19 Essential Ecommerce Website Design Best Practices for 2024

Over 2.7 billion people will shop online in 2024. If you have an eCommerce brand and website, that is great news for you, right? Yes and no:

• Yes, having your own eCommerce website will give you access to a share of that pie
• But, in January 2024, the average conversion rate across eCommerce sites was only 1.88%
• That means most visitors to your site will leave without converting

If your eCommerce site is not optimized to deliver near-perfect user experiences (like all the major brands) your conversion rate is probably going to be way lower than the average.

Ecommerce Website Design Best Practices

In this article, we share 19 essential eCommerce website design best practices. Following them will ensure that your site’s conversion rates do not fall below the average:

1. User-Friendly Navigation

If users cannot find the products they need instantly on your site, what is the point of them being there? To ensure customers can easily find products on your site:

• Organize products logically
• List the most popular categories first
• Offer navigation by brand and category
• Include quick links to value sets and sales
• Test navigation thoroughly on mobile

2. Internal Site Search

To make your products even more ‘findable,’ design an internal site search function. Let users bypass navigation and find exactly what they want with this function:

• Make search visible on every page in familiar locations
• Put the search box in standard positions like top right, top center, or main menu
• Support all kinds of queries; allow searches for product names, categories, attributes, and customer service info
• Include sample queries in the input field
• Implement auto-complete functionality
• Allow sorting and filtering of results; let shoppers sort by best sellers, price, rating, newest items, etc.

3. Establish a Clear Brand Identity

Make your branding clear throughout the website. Doing so might not directly boost your conversion rates. But, consistent branding will help you build stronger relationships with shoppers over time:

• Choose colors that reflect your brand and set the right style for your products
• Ensure a consistent brand experience across all channels — online, in-store, and mobile, from first interaction to post-purchase
• Use the same tone of voice and messaging across all touchpoints
• Incorporate your brand’s unique personality into the design; for example, if your brand is playful, use bright colors and whimsical illustrations; if it is high-end, opt for classy typography and sleek imagery

If your site has content pages, use them to highlight your brand story and share the ‘why’ behind your brand. Let shoppers connect with your eCommerce brand on a deeper level.

4. Create a Clear Visual Hierarchy

• Do not push critical content down the page
• Keep the layout focused to guide users to what matters most
• Display the most important content above the fold
• Prioritize key information so users see it immediately

5. Keep It Simple

Keep the design simple. Too much variation can cause cognitive overload, hamper your site’s readability, and ruin the overall user experience:

• Limit the use of font styles, sizes, and colors
• Too many variations can make text look like graphics, confusing it with ads
• Use high-contrast text and background colors to ensure clarity
• Avoid jargon and keep all text straightforward
• Routinely A/B test every webpage and remove unnecessary elements and distractions
• Allow breathing room (whitespace) around elements to enhance focus
• Keep menus short and simple — no more than 7–8 items/links
• Stick to universally recognized icons to aid navigation and understanding
• Use simple notifications or animations to confirm user actions, nothing too fancy

6. Use Footer Navigation

Notice all that space at the bottom section of your eCommerce site? That is the ‘footer’

• Use your website’s footer to help customers find top products easily
• Include links to popular products, services, and essential information
• You can also use it to direct visitors to social media profiles, language options, featured products, etc.
• Make sure all the footer links load flawlessly

A solid, well-designed footer section will enhance the user experience, improve site navigation, and impress Google.

7. Add Product Videos

Most eCommerce platforms still use static images to showcase their products. Adding videos to your product pages can give your site an edge:

• Use short, high-definition product videos to showcase product features
• Demonstrate how to use the products as well
• Ensure videos are mobile-friendly and load quickly
• Optimize video titles, descriptions, and tags for SEO
• Offer videos in multiple languages

Routinely analyze your product videos’ engagement metrics. It’ll help you identify popular products and refine your videos even more.

8. Only Use Popular Symbols

Stick to standard symbols that users are accustomed to seeing, such as a shopping cart for adding items or a magnifying glass for search. If you do use unique symbols in a few micro-interactions or features, use them minimally. Provide clear labels to explain their functions.

9. Avoid Popups

Most website visitors hate popups (over 82%) because they are interruptive and poorly designed. Can popups be better designed? Yes. Is it worth the effort? No.

• Even if you design your popups to be informative and fast-loading, most users will dismiss them right away
• Instead of popups, consider using inline messages or page banners that are less intrusive and easier to access

10. Add Product Quick-View

A ‘quick-view’ feature will help your shoppers find the right product faster. The idea is to eliminate unnecessary page loads by displaying product details in a modal window over the current page:

• Use a modal window to show product details without navigating away from the main page
• Make sure the window overlays the current content for easy access
• Include essential details like the product name, price, and description (brief) in the quick-view
• Add a clear link to the full product page for shoppers who want more details
• The ‘Add to Cart’ button should also be easily visible in the quick-view
• Add a ‘Save to Wishlist’ option (to allow users to bookmark items for later) to the window as well

By implementing a product quick-view, you reduce page loads and help your shoppers make quicker purchasing decisions.

11. Special Offers

Shoppers are always on the lookout for special offers and discounts. To give them what they want and make them feel like they are getting better deals:

• Place banners or pop-ups on your homepage and product pages to highlight current offers
• Personalize offers based on customer behavior
• Make it easy for customers to apply discounts at checkout
• Clearly outline the conditions of your offers; avoid ambiguity to prevent cart abandonment

Always track the effectiveness of your special offers to refine future promotions.

12. High-Quality Product Images

Not every visitor will watch your product videos. But, they still want to touch, feel, and try out the products. That is why, using high-quality product images in the right way is so vital:

• Use a white background to make the product images ‘pop out’
• Use high-quality, large images; visitors should be able to zoom in and closely examine the products
• Invest in professional photography to get such images
• Display the product from several different angles and include close-ups
• A 360-degree view with VR features would be even more engaging
• If budget constraints exist, consider using a good camera and lighting setup to take your own photos.
• Encourage customers to share photos of products they’ve purchased in the review section

Use fast-loading formats like JPEG for photos and PNG for graphics to maintain fast load times.

13. User Reviews

46% of US-based online shoppers rely on peer recommendations to make purchases. Make sure these recommendations are available on your site:

• Design a dynamic content carousel featuring user reviews across your product pages
• Integrate a few testimonials into the user journey, especially at key conversion points (e.g., while a user is reading product descriptions)
• Allow customers to add photos and videos (small files only) to their reviews

14. Clear Return Policy

If your brand offers a generous return policy, advertise it front and center. Place it on your homepage and all product pages.

15. FAQs

A ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ (FAQs) section is a ‘must-have’ for your eCommerce store:

• Gather data from customer inquiries, social media, reviews, etc. to determine the FAQs
• Group related questions into categories (pre-sales questions, shipping-related inquiries, etc.)
• Write clear answers, use simple language, and avoid jargon
• Place the FAQs link prominently in the footer or the main navigation menu.

16. Create Urgency

To create a sense of urgency in the sales process:

• Display the quantity of products left in stock, especially for high-demand products
• If certain sizes or colors are unavailable, cross them out on the product page
• Display sale end dates clearly
• Show countdown timers on all limited-time offers
• Show related products whenever customers add an item to their carts

17. Shopping Cart Design

Design a user-friendly shopping cart that encourages purchases:

• Make the shopping cart and checkout buttons the primary focuses on the product pages
• Use bright colors and simple language to ensure these design elements always stand out
• Confirm immediately whenever a product is added to the cart with clear visual cues
• Allow shoppers to add items without leaving the page
• Show essential info like product names, images, sizes, colors, and prices in the cart.
• Make the cart easily editable

Do not forget to display shipping and tax estimates upfront in the shopping cart section to reduce cart abandonment risk.

18. Checkout Design

The real measure of eCommerce success is the number of completed purchases you secure every hour. To create an effective checkout page that meets this measure:

• Offer as many payment options as possible
• Minimize the number of fields/steps required to finalize a purchase
• Use the shipping address as the billing address by default.
• Do not force customers to create an account before their first purchase
• Allow them to register after completing their order
• Implement single sign-on (SSO) to help users create accounts and log in quickly using their existing Google, Microsoft, or Apple accounts
• If you are using a multi-page checkout, include a progress bar to show how many steps are left

19. Optimize for Mobile

Lastly and most importantly, optimize your eCommerce site for mobile:

• On average, US mobile phone users will spend just 3+ hours per day on their phones in 2024
• In 2024, 44.6% of all retail ecommerce in the US will be done on mobile
• The figures are similar worldwide, especially in places that have 5G

To target this large user segment, go mobile-first. Team up with professionals who specialize in mobile-first eCommerce UI/UX design services. These pros will make your site ultra-responsive and optimized for touchscreen use.

Conclusion

Follow these best practices to give your eCommerce website the best chance of success this year and beyond!