UI and UX design are often discussed in unison with one another, however, they do differ to some degree.
In short, UI design refers to the user interface of a given website or application. The primary intention of UI design is to capitalize on functionality and user experience. UX design, then, refers to a user’s experience. UX can be thought of as how a user interacts with the UI design, from ease of use to satisfaction and efficiency of design.
UI/UX offers businesses and brands alike the ability to build an engaging and loyal online presence with the ultimate intent to increase consumer satisfaction and thus increase business growth from multiple angles.
As we’ll discuss, the importance of UI/UX design is imperative in today’s digital ecosystem, especially for e-commerce online stores. In order to capitalize on its benefits, however, it’s necessary to follow the outlined best practices.
Lucky for you, we’ve identified and outlined said best practices so that you don’t have to! With that said, without further ado, let’s jump right into it!
The importance of great UI/UX design can’t be understated. While there are endless benefits to be discussed here, what follows will be a detail into three primary benefits that you can come to expect from great UI/UX design.
In today’s digital age, first impressions are everything not only because they help build an online presence but because they allow you to capture the ever-so short attention spans of today’s consumers. This becomes ever important when it comes to trying to sell via e-commerce.
Because attention spans are so short in today’s digital age, brands and businesses alike have about 3-5 seconds to draw a user in. Failure to do so is a failure to engage, thus a failure to retain and a failure to convert.
By prioritizing impeccable UI/UX design, websites and applications alike can capture and retain user attention, ultimately resulting in engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty. In fact, users often associate great UI design (i.e. website aesthetics) with functionality and ease of use, thus increasing overall engagement. A functional user interface paired with a design that enhances user experience is the perfect recipe for capitalizing on traffic.
As any true marketer understands, an increase in engagement tends to translate into an increase in conversion rates. Further, an increase in conversion rates is equitable to an increase in total revenue. This, in short, is the ultimate goal of any business, and thus, of any UI/UX design.
When you create an easy-to-use platform, reduce the number of steps a consumer needs to take to purchase, and offer clear call-to-actions throughout, you inevitably enhance user experience, ultimately resulting in higher conversion rates, and thus, sales.
While it may be costly in the short-term, great UI/UX development can save you a ton of time, money, and headaches in the future. Here’s how…
Because great UI/UX design requires initial market research, functionality testing, and other important phases that provide key information regarding its effectiveness, the final product is ultimately a testament to market demand. In other words, thanks to the initial groundwork that’s been laid, future revisions, redesigns, and bug fixes will likely be avoided.
Ensuring that the final design and user experience will result in satisfaction and loyalty not only forecasts greater revenue but also guarantees that you save time and money on future development requirements.
While all of these benefits are great, they mean nothing without effective implementation and execution of eCommerce UX best practices. In other words, failing to do so correctly will only result in a failure to capture the potential benefits that UI/UX design offers.
With that said, what follows will be an insight into five (5) of the top eCommerce UX best practices for your perusing…
Due to the ever-so-short attention spans of today’s digital consumers, website load times are imperative to optimal conversion rates and customer satisfaction. In fact, if any lag is apparent on a website, it’s unlikely that the visitor will stick around for any substantial amount of time.
Even on the speediest of websites, poor navigation will deter any visitor from remaining on the page, and instead deciding to leave due to confusion and complexity. As such, it’s imperative to prioritize simplicity and streamlined navigation so as to instruct visitors on the easiest way to find what they’re looking for.
We’ve all been there, visiting a website only to be immediately underwhelmed by its quality and appearance. Not only does this create perceptions of lack of authority and carelessness but it discourages engagement rather than encourages it…
Obviously stated, the quality of the actual design and its content is a basic when it comes to eCommerce UX best practices. When designing a website, prioritize its appearance as if it were a brick-and-mortar storefront; it’s what attracts visitors to want to visit in the first place.
More often than you’d like to think, the checkout process is the phase of a buyer’s journey that’s most likely to result in drop-offs and bounce rates. While a percentage of said bounce rates are likely to be attributed to indecision on behalf of the consumer, a large chunk of it comes down to the complexity of the checkout process.
To combat this, eCommerce UX designers must simplify systems so as to make the checkout process involve as few steps as possible.
If you’ve ever been on a website in need of help, only to discover that no such help exists, you likely immediately gave up on your pursuit and bounced to the next best website. This is where many websites fail…
As a UX designer, it’s important not only to consider to look and functionality of the website but also the experience and satisfaction of the visitor themselves. One key way to do so is by implementing virtual assistance technology such as a chatbot or other predictive chat tools.
While having a notable customer service email is a start, it’s simply not enough at this stage of the digital ecosystem…