‘Food must be palatable to be acceptable.’ These words may remind you of your school days, but the fact is the same adage goes for e-commerce web sites, as well. For starters, an e-commerce website should be good to look at. The customer’s first step in the purchase direction will only happen then. A good e-commerce store is not only expected to sell great products and give commendable service but it should also have a mind-blowing e-commerce interface, or in technical terms a good UX and UI. The website should be user-friendly and inviting.
Chew on these statistics culled from A Dive Into the Ocean of Web Design Statistics by Hostingtribunal.com.
- Two out of three people preferably surf through websites designed beautifully.
- 75% of people judge the websites based on their aesthetic attributes.
- 94% of opening impressions of a website are associated with design.
- 38% of people will not engage with a website if the layout or content is unattractive.
These numbers are direct indicators of the powerful impact of a mind-blowing e-commerce website design. Here are the eight insightful trends for a powerful New Year beginning on design:
The Obvious! – A Responsive Design
Did you know? 50% of the e-commerce income worldwide is cashed through mobile. AND 40% transactions happen only through mobile devices! The graph is expected to shoot up due to massive mobile usage, globally. According to Bigcommerce – these days, only a miniscule 9.6% of the millennial shoppers venture into brick and mortar store for a shopping experience. The rest are happy logging on to a user-friendly site that gives them the same quality of immersive experience at the click of a mouse. (Refer to the Litmus Branding blog – Is responsive website development is necessary? for a detailed discussion of this point.
Colour Dreams
It might be hard to digest but colour white has its own definitive “space”. However don’t always play safe with white or pastels. Instead learn to experiment. The reason being – customers like surprises. In order to grab their attention and not let them cross over to competition, go intense in your colour choice. Use colours scientifically. Colour palettes are great influencers, if you know how to make effective use of this strategy.
For instance, orange and yellow triggers impulsive shopping. That’s why most junk food outlets use this strategy in their promotion campaigns. How Do Colours Affect User Choices and Purchases? by Neil Patel talks exhaustively about colour psychology. Use the saturation technique, keeping in mind to eventually strike a balance and not go overboard. The look in its entirety should not cause an overtly striking overkill. In short it should not hurt the eye. Keep it simple but effective.
Visual Sense
The Google Material Design popularity underscores the need of interactive essentials in 2020 e-commerce sites. The world’s most popular search engine predicts that the year will witness the rising popularity of websites with uber-cool buttons and a host of other animated features including videos and interactive design to grab customer attention. One of most useful ecommerce web design trends that has stayed on and will continue to do so is video snippets. Let your product do the talking!
The biggest disadvantage for online shoppers is physical non proximity. It makes it difficult for them to comprehend the features of a product. But then here comes a product video with animation and the works detailing each feature and the product comes live before the viewer! Brands such as Adidas have been implementing this game plan for ages now with 3D modelling for the shoe brand.
Likewise, an asymmetric and fragmented layout could be another trick for standing out in a clutter. Nike does that so effectively to its advantage. The presentation is out-of-the-box, non-cluttered and informative.
Image Source: Nike
Get Graphical!
Interactive graphics or GIFS can also be used very creatively and proactively. Refer to the graphical representation of a wallet. Bellroy uses it so effectively to show how the wallet enlarges with card additions, cites DevriX, a WordPress e-commerce store in 8 eCommerce Web Design Trends to Follow in 2020. The only aspect to bear in mind by an ecommerce web design company is that these smart gimmicks should not just attract but should also be resourceful in giving additional product information to the customer, who is otherwise missing out on vital ‘touch and feel’ experience of a brick and mortar store.
Recommended: 16 Mistakes to avoid while designing and developing an ecommerce website
Helping Bots!
At a Microsoft Build Developers Conference, Chief Satya Nadella announced, “Bots are the new apps,” reports Sarah Halzack in – The chatbots are coming — and they want to help you buy stuff in Washington Post. The truth in the words rings in, when we look at the “Siri” scenario. Major players in the e commerce fields are now including chatbots on their platforms. And mind you these bits of software have evolved significantly since they first made their appearance on e-commerce sites, some ten years ago. Initially, and in most case, even now, these are used primarily to answer customers’ custom queries.
But with AI inputs, bots can now be programmed to do a lot more. They can now lure customers with coupon codes or provide shipping notifications and in so many other clever ways help the customer in making an informed shopping decision. What’s more, they can also be used in after-sales service. Keeping pace with the use of digital assistants, the chatbot trend is likely to gain momentum in 2020 and are predicted to evolve into a powerful user engagement tool.
Less is More
“I think one of the big trends in ecommerce is, frankly, simplification,” says Jimmy Duvall, the Chief Product Officer at BigCommerce, an e-commerce solution agency. Design, says Duvall should always be eye-catchy, yet easy to navigate. That’s the reason flat designs are the hottest ecommerce website design trends in 2020. Their minimalistic approach is a great hack for good navigation. Secondly, “the complete look is clean, spotless and falls easy on the eye with a simple vibe, remarks Armando Roggio in Ecommerce Design Trends for 2020 for Practical Ecommerce.
Authentic Images
Experts contend that the authenticity culture will be holding strong this year, as well. Last year, we saw several clothing brands going full throttle at customers on Instagram. Real shots are being used to tell amazing, interactive stories. And speaking of Instagram, e commerce websites can do the same on their home pages, as well. Clicking on the image should land the customer straight on the product page for buying it. In the web universe, brands need a genuine connect with their audience. “This year, will be the year of bespoke professional shoots in place of stock footages,” predicts Armela Escalona in 7 Top Ecommerce Design Trends in 2020 by Monster Post – a web hosting service.
Content Drive
The final, sure-shot way of making the ecommerce website design less complex is focusing on good content. Brands are now shifting gear from visual-centric e-commerce designs to text-centric sites. The importance of product information in words cannot be undermined. As Duvall puts it, “I think in many ways…ecommerce went away a little bit from content-centric commerce,” but fortunately, we are coming full circle now.
Enter – Big Fonts and Massive Text. The typography is readable and pure. Meaning the written information is not getting over cast by visual displays. Developers are site architects are not shying away from using bold, in-your-face typography, where required. The message should be communicated loud and clear. In many cases ‘words speak louder than visuals.’ “Big Content” is one of the most vital ecommerce website design trends 2020, which experts feel is here to stay, even beyond 2020.
A whole lot of trends! To sum up the conversation here is an important element. A user in ten seconds or even less should be able to make a decision whether he wants to buy or not buy. Or whether he wants to ‘stay’ or ‘move on’ to another website to complete his purchase. All the major aspects listed above can come in handy to all ecommerce website platforms. You can hand pick the ones that best suits your brand story.
Litmus Branding can help you make an informed choice. Take your pick! Keep trending!