When you envision buyers moving through the e-commerce sites you construct, you basically anticipate them to follow this journey:
• Step 1: Enter on the homepage or a category page.
• Step 2: Use the navigational components to orient themselves to the store and zero in on the particular things they're looking for.
• Step 3: Review the descriptions and other significant purchase information for the products that stimulate their interest.
• Step 4: Customize the product specifications (if possible), and then include the items they want to their cart.
• Step 5: Check out.
There are discrepancies they may take along the method (like checking out related products, browsing various categories, and conserving items to a wishlist for a rainy day). However, for the most part, this is the leading pathway you build out and it's the one that will be most heavily traveled.
That holding true, it's particularly crucial for designers to zero in on the interface elements that shoppers come across along this journey. If there's any friction within the UI, you won't just see a boost in unanticipated deviations from the course, however more bounces from the website, too.
So, that's what the following post is going to focus on: How to make sure that the UI along the buyer's journey is appealing, intuitive, engaging, and friction-free.
Let's examine three parts of the UI that buyers will encounter from the point of entry to checkout. I'll be utilizing e-commerce websites constructed with Shopify to do this:
There as soon as was a time when e-commerce sites had mega menus that buyers needed to sort through to discover their desired product categories, sub-categories and sub-sub-categories. While you might still run into them nowadays, the better choice is a navigation that adapts to the shopper's journey.
The first thing to do is to streamline the main menu so that it has only one level below the primary classification headers. For instance, this is how United By Blue does it:
The item classifications under "Shop" are all nicely organized below headers like "Womens" and "Mens".
The only exceptions are the classifications for "New Arrivals" and "Masks & Face Coverings" that are accompanied by images. It's the very same reason that "Gifts" remains in a lighter blue font and "Sale" is in a red typeface in the main menu. These are incredibly prompt and relevant categories for United By Blue's consumers, so they should have to be highlighted (without being too disruptive).
Going back to the site, let's take a look at how the designer was able to keep the mobile website arranged:
Rather than diminish down the desktop menu to one that consumers would need to pinch-and-zoom in on here, we see a menu that's adapted to the mobile screen.
It needs a couple of more clicks than the desktop website, but shoppers shouldn't have an issue with that given that the menu does not go too deep (again, this is why we can't use mega menus anymore).
If you're building an e-commerce site for a client with a complex inventory (i.e. great deals of products and layers of categories), the product results page is going to need its own navigation system.
To assist shoppers limit how many products they see at a time, you can consist of these two elements in the design of this page:
1. Filters to narrow down the results by product specification.
2. Sorting to order the products based on consumers' top priorities.
I've highlighted them on this product results page on the Horne site:
While you could store your filters in a left sidebar, the horizontally-aligned style above the results is a much better option.
This space-saving design enables you to reveal more products at once and is likewise a more mobile-friendly option:
Consistency in UI design is important to shoppers, specifically as more of them take an omnichannel approach to shopping. By presenting the filters/sorting alternatives consistently from gadget to gadget, you'll develop a more predictable and comfy experience for them at the same time.
As shoppers move deeper into an e-commerce site, they still might need navigational support. There are two UI navigation aspects that will help them out.
The very first is a breadcrumb trail in the top-left corner of the product pages, similar to how tentree does:
This is best utilized on websites with categories that have sub-categories upon sub-categories. The further and further buyers move far from the product results page and the convenience of the filters and sorting, the more important breadcrumbs will be.
The search bar, on the other hand, is a navigation aspect that ought to constantly be readily available, regardless of which point in the journey consumers are at. This goes for stores of all sizes, too.
Now, a search bar will definitely help shoppers who are brief on time, can't find what they need or merely want a faster way to an item they currently know exists. Nevertheless, an AI-powered search bar that can actively predict what the buyer is searching for is a smarter choice.
Here's how that deals with the Horne website:
Even if the shopper hasn't finished inputting their search expression, this search bar begins providing ideas. On the left are matching keywords and on the right are top matching items. The supreme objective is to speed up buyers' search and reduce any tension, pressure or frustration they may otherwise be feeling.
Vitaly Friedman just recently shared this pointer on LinkedIn:
He's. The more time visitors need to spend digging around for important details about a product, the greater the chance they'll simply quit and try another store.
Shipping alone is a substantial sticking point for lots of shoppers and, sadly, too many e-commerce sites wait up until checkout to let them learn about shipping expenses and hold-ups.
Due to the fact that of this, 63% of digital buyers end up abandoning their online carts due to the fact that of shipping expenses and 36% do so due to the fact that of how long it takes to get their orders.
Those aren't the only information digital consumers wish to know about ahead of time. They also wish to know about:
• The returns and refund policy,
• The terms of usage and personal privacy policy,
• The payment options available,
• Omnichannel purchase-and-pickup options available,
• And so on.
How are you anticipated to fit this all in within the very first screenful?
This is what Vitaly was talking about. You don't have to squeeze each and every single information about an item above the fold. However the shop ought to be able to offer the product with just what's in that space.
Bluebella, for instance, has a space-saving style that doesn't compromise on readability:
With the image gallery relegated to the left side of the page, the rest can be committed to the item summary. Since of the varying size of the header font styles in addition to the hierarchical structure of the page, it's simple to follow.
Based upon how this is developed, you can tell that the most important details are:
• Product name;
• Product rate;
• Product size selector;
• Add-to-bag and wishlist buttons;
• Delivery and returns info (which neatly appears on one line).
The remainder of the item details have the ability to fit above the fold thanks to the accordions used to collapse and broaden them.
If there are other important information shoppers might require to make up their minds-- like item reviews or a sizing guide-- develop links into the above-the-fold that move them to the relevant sections lower on the page.
Quick Note: This layout won't be possible on mobile for apparent this link reasons. The item images will get top billing while the 30-second pitch appears just below the fold.
Even if you're able to concisely provide the item's description, additional sales and marketing elements like pop-ups, chat widgets and more can end up being just as frustrating as lengthy product pages.
Make sure you have them stored out of the way as Partake does:
The red symbol you see in the bottom left allows consumers to manage the availability functions of the site. The "Rewards" button in the bottom-right is really a pop-up that's styled like a chat widget. When opened, it welcomes shoppers to sign up with the loyalty program.
Both of these widgets open only when clicked.
Allbirds is another one that consists of extra components, however keeps them out of the way:
In this case, it consists of a self-service chat widget in the bottom-right that has to be clicked in order to open. It likewise places info about its present returns policy in a sticky bar at the top, maximizing the product pages to strictly focus on product details.
For some products, there is no choice that buyers need to make aside from: "Do I want to add this product to my cart or not?"
For other products, consumers need to specify
