The way the products are displayed and generally presented in a shop, either attracts or puts customers off. Of course, in case of an offline shop there are more ways to stimulate clients than in an eshop. The seller can apply not only decorations but also an attractive scent when displaying their products. Not to mention, that you can touch everything.
With a webshop the task is more difficult. The most important things are usability and the look of your website. Which combined gives us one of the main tools of emarketing, e-merchandizing!
Usability second to nothing!
Before you start to make your website fancy, think of the usability. I bet that from time to time you encounter websites full of pop-up advertisements and flashing images. Doesn’t that bring a headache only? Are you able to find what you’re looking for in that collage? Probably, not…
The key to success is an eshop that is extremely intuitive. When a client enters your home page he should already be able to find the menu, the products he’s interested in, etc. Generally speaking, don’t let your customers search for the obvious buttons and functionalities, they should stand out.
Usability is also about the way you display your images. Make sure you have photos from different perspectives, on a contrastive background and with a possibility to show them in different sizes.
If you need to read more about usability, there’s a new post on that coming soon!
Do it up brown!
Whether you are a start-up or you have a webshop for a long time and just need a change, the color is extremely important. That’s actually the first thing a graphic designer will want to talk about.
You need to choose the colors carefully, so that they match with your logo and bring out the idea that stands behind your e-business. If your logo is green then look for something that blends with it, for example gray or blue. The logo is the most important thing here, so it should be visible and stronger in color than the background.
Bear in mind the theme of your webshop. If you sell vintage clothes, maybe it’s better to get bright and sober. Unless, you sell video games… Then, I’d better go with something more intensive.
It’s all about your customers and your intuition. You know best what people who buy your products like.
However, if you tend to think of yourself as color blind, here’s a nice website. You can play with different combinations to choose the one you like best.
Kill boredom
Boredom is what can kill your sales. One way to avoid it, apart from organizing sales and group-deals, is to change the image. There are many occasions that can initiate the makeover. There are the more general one’s like holidays, seasons, school events and breaks. But there are also occasions that can be used by a specific business, like sport, music, theatrical events. Wouldn’t you visit an e-commerce website that has an extra look each time when something important for you happens? I know I would, at least out of curiosity.
A company like Google can’t be wrong about it and they’re changing their browser’s logo depending on current events.
Image source: Flickr.com
The right way to do it
Before you speak to a graphic designer and a front-end developer, make a list of your needs and inspirations. That will make the designer’s work much easier and faster.
As my friend, Martyna Sobiecka, the graphic designer said, ‘the change is only wise if you don’t change the most important things on your website’. That brings us again to the usability. The client needs to be amused but not confused. For that reason you should decide on the parts of your online store that can be changed and those that have to stay untouched. Simply, a huge Christmas tree cannot distract your customer from shopping.
Try to think of a few elements you can add to decorate your main layout and do it regularly. If you succeed, you may create a long-lasting bond with your existing customers and get new ones!
What are your ideas if it comes to eshops’ design? How do you sell your products?
