If your shop is dirty, what proportion of customers do you think will leave?
52%? 79%? 40%?
As I was getting ready to write this article, I recalled an incident from when I was house hunting many years ago.
I had been searching online and had found a few homes that had most of the features I was looking for. I forwarded the listing numbers to my realtor via email, and she scheduled showings for us at various times over the following few days. Yah!
One of the houses in particular piqued my interest. I was impressed by its exterior and eager to explore its interior.
Less is more in this case.
When my real estate agent and I first walked in, we saw…
That’s the extent of our progress, by the way. Just a moment’s glance through the threshold ruined the excitement for me.
Not only was it dirtier than a teenage boy’s room (or at least my own teenager’s room), but it also didn’t smell like freshly baked cookies from grandma’s oven.
Was I sidetracked by something that prevented me from locating my goal? Have I found anything that would make it unwise for me to proceed with my search of the house? Both questions can be answered with a resounding “yes,” haha.
How, then, do you think this knowledge should influence the online shop’s aesthetics?
Don’t give up!
What Do People Think of the Design?
Let’s take a look at some numbers:
Seventy-five percent of website visitors say they’ve formed opinions about a company’s reliability based on its design.
First impressions matter, and design accounts for 85% of them.
(Inspiration: Design Database)
Wow! Does this information alter your estimate of how many customers you think would leave your store if they perceived it to be “messy”? 52%? 79%? 40%?
Since I am a “visual” person, my immediate reaction was “it’s definitely 79%.”
So you can imagine my shock when I found out that the actual percentage is only 40%!
You’re absolutely right. Sixty percent of visitors don’t care if your site is disorganized. They’ll ignore that and keep on browsing!
Whaaaaat?!!
(Perhaps I would have benefited from doing the same thing in my own home search.)
So, what factors actually have the greatest effect on the visual appeal of an internet shop?
Having done extensive research, I have compiled a list of the top eight factors that contribute most to the quality of a user’s session.
If a website is mobile-friendly, visitors are more likely to return to it (74% likelihood).
In fact, Google reports that nearly half of all product searches now begin on a mobile device.
Advice for designers: think mobile first.
Optimize for speed, as 40% of visitors will click away after just 3 seconds.
Make it “responsive,” so that the content fits the user’s screen perfectly regardless of the size.
Facilitate access – Sort your items into understandable groups.
Make sure your website “responds” to the most popular mobile and desktop screen sizes.
If they don’t find what they need on the first website they visit, 79% of users will keep looking.
There’s not much you can do if you don’t have what they’re looking for in your product line. However, if your product is what they need, you can use this design trick to attract more customers.
In order to prevent customers from leaving your site, you should add a search bar and categorize your products.
Once on your homepage, 86% of customers are looking for product details.
A helpful design hint is to include images of different product types right on the store’s front page. Consider that you run a jewelry shop. Display jewelry like necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, best sellers, and more with clickable images on the homepage.
This will improve the aesthetics of your site and make it easier for visitors to navigate to the sections they’re interested in.
Put products or categories of products front and center on the homepage.
Users are more likely to scan a list with bullet points (70%) than a list without them (55%).
A helpful design hint is to make use of bullet point lists whenever possible, such as in product descriptions.
less time reading, more time remembering (haha)
More than two-thirds of users will abandon a form if it requires too much personal information, according to a recent survey.
A helpful design hint is to collect only the data absolutely necessary to fulfill an order. You can get along just fine without knowing the person’s sex, birthday, pet’s name, or number of toes.
Customers can easily add or change information about themselves at a later time if you provide them with access to a private section of your website.
In order to contact a company or a brand, 63% of people are open to the idea of using a chatbot.
Use a chatbot in your designs!! Potential customers who still have questions can be reached “instantly,” which is a great benefit.
Lack of trust logos caused 61% of customers to abandon their carts.
The trust logos should not be overlooked when designing. If you want your customers to feel comfortable entering their credit card information on your site, you should display trust signals such as Norton or McAfee security seals, as well as those for your SSL certificate and any payment or shipping methods you accept.
Provide easy access to your customer’s trust logo.
When asked what got in the way of a positive user experience, 54% said ads.
Use discretion when deciding where to place “ads” on your website. You shouldn’t bombard your customers with flashing banners and pop-up windows while they’re trying to shop.
You can also try to increase your average order value by implementing a ‘customers who bought this, also bought this’ or a ‘you may also like this’ feature on your site.
As a BONUS, I’ll give you the following details…
Slider content is ignored by all but 1% of viewers.
I get it, “they’re pretty,” “they let you display more content,” “they’re interactive,” and “so many online stores have them.” However, if only one percent of visitors are clicking on them, you may want to scrap the image slider concept in favor of a single static image to speed up page loads.
Increasing conversion rates through improved user experience design.
As we’ve seen, “design” encompasses a lot more than just a pretty color scheme and some pretty pictures. It’s all about making the user’s life easier. Forbes claims that a 20% increase in conversion rates can be achieved through improved UX design. Wow!
So, what should we do now?
Preparing Your Dropshipping Shop’s Layout and User Interface
Don’t worry if your nerves are on edge right now. Since I’ve been working as a web and graphic designer for over two decades, I understand how daunting it can be to create a site from scratch that prioritizes the user experience.
The good news is…
…you can buy some fantastic ‘themes,’ or premade layouts for your online shop, that are optimized from the get-go for both visual appeal and sales.
We’ll save the meaty recommendations and specifics for a later piece, but in the meantime, here are some places to start your research:
Conversion-optimized “Shop” theme.
https://shoptimized.net/theme/
What Factors Should You Consider When Creating Your Dropshipping Store’s Design?
Keep the following in mind as you examine themes:
- Have mobile users been given priority? How quickly does it load?
- Is there a search bar available?
- Can shoppers find what they need quickly and easily on your homepage?
- Is it simple to find what you need?
- Can I access a client portal?
- Is there a chat feature, number 6? Should I add one?
- Is it simple to spot credibility symbols?
- Is there too much going on visually?
The article has been read. I’m hoping you’ll find this data useful as you work to improve your site’s UX for visitors. Following our Facebook page will ensure that you are the first to know about any new developments in the world of dropshipping and online retail.
