Working on UX for e-commerce is an excellent strategy to achieve better sales performance. When we work on optimizing a website and focus on improving the customer experience, the user's purchase journey becomes shorter and easier.
UX, an abbreviation for User Experience, is the set of elements related to the user's experience within a web page, which can generate a negative or positive contact.
You may have attractive pages with persuasive copywriting and still not get good results because you are generating a negative experience for the user who enters your e-commerce site.
Bounce, which is the abandonment of the page immediately after access, may be happening in your online store due to some specific reasons, such as slow page and image loading, absence of buttons, absence of clickable elements and areas, among others.
So, in this content, we will show you what to do to optimize your online store and improve the customer experience, through UX elements for e-commerce. We've brought 5 steps for you to implement in your online store.
1 - Your E-commerce Layout
In an e-commerce site, a functional and attractive layout facilitates user navigation throughout the entire purchase path. It influences the comfort the user feels within the store, contributing to a good experience.
So, here are some UX tips for e-commerce regarding layout:
- The company's identity should be conveyed in the layout to generate identification with the brand;
- Define a maximum of 2 or 3 typographies on the pages, button styles, and icons. Also define the color palette (prioritizing the colors of the visual identity);
- Using too many visual resources is not always the best choice to attract users. Visual rest is also positive.
- Separate and highlight elements to guide the reader's eye.
2 - Interactive Elements that Make up the Store
When we talk about interactive elements, we are referring to everything that is clickable or should be (according to the user's behavior within the page).
Through a page analysis tool, you can identify if your site is behaving as expected, if the buttons are working correctly, if they are directing the user to the right place. Also, if images are opening, among others.
And there's another very important thing that a tool can identify: If there's a high rate of rage clicks, which are clicks users make repeatedly in non-clickable areas – frustration clicks.
Rage clicks show that your store is not behaving as expected by the user. These clicks may have been made on images, banners, titles, among other elements that those users believed were clickable to direct them to other environments.
You can solve this problem in your e-commerce by analyzing the customer journey and identifying which areas can be clickable/interactive, making the necessary adjustments for a positive customer experience.
3 - Loading Speed
Slowness in loading the main page, images, and links within the page needs to be resolved in your e-commerce. A slower loading speed reduces the bounce rate and increases page views. And then, you can make some optimizations.
Page Loading
Your page loading time should be less than 3 seconds. With 2 seconds being an average time. And 1 second or less, an excellent time. And to reduce this loading time for the user, you need to:
- Reduce the weight of your images (we'll talk more about this in the next topic);
- Improve server response time, which is tied to page loading time;
- Use the user's browser cache, so that it's not necessary to load everything again every time they visit;
- Avoid using HTTPS connection for all navigation, only using it when necessary, such as on the payment page;
- Avoid using tables for organizing information.
Image Loading
Always use reduced images. You can also set them to lazy load, deferring the loading of heavier elements until the end, or only when they enter the field of view. That is, postpone the initialization of the image until the point where it is actually needed, so this loading does not hinder the page loading.
4 - Navigation Simplification
Navigation simplification is achieved when you enable purchases on your e-commerce site with the fewest possible clicks. You can include some optimizations, such as:
- Product categories on the site to guide the consumer within your online store;
- Include a search button to facilitate purchases for customers who already enter the store looking for something specific;
- You can use breadcrumbs to allow the user to quickly identify which page they are on and the path they took to get there;
- And highlight contact buttons so that the user can more easily start a conversation with your team.
5 - Responsive Design for Mobile
Think about mobile even before thinking about the desktop format when implementing your e-commerce. This is because the mobile channel is only growing, so when we talk about UX for e-commerce, we always need to think about responsive design.
Your e-commerce needs to have a format that adapts to various screen sizes and devices, to serve consumers who prefer to shop on mobile devices.
Now you know how to optimize your online store and generate a better user experience through UX strategies for e-commerce.
To read more about UX Design, continue browsing our blog and discover other rich content that will help you a lot. And to implement these optimization strategies in your e-commerce, you can count on our help.
Click here and learn more about how we bring evolution and performance solutions to your online store!
