eCommerce Web Design

eCommerce works much in the same way that traditional commerce does. The major differences revolve around how goods are ordered, processed, shipped, and stored.

Let’s look further into the differences:

There Are No Physically Present Items

Unlike physical stores, virtual stores do not have items that customers can immediately grab and take home. Likewise, there are no cash registers or machines in a virtual store.

For this reason, there has to be a way for virtual stores to process and verify payments—a much more involved task than taking cash payments and arguably more involved than taking credit card payments in person. Virtual stores also need a database.

A Database For Items

What this database does is keep track of items stocked in the company’s warehouse, a process that incidentally requires frequent updates so that stock levels can be maintained.

Some small virtual store owners may keep their stock at home, circumventing the need for a warehouse altogether.

Coordination With A Warehouse Or Manual Shipment

Once items have been selected and paid for, the next task is shipping them to the customer.

In a traditional store, customers can grab what they want and take it home. Virtual stores require careful coordination with warehouses to ship the correct items, or alternatively, owners can ship items themselves.

Return shipping for faulty items is another issue adding a layer of complexity to virtual store operations.

Virtual goods

Completely virtual items do not need to be physically shipped to customers or stored in a warehouse. Rather, a server handles product storage and purchase downloads.

Given the massive increase in eCommerce, you are probably wondering how eCommerce web design is used, i.e., how you can benefit from the opportunities that an exploding online market present.

Good eCommerce Web Design Makes Your Site Stand Out

The first and most important benefit is that you’ll stand out.

We mean it when we say….Never underestimate the power of a well-designed website. Without one, your store won’t be able to compete with other stores that are built to a high standard.

Your eCommerce Web Design Is Similar To A Physical Store

Online stores share similarities with physical ones.

If you walk into a physical store and see that it is dirty and disorganized, especially compared to the competing store that is right across the street, then they might lose your business to the competition.

The same principle applies to your online store. If it doesn’t work well, you won’t retain your customer base. If it does work well, you increase the likelihood of people returning to your store again and again.

The Attributes of eCommerce Web Design

Skillful Branding – Good online branding has to be consistent, clear, in tune with your audience, and in line with your vision.

It is recommended that you or the design company take an inventory of your color scheme, your fonts, and other design aspects to keep your branding cohesive.

Visual Appeal – Web design covers everything about a website that you see. Expert web designers are there to make your website look beautiful.

Security – How your store is designed plays a fundamental role in its overall security.

Using clean code, steering clear of dangerous themes, plug-ins, and images, and solving the problem of mixed content are all important security design aspects.

A good web designer knows what elements to add and what to avoid to ensure your website stays safe.

Policies – Important additions to your website, such as a privacy policy and a return policy, help build site trust.

Imagine visiting an online store but not knowing how your data will be used or even if you are able to return a faulty item. You may feel some hesitation in making a purchase.

By contrast, if you know exactly how the company is using your data and you see a strong return policy, your internal trust meter rises.

When it comes to your online store, good eCommerce web design is the cornerstone that builds audience trust, strengthens site security, and translates your vision.

Now that we have gone over some of the attributes of good web design, you might want to know how to go about creating an eCommerce website. There are a lot of ways to do this. However, your options can be boiled down to two main strategies.

1. Build It Yourself – The advantage of going this route is that you save on development costs, but we would not recommend this path since your competitors may be getting the benefits of professional design. 

2. Hire An Expert – This is the route we recommend, as there are numerous advantages to hiring knowledgeable designers.

Industry-standard websites require hundreds (if not thousands) of hours to learn how to build, and most business owners do not have the time to invest, what with busy client schedules, deadlines, employee concerns, and so on.

Professional Web Design Advantages

Your Website Will Be Fast – There are numerous technical aspects that can impact your site’s speed. A professional designer knows what steps to follow to ensure your site is fast. A few examples are using a CDN, minifying files, and polishing and trimming HTML.

Your Website Will Have An Integrated Database – An integrated database makes your online store work better. You can also use it to run a membership directory.

Your Website Will Have Visual Appeal – Outdated design styles can lower audience trust. By contrast, a website with strong visual appeal is going to impact your business positively.

Your Website Will Have Consistent Branding – Good online branding is consistent, clear, in tune with your audience, and in line with your vision. A professional designer should take an inventory of your design preferences and work closely with you to keep your branding on point.

Your Website Will Have Responsive Website Design – It is easy for a beginner to design a website that does not work well across multiple browsers.

Not only should your website work across browsers but across different devices as well, adjusting automatically to any screen it is on, whether that be a smartphone or a desktop. We make sure that your site functions properly in all respects.

Your Website Will Have Strong Search Engine Optimization – Sage Digital Agency follows several strategies to empower your website’s SEO, giving your website a better chance of being seen.

Your Website Will Be Up-To-Date – We at Sage Digital Agency not only design your website but also offer ongoing support to keep it up-to-date and highly relevant, which is important in today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape.

Your Website Will Have A Higher Conversion Rate – We follow best industry practices proven to increase conversion rates. We also work closely with you to gain a deep understanding of your audience so as to help you communicate your message best.

During our design process, we go through every detail of your website to discover any potential issues or errors, testing everything we do.

Our approach is strategic and contains the following points:

•     We value effective communication to build a strong foundation for your web design project.
•     We research the best methods for your professional goals and plan accordingly.
•     We create a complete strategy that helps you get the results you want.
•     We ensure your site looks beautiful but remains functional to deliver the best possible user experience.
•     We provide ongoing services such as web hosting, search engine optimization, and paid marketing.