Designing for e-Commerce

How often have you called customer support after having problems with your online check out process? Probably never.  How many times have you changed your mind just before hitting the purchase button? Probably quite a few times.  Is it because you no longer want the goods or because you’re wondering: “is this a genuine site?”  “will the goods really be delivered?” or “is it a scam like the one I saw on Today Tonight!?”?

The percentage of people that pull out of their online purchase before they make it to the checkout is proximately 60%. Convincing customers to trust a site may be a web designers’ biggest challenge.

Here are some key things to think about when designing your next e-Commerce site:

Build brand loyalty: Brand loyalty will make your customers feel safe.

Design for your key demographic: If your key demographic is males aged 45 -65, your site should look and feel quite different than if your demographic is teenage girls aged 16-19.

Product detail: Users will spend the majority of their time on this page; make it as informative, user friendly and attractive as your homepage.

Checkout: Make sure you include all of the product information on the checkout page; users want to be assured they are buying the product they selected.

Security: Keep your users feeling safe. Using security symbols such as ‘Verisign’ throughout the site is good as well as offering a safe paying option such as ‘Paypal’.