It is a lucrative market to tap into, and a competitive one nonetheless.
Presenting the best user experience is one of the keys to success for eCommerce websites. Top players and small businesses are emphasising the need for usable and accessible site design. If you want to stay ahead of the competition in 2018, here are the five eCommerce site design trends to anticipate.
More Videos
The increasing popularity of video content will soon cross over to the eCommerce market. Clear product images and 360-degree view of products are very popular this year, but video is the way forward.
Customers are more likely to make a purchase decision upon seeing the product being used in real-life situations. The only way eCommerce sites can deliver that level of realism is through carefully-crafted product videos that are compelling and engaging at the same time.
Focus on Performance
Performance is always a big factor in eCommerce site design. While design elements and visual cues are very important, maintaining fast loading time and ensuring smooth transitions from page to page are what please visitors the most.
There is also the fact that search engines now take site performance as one of the governing metrics for ranking websites. It is clear that focusing on site performance is the way forward. Clever site structure, lazy loading, and optimisations are all part of the 2018 eCommerce site design trends.
Clear Wizards
Many eCommerce sites shortened their checkout process to improve customer experience. Unfortunately, you can only eliminate so many steps. Now that the common checkout process is short enough for most customers, the next trend is making that process as pleasant as possible.
Wizards, especially the checkout wizard, will use cues such as percentage, steps indicators, or both. These simple UI elements are there to let customers know where in the process they are at any given moment. It is good UX practice and a trend you want to adopt right away.
Cleaner, Personalized Interface
Minimalistic layout with good usability is also an interesting trend to follow in 2018. Big players like Amazon still use large banners and animations to capture the customers’ attention, but a more minimalistic and personalised approach is where smaller businesses can truly excel.
Speaking of personalisation, 2018 will also be the year when customers are greeted with different content depending on their personal preferences. No more standardised homepages; with the help of big data, eCommerce sites can deliver a more personalised user experience and push it a step further.
Guided Selling
The last trend that is also interesting to implement is guided selling. Not all customers know what they want – or what they need – when visiting eCommerce sites. It is up to the eCommerce players to provide sufficient information to help customers make their purchase decisions.
Guided selling combines clear product information with options, basic information, and detailed guides. Customers can simply follow a concise wizard to determine the correct products to buy based on their personal needs and specific requirements.
So, are you ready for the eCommerce challenges of 2018? Now that you know the eCommerce site design trends to anticipate next year, you can start early, fine-tune your Shopify eCommerce site, and be more prepared for the customers of the future.