Don’t you wish you knew the secret to an ecommerce store that converts?
If you’ve been online selling for any length of time you know that beautiful products and competitive prices aren’t enough. Your web design plays a massive role in whether or not visitors buy.
A recent study found that 63% of shoppers are more likely to make a purchase from a “beautiful” ecommerce store, over a more basic, less well designed store.
These are the leading web design trends you need to implement today to increase sales on your store, almost overnight.
You’ll learn:
- Web Design Directly Impacts Your Bottom Line
- Mobile-First Design
- Speed Optimization That Converts
- Personalization and User Experience
- Strategic Design Elements to Increase Sales
Web Design Directly Impacts Your Bottom Line
Here’s a little-known fact that store owners don’t realize…
You only have about 0.05 seconds for a visitor to form a first impression of your store. In those 0.05 seconds they’re quickly scanning your site to judge credibility, trustworthiness and whether or not they want to buy from you.
It can get even worse for your bottom line.
If your site is slow, poorly designed, and not mobile-friendly, a website that has just a one-second delay will suffer a 7% reduction in conversions. For a store that sells $100,000 a year in revenue, that’s $7000 a year in lost revenue from 1 second.
It’s for these reasons that it’s worth the investment to find an experienced BigCommerce web design services to build your store. Premium custom web design for BigCommerce is an upfront investment that will generate additional revenue for years to come.
By the same token, if your store has confusing navigation, clunky checkout, or looks like it was built a decade ago, you’re going to lose customers.
Mobile-First Design
Guess what?
Mobile is no longer a trend in ecommerce. It’s a reality.
If you have a BigCommerce store that isn’t 100% mobile-optimized, you’re losing money right now. Mobile now accounts for over 60% of all website traffic.
That’s right. More than half of your potential customers are browsing your store on their phone. If your store is difficult to navigate, slow, or generally sub-par on a mobile device, you’re effectively losing over half of your traffic.
Mobile-first design means:
- Buttons and navigation touch friendly
- Pages load quickly even on 3G
- Checkout process is as frictionless as possible
- Responsive design that adjusts perfectly to any screen size
Stores that nail mobile design not only enjoy a greater percentage of traffic from mobile devices, but also much higher conversion rates on those mobile visitors.
Speed Optimization That Converts
Ready to find out the absolute fastest way to bring down your conversion rate?
Slow page speed. Full stop.
According to the most recent numbers, 53% of shoppers expect your site to load in under 2 seconds. If it takes 3 seconds or longer, then 40% of your audience will simply leave your site, never to return.
Speed optimization is a web design trend that provides immediate results. When you optimize:
- Images without sacrificing quality
- Code so that it’s minimal and runs smoothly
- Browser caching
- Lazy loading for all your content
Your site will not only perform better, but your visitors will spend more time browsing and ultimately make more purchases.
Here’s a secret: the faster your site loads, the better ranking it will get from Google.
Personalization and User Experience
This is where top BigCommerce web design services come in…
The best shoppers expect personalization. Homogenous, one-size-fits-all webstores just don’t fly anymore.
The webstores that are nailing it today are using smart design to create personalized journeys and experiences for each individual visitor.
Personalization includes:
- Product recommendations based on past browsing behavior
- Dynamic content that changes based on location
- Personalized search results
- Custom homepage layout and content for returning customers
The cream of the crop ecommerce websites anticipate exactly what shoppers need even before they know they need it. It’s why buying on their site feels so effortless.
Strategic Design Elements That Drive Sales
Let’s get tactical with specific web design elements that drive conversion…
High-Quality Product Photography
80% of shoppers say product images influence where they buy. Your product photography needs to be professional, shot from multiple angles, and allow users to zoom in on the details of each product.
Cheap product photography = you’re unprofessional, and your conversion rate will take a hit.
Strategic Use of Color
Color matters. One study showed that a red “Buy Now” button increased conversions on ecommerce sites by up to 34%.
But it’s not about just making all your buttons red. Color psychology plays a strong role in ecommerce design.
Clear Calls-to-Action
Sure this sounds like a no-brainer, but did you know that many stores do this wrong?
Your CTAs need to be:
- Visible, but not in-your-face
- Action oriented with clear benefit
- Placed thoughtfully at regular intervals through the page
- Consistent in design language throughout the site
Trust Signals and Social Proof
The modern shopper is inherently skeptical. They need to see lots of reassurance before they will hand over their credit card number.
Intelligent web design incorporates:
- Reviews prominently displayed
- Trust badges near checkout
- Clear return and shipping policy
- Real testimonials from verified customers, with photos
These elements combine to create the feeling of trust that a shopper needs to actually make a purchase.
Minimalist Design With Maximum Impact
One last trend that will never go out of style…
Minimalist design isn’t boring, it’s deliberate. Great BigCommerce sites use as much white space, clean typography, and simple navigation so that visitors can find what they want and purchase easily without being overwhelmed.
Less is more when it comes to:
- Navigation menu options
- Homepage content (focus on hero image and key categories)
- Product page design (declutter)
- Checkout steps (the fewer the better)
When you clean up all the visual noise, conversions will improve.
Interactive Elements and Micro-Animations
This is where things get fun…
Micro animations and interactive elements make your site feel modern and professional. We’re talking about:
- Hover effects for product images
- Smooth transitions between pages
- Animated cart “add to” button
- Checkout progress indicators
Micro-interactions are not just pretty. They give users visual feedback that the site is working and draws them in, while the buying process is happening.
However, micro-animations are best when subtle. Too much can weigh down your site, as well as distract from your ultimate goal: selling products.
Closing Thoughts
Web design trends are only valuable to the extent that they can increase conversions. They aren’t there to make your site look cool, trendy, or aligned with the times.
The stores that are making the most money have dialed in their web design so that it increases conversions to the maximum.
Implement these trends today, either yourself or by using BigCommerce web design services. Every day your store is under-optimized is a day you’re leaving money on the table.
Focus on mobile-first design, speed optimization, and strategic web design elements that instill trust and remove friction. Add personalization and clean minimalist design, and you have the top ecommerce website design trends that will continue to increase conversion rates and revenue year after year.
