(Definition, Types, Importance, Tips)
With the growing prevalence of digital marketing over traditional marketing, internet has become a huge marketplace for billions of businesses, making each and every thing just a click away from our approach.
As a part of this global system, it would be insane to consider that you’ve never come across any such marketplace place while surfing through the internet. That’s where E-commerce websites take the charge! Chances are, you might have heard this term earlier but you aren’t yet completely familiar with it. So what is an e-commerce website? Or what exactly is an eCommerce web design? Let’s explore in this article.
What Is E-commerce Website?
The term ‘e-commerce’ simply refers to the sale of goods or services on the internet. So, an e-commerce website is any online platform that turns a physical store into an online or virtual store. With just a few clicks, it allows you to sell or purchase any product or services without having the need to go to the physical market.
With an e-commerce website, retailers can sell products online while allowing consumers to browse, evaluate, and purchase their products from the comfort of their homes. It not only makes shopping easier but it also allows consumers to reach online stores using various devices, be it smartphones, tablets, computer, or any other home device.
An e-commerce website acts like a goldmine of opportunities by allowing to reach a huge amount of consumers belonging to different regions of the world. If build effectively with best practices, e-commerce websites can become sales and revenue generating powerhouse for businesses of all kinds. From processing orders, accepting payments, and managing shipments, to logistics and providing customer services, an e-commerce website makes it all possible for a business to grow more efficiently and rapidly than ever.
What Is E-commerce Website Design?
Simply put, an e-commerce website design refers to the aesthetic appearance of your e-commerce website. It is the art of developing the technical aspects of your e-commerce website such as, how different pieces and parts work together to create overall functionality, how it responds to the user actions and how it accepts payments, etc.
It encompasses the online selling capabilities of your e-commerce website, unique features including designing product pages, shopping carts, and checkout process. A captivating e-commerce website design convinces visitors to make a purchase by enticing them with right and appealing color, fonts, images, texts, and graphics.
Here’s the catch: About 75% of your store’s credibility is influenced and powered by your e-commerce website design and its takes less than a minute to make a first impression.
What Should An E-commerce Web Design Involve?
Designing an e-commerce website design demands some basic considerations to take care of. Here are some factors that must be involved in your e-commerce website design;
- Choice of color palettes and unique theme for your e-commerce website.
- Selection of font styles and font size for you e-commerce website.
- Creation and designing of the layout and appearance of your e-commerce website pages.
- Installation of branded logos and graphics into your e-commerce website.
In a nutshell, the external or physical appearance of your website refers to your e-commerce website design. You can enjoy increased website traffic, boosted conversions and sales for your business with the help of a good and appealing e-commerce web design.
Types Of E-commerce Websites
Although e-commerce keeps a wide scope in this digital era, but based on the participants involved, types of e-commerce sites that allows electronic transactions are listed as follows;
- Business-to-Consumer sites (B2C)
- Business-to-Business sites (B2B)
- Business-to-Administration sites (B2A)
- Consumer-to-Consumer sites (C2C)
- Consumer-to-Business sites (C2B)
- Consumer-to-Administration sites (C2A)
Types Of Products Sold
An e-commerce website offers sellers to sell a huge variety of products, even those which wouldn’t be possible to sell in physical stores. Three main kinds of products that it allows to offer are;
- Physical goods ( i.e., clothing items, furniture, food, supplies, etc.)
- Services ( i.e., consultations, tutoring, lessons, maintenance, and more)
- Digital products (i.e., e-books, music, podcasts, software, online courses, etc)
Basic Principles Of An E-commerce Web Design
Now that you know what is an e-commerce website design, you must be aware of some key principles that are imperative to your e-commerce design. Here are some qualities that it must cover;
- Your e-commerce web design must be user-friendly.
- It must reflect your brand identity completely.
- It must build trust by giving security.
- It must be searchable.
- It must give valuable product descriptions.
- It must follow a minimalistic approach.
- It must use unique and customized call-to-actions (CTAs).
- It must showcase customer reviews.
- It must be optimized for mobile phones.
How To Start Your E-commerce Business?
Having an e-commerce business has now become the need of time. If you’re looking for having one for yourself as well, you must carry out a research, have a plan, and passion for pursuing it. By using the rigjt tools and strategies, you can enter the online world of marketplace while offering your products or services to a significant and diverse range of consumers.
Here’s is roadmap for you that ensures that you start off on the right foot;
- Firstly, choose your product.
- Decide your target audience and research on it.
- Validate your product by establishing authority.
- Shape your business as if from a scratch.
- Choose a name for your e-commerce website.
- Build your online store with an e-commerce website.
- Use responsive design for your website.
- Choose simple menus and navigation system.
- Design simple layout and homepage.
- Insert emotive CTAs
- Use plenty of appealing visuals.
- Develop a new and different marketing strategy.
- Branch out your business through multiple channels.
- Launch your e-commerce website.
Now that you would have built your e-commerce website, there are some other factors that you must keep a check on. Never forget to track your website traffic, bounce rates, visitor conversion rates, cart abandonment rate, number of mobile phone users, email subscribing engagement, time spend by each customer, and page per visit. Good luck with your e-commerce journey!