Simple Web Design: The Missing Link in Your Ecommerce Business

Have you ever stopped to wonder how many e-commerce sites there are operating in the world?

Well, depending on where you get your statistics, there are anywhere between twelve million and twenty-four million eCommerce businesses across the globe! And e-commerce is still only growing — in 2019, eCommerce accounted for just over 14% of global retail sales, but experts estimate that 95% of purchases will be online via eCommerce by the year 2040!

With current events even further boosting the usage of online purchasing methods, it isn’t hard to believe that it could happen.

If you have an eCommerce business, these are encouraging statistics to hear. At the same time, however, the fact that there are so many businesses to compete with means that you’ll need to pull out all the stops with your site in order to stay ahead of the pack.

The key could be in as something as simple as your web design — simple web design, that is.

Simple web design has a lot of proponents in all areas, not just eCommerce. But there are specific upsides that could make all the difference to your site’s success. Let’s take a look at some of the perks of choosing a simple design for your eCommerce site.

Visual Appeal

Simplicity is popular for a lot of reasons, and not least of these is the aesthetic appeal. A simple design gives a site a classic, elegant tone. Judicious use of negative space allows plenty of room for the content to breathe and keeps your site from developing a cluttered, claustrophobic feel.

This extends to the layout of the site. As internet users, we like a certain format in a site, because it means that we can go into a new site and know what to expect. This doesn’t mean you can’t throw your own unique take into the design, but it does mean that certain layout features boost the visual appeal for your customers. For instance, including a simple e-commerce logo in the top left-hand corner, navigation across the top or on the left, and contact information and FAQs at the bottom of each page give familiarity to even a new website.

Color schemes also play a part in this, of course. A simple color scheme that allows your product photos and descriptions to be easily seen avoids unnecessary distraction.

Faster Loading Time

One of the main downsides of shopping online is the fact that it can take longer than expected. When we go into a store, we are immediately presented with all the possibilities. When we search through an eCommerce site, however, it can take some time.

There are a few sites that are notorious for slow loading times, especially when running a search, such as ThredUp.

Slow loading time is not only frustrating for your customers, but it can also actually cause them to back right out of your site — leading to a higher bounce rate, which in turn leads to a lower ranking on search engines.

Your load time is something that must be considered, especially if your site is image-heavy or has a lot of features. The more content that must be loaded, the slower the loading time is.

So stripping down your design and concentrating on the most important features, as well as keeping your homepage visuals to a minimum, will boost your loading rapidity and enhance the user experience.

Adaptability

Ecommerce sites are unique for their adaptability requirements. Regardless of what you’re selling, you’ll need to be able to upload new products, run advertisements for sales, and include calls to action and new marketing materials as needed. You may also need to provide a searchable menu and customizable content for your customer.

Because of these needs, simple designs are ideal for e-commerce site development. A simply designed site cuts out a lot of the bells and whistles that might otherwise interfere with adaptability. Rather than needing to confirm your changes to difficult or complicated site design, a simple site gives you what is basically a blank slate to work with, meaning that you can dress it up or dress it down as the occasion calls for it.

Overall Enhanced User Experience

The main objective that you want for your site visitor is to ensure that they can get what they need.  That’s good for you because you convert visitors into customers. It’s good for them because they enjoy their visit. And that makes it good for you again, because a satisfied customer is much more likely to return.

Keeping your site simple reduces distractions that could keep your visitor from following through on their purchase.

Simple web design is a great way to enhance the user experience. It ensures that your site is easy to navigate, loads quickly, offers searchability, provides adaptability, and is nice to look at. With eCommerce ever-changing and growing, a simple approach to your eCommerce web design is certain to help your business reach its true potential.