You’ve started a brand and have a great product. Now it’s time to grow your business and make more sales. If you haven’t already gone digital, what are you waiting for? With today’s easy-to-use e-commerce platforms, you can get an online shop up and running in no time. While trying to make the best e-commerce website design might sound daunting, it’s actually not that hard. Remember, your products have value and the world deserves to experience them. And an e-commerce site is an efficient way to increase your reach. So, let’s get started. The world is waiting to meet your brand.
Why is it Necessary to Have an E-commerce Site?
Of course, having a brick-and-mortar store has its charm. But, having an e-commerce business allows you the opportunity to reach a significantly larger group of potential customers. Creating your own website with e-commerce functionality can help you grow brand awareness by attracting potential customers looking for your product via popular search engines. It also opens you up to integrations with other online marketing opportunities like email marketing, social media ads, online customer reviews for social proof, and a streamlined checkout process.
To put it simply, you’re missing out if you don’t have an online storefront.
Why is Design Important for Your Website?
As a business owner, you likely started out because you had an idea for something that you were passionate enough about to turn into a reality. This means that you’ve spent a good deal of time thinking about the look and feel of your product, its packaging, and its value to your customers.
This same logic applies to e-commerce website design. Your online storefront should represent the values of your brand. This can be achieved by leveraging visual elements in line with your brand look and feel, white space, bright colors, creative animations, and best practices for website color schemes. By constructing a space that helps potential customers experience your product in the best possible light, with easy to navigate product categories and descriptions, you’re improving their overall customer experience and your potential conversion rates.
What Makes for Good E-commerce Website Design?
Surely, you’ve had an enjoyable online shopping experience recently. Think back to what it was like. Perhaps, you liked that it felt like a luxury experience or felt relieved that it was a convenient one. Try to recall the elements of that site you liked and determine why they made you feel that way. Here are some key elements to consider for the best e-commerce website design experience:
- User-friendly navigation
- Visual appeal
- Consistent design elements (typography, graphics, colors, etc.)
- High-quality images (especially on product pages)
- Easy-to-read text
- A feel that is consistent with the brand
- Design that transfers well across both web and mobile devices
- Easy check out process
- FAQs to easily decide what product is right for you
- Customer reviews
- SEO optimization capabilities
- Product specific landing pages with detailed product descriptions
What are the Best Platforms to Create an E-commerce Website?
There are plenty of e-commerce platforms out there so you can easily create your own without any web design skills. But, before you start with one, try narrowing down the providers by your business needs. For example, if you’re just starting out, look for the best e-commerce website builder for a small business. But if you have an existing page and want to optimize it, consider looking for the best e-commerce platforms for easy payments integrations and more website templates.
Here are some of the top platforms for hosting websites with an e-commerce component:
- Wix
- Shopify
- BigCommerce
- Squarespace
- Bluehost
- WordPress
- Magento
What are Some of the Best E-commerce Website Designs?
Remember that e-commerce experience you loved? We have some favorites, too. Here are 5 e-commerce website examples to inspire your own web page.
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Amazon:
It may not be the most stunning website, but Amazon is incredibly easy to use. Take a page from this mega-retailer’s playbook when it comes to user experience. Despite having a seemingly infinite number of products, the e-commerce website guides you toward well-rated ones that match your search. It also boasts great filtering tools and a payment process that is “one and done,” making it easy to quickly find and purchase exactly what you need.
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Food 52:
Come for the content and stay for the goods (or vice versa). This e-commerce website is an immersive experience for foodies. It provides relevant content like recipes and kitchen tips while pairing your knowledge with bespoke and beautiful culinary tools for purchase. This site provides a strong example of an organic content marketing approach to elevate the shopping experience.
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Patagonia:
This is another e-commerce site that goes beyond just trying to sell you something. The site, instead, gets you into an outdoorsy mindset with catchy text, crisp landscape and product images, and article-style content for deeper reads. It almost seems like a bonus that you can pick up a t-shirt while you’re on the homepage. Check out this site for a master class on how to keep your audience engaged.
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Brooklinen:
Talk about visual curation! This top e-commerce website sticks to an on-brand color palette and font theme that is clean and inviting, kind of like you want your bedding to be. And that’s surely no mistake. Take cues from this brand’s e-commerce web design when trying to figure out how to express your own brand’s values in simple design elements.
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Volvo:
The website for this car manufacturer is so visually-appealing it almost makes you want to skip the test drive and just buy a car. What makes it one of the best e-commerce website designs is that while it presents numerous vehicle models, all of the graphics fit into a templatized, curated theme. This is an atypical e-commerce site because it’s not as if you can add a car to your shopping cart at the end. Instead, this site’s goal is making you want a product enough to get up off the couch and find your nearest retailer using the “Shop” feature.
Get Inspiration for Your Website Design with Picsart
While most e-commerce hosting platforms offer a variety of professional-looking templates that you can easily adapt to your brand, it’s best to go into the design experience with plenty of ideas and inspiration.
And Picsart is the perfect place to experiment. Start with a blank canvas and create a mood board for your website by adding graphics, colors, and fonts, until you discover the combination that feels on brand for you.
You can also get inspired with Picsart’s templates. Peruse our library of ready-made designs to try to find a look and feel that represents your brand and then take stock of the visual elements that make you feel that way. And finally, once you’ve picked the best e-commerce website hosting platform and the template you’re going to use, you’re going to need lots of images and product photography. All of which can be edited in the Picsart platform.
Create at the Speed of Culture
Picsart is a full ecosystem of free-to-use content, powerful tools, and creator inspiration. With a billion downloads and more than 150 million monthly active creators, Picsart is the world’s largest creative platform. Picsart has collaborated with major artists and brands like BLACKPINK, Taylor Swift, the Jonas Brothers, Lizzo, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Lopez, One Direction, Sanrio: Hello Kitty, Warner Bros. Entertainment, iHeartMedia, Condé Nast, and more. Download the app or start editing on web today to enhance your photos and videos with thousands of quick and easy editing tools, trendy filters, fun stickers, and brilliant backgrounds. Unleash your creativity and upgrade to Gold for premium perks!
