your website is not responsive, then the users won’t be able to interact with your site properly. As a result, they will leave your site and opt for another one and ultimately you will lose your customers.

Select or create an e-commerce website with a responsive theme so users can easily interact with it using any of the devices.

2. Poor shopping e-commerce cart design

Shopping cart is an incredibly essential element of your e-commerce website or mobile app. It should allow users to add multiple products, revise the quantities of the products, and remove the products at the same time by being transparent.

Allow users to add the product item in the cart and then go back to the last page they were on. Apart from this, you can allow users to add the items in the cart without leaving the existing page.

Along with permitting them to add and remove items and edit the product quantity, allow them to view the shipping charges before they move ahead with the checkout process.

3. Complex and lengthy checkout process

The most crucial step in an e-commerce process is checkout. If you have a long and confusing checkout process, there are maximum chances users will leave your website or app.

Enable users with the simple process to add the payment details, make the payment, and place the order. The more steps you add between their cart and letting them make a payment, the more you encourage them to leave your platforms without making a purchase.

Offer them a single page checkout process where users can check their order details, enter shipping details, and review the billing information. In the end, there should be a confirmation page before they place the order. Adding more steps, you are complicating the checkout process.

If you want to add more steps in this process, then make sure users can complete the steps easily and quickly. Also, try to keep the page as short as possible by creating a layout that manages certain sections next to each other.

4. Lack of payment options

Usually, every e-commerce platform allows users to make payments through credit cards, debit cards, net banking, and popular payment gateways (like PayPal & more).

Offering multiple payment options in the checkout process, you enable the customers with the flexibility to choose their preferred channel and make the payment effortlessly.

Moreover, you can improve the conversion rate, increase your customer base and optimize the number of orders you receive.

5. Confusing navigation

Creating user-friendly navigation for your e-commerce website or mobile is a challenging job. It’s not just about displaying the products, but how to present the products in a widely adopted and easily understandable hierarchy.

The main purpose of the navigation is users can easily reach to the products or services or the pages they are looking for. Design an information architecture before creating the navigation menu. Define the parent categories, subcategories, and products/services listing in a proper hierarchy.

If you are showing your products or service just by providing a list or the customer then separate them by considering main categories and subcategories to make it easier for users to find their intended products.

Also, make sure the categories should not be empty or one or two items listed under them. Create our product catalog carefully by selecting the right category and designing the right navigation flow.

6. Low-quality & small-sized e-commerce product images

When e-commerce companies are running with less budget, they prefer to use stock photos and avoid investing in the photo shoot of the products they are willing to sell on their online store.

Well, product photos with a high resolution impact immensely on the user experience. The better the user experience the higher the conversions.

Please remember, you are selling the products through an online platform where your customers are not able to touch and view the product physically. So, enable them with large size images or zoom-in and zoom-out functionality to get better clarity about the product. 1024*768 pixel is the ideal image size that you should opt for.

Moreover, click product photos from different angles so users can visualize the product effectively. If possible, take a picture of the product with the human figure so that users can get an exact idea of how the product will look like.

Final thoughts…

To build a successful online store, it is very essential to create intuitive e-commerce design. Avoid the above listed e-commerce design mistakes to enable customers with the best user experience, engage them, drive conversion and boost the ROI.

With the help of a skilled web and mobile app development company, you can build a highly interactive e-commerce website and mobile solution that brings your business to the new heights of success.

Leverage the hands-on industry experience and exposure of the custom software solution provider company to build a bespoke e-commerce website or mobile app as per your specific business needs.

Sandeep Agarwal holds the position of CEO at Credencys Solutions – a web app development services company. He helps clients to bridge the execution gap with services including Consulting, Design & Architecture, Product strategy, software development, DevOps, Managed Services. He has more than two decades of experience in creating world-class teams and driving innovation through cutting edge products. With a motto of ‘Go Digital,’ Sandeep delivers an Extraordinary Customer Experience to its every client. @SandeepBlog, LinkedIn, Facebook.

E-commerce app stock photo by naKornCreate/Shutterstock