June 14, 2021 Published by Raffy Montehermoso

Creating a Custom eCommerce Web Design To Increase Sales

With the booming eCommerce marketplace, how can an online store compete? Learn how to get more buyers by having a custom eCommerce web design.

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Online shopping has brought more entrepreneurs to open up stores as buyers see how convenient it is to purchase online. Meanwhile, each shop tries to get visitors to buy from them through custom eCommerce web design.
 

In a consumer report by KPMG, the top reason for buying online is they can shop at any hour of the day. Everything from clothes to furniture is now available in just a few clicks.
 

From 1.66 billion digital buyers in 2016, the number of digital buyers will rise to 2.14 billion people in a forecast from Statista. As a store owner, how can you attract these buyers? Capturing online shoppers to your eCommerce store starts with having an easy-to-use and attractive custom web design.

What Is eCommerce Website Design?

Unlike other businesses, eCommerce requires a different interface to maximize ease of use while keeping online shoppers hooked on the product displays.
 

The typical website design may focus on an impressive layout or even non-conventional placement of images and sections. These are good for industries that focus on minimal interactions, such as hospitality or corporate. At times, the sole purpose of their website is for brand storytelling or imparting an experience.
 

For eCommerce websites, the design intent is getting users to convert or buy in the online store while still maintaining a visually appealing layout.

What Makes a Good Custom eCommerce Web Design? 

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A well-crafted custom eCommerce web design can help convert the users who are simply scrolling on your landing pages and never making a purchase.
 

While the design element is subjective, website data can otherwise tell if the design you choose to build brings in traffic and sales. Here are a few of the things to apply when building a custom eCommerce web design.

Choosing a CMS Platform

Every eCommerce platform available today can have both its pros and cons. Identify which among them have the features that will be most beneficial to your niche or products.
 

There are two types of content management systems to choose from:
 

  • SaaS CMS - Using software-as-a-service hosting solutions is preferable for eCommerce shops who prefer to get their online shops running without the need to dive into technical know-how. The CMS platform hosts the software, and they are in charge of automatically updating the tool. Thus, you don't have to manually download, install, and update the software to your eCommerce website.
     

Examples of SaaS CMS: Shopify, Squarespace
 

  • Open-source CMS - This type of CMS provides complete control of the eCommerce website by downloading the software. The owner will be the one to find a hosting service to contain the open-source CMS. As a self-hosted software, you will be the one to maintain and install updates when necessary.
     

Examples of open-source CMS: Magento, WooCommerce
 

Looking at both types of CMS, you can easily conclude that open-source CMS can be the best choice for a fully customized web design. However, it's also possible to modify existing site templates on SaaS-based CMS.

Simple, Scannable Layout

As much as you want to use loud banners to attract shoppers to buy, it's still best to keep things simple on the design aspect.
 

Go for neat grids and make generous use of whitespace to help products stand out. How you place the images, texts, and forms must be easily scannable for the average website user.

Consider How Visitors Will Use the Website

Put your design-thinking cap on how the user will browse around your website.
 

Will they find what they are looking for, or you're making them do more clicks than required? Consider the customer's user experience when they buy from your eCommerce store.

Consistency of Branding

Define your brand and apply them consistently across every aspect of your website or marketing collateral.
 

A few tips for consistent branding are:
 

  • Match all elements on your website, from the logos, images, and icons.
  • Use different fonts to a minimum. And when you do, keep the font choice as close as possible to your branding.

Pick a Color Scheme

The same as branding, use a uniform, complementary color scheme that works well with your niche.
 

Product images already crowd the colors that appear in an eCommerce shop. Thus, avoid using too many colors on the website and pick around 1-4 colors relevant to your brand.

High-Quality Product Images

The best way to entice online shoppers to buy is through using product images of high quality.
 

Invest in good photography of your products by hiring professional photographers or using a camera to take crisp and clear images of the product.

Professional Presentation

Make the store look reliable to shop online with a professional and presentable design.
 

Also, web design trends change now and then. What makes most websites look unprofessional can be due to outdated designs, such as static HTML pages.
 

Stay updated with the latest design trends to keep up with changing online buying behavior.

Customer Reviews

Impress potential customers with reviews from customers to convince them to buy the same product.
 

Additionally, you could also include a review feature for buyers to rate their experience. Social proof from actual purchases can help entice visitors to add the item to their cart.

Easy-To Understand Categories

Make the product listings easy to navigate with groupings that they can understand. Go for generic naming conventions, such as footwear or accessories, if your online store provides various products.

Include a Search Bar

For those who are too tired to browse over hundreds of product pages, let them do the searching themselves by adding a search bar that's prominent across every page.
 

Also, ensure that it will return relevant results when someone searches. Otherwise, display associated items as recommended must-haves.

Let Customers Sort Products

At times, shoppers want to narrow down their options on preferred size, color, payment or shipping options, and other product attributes. Allow them to gain control of the products to show up with a feature to filter available items.

Uncomplicated Payment Process

Make it easy for customers to check out the items they add to their carts. Whenever possible, avoid multiple verification systems and remove unnecessary barriers. The shopper will be willing to come back and order more from your eCommerce store when it's easy for them to pay.

How Much Does a Custom eCommerce Site Cost? 

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Many factors affect the pricing of creating a custom eCommerce website. Here are some of them:

  • Complexity of design

Simple design appearance doesn't always mean it's cheaper to build than complicated interfaces. What designers and developers will charge can be based on whether your preferred design is easy or hard to build on your CMS.
 

Most custom web design costs start at $1,000 and could go upwards of $120,000 or more. It depends on the CMS and the experience of the designer.

  • eCommerce operation

From the landing page to payment methods, how you process the customer's orders will be a part of the costing considerations.
 

Project quotation can vary according to the number of pages, which the majority of eCommerce stores try to lessen despite having to list down many products.

  • Additional functionalities

When you need more functions not built-in with the eCommerce platform, such as a live chat feature, this can add costs to your custom eCommerce web design.
 

If you want interactive image displays or any function that will require custom coding, all these will also add up the pricing.
 

Despite the costs, you will also provide a better online shopping experience for your customers. The live chat will help engage visitors, and interactive eCommerce can attract more digital buyers.

  • Service fees to pay

A large part of the costs will be on the fees you need to pay for the professional web developer and graphic designer who will either create a design from scratch or modify your existing eCommerce templates.
 

Individuals and companies charge different prices when quoting for a custom eCommerce web design. Whether an agency, freelancing or third-party design firm, each vendor will have varying fees. It largely depends on the project details and experience of its staff.
 

Compare which provider can deliver based on your desired website design look while being economical at the same time.
 

To be more cost-effective, you can have design firms that allow you to have multiple designs and unlimited revisions. Among them is Delesign, with its selection of graphic designers who can create a custom eCommerce web design for your online store. Having design services take the design aspect will enable you to have more time to grow your business.