April 2018

E-commerce has changed a lot in the last few years.

Today, thousands of businesses sell their products via the Internet and that means there’s more competition to deal with.

So, standing out isn’t just a philosophy or motivational idea. If you want to survive in the world of e-commerce, you actually need to stand out in the truest sense of the term.

E-commerce sales across the globe are predicted to touch $4.5 trillion in the next 3 years, according to figures provided by Statista.

So, in a world where sales are determined by the individual from the comfort of his/her own home, it is necessary to make sure your content is captivating.

But, what’s equally important is how you present that content. Online purchases are executed through e-commerce sites and if you want people to keep coming back, you need to make sure your site is designed to offer the best experience possible.

Here are some of the web design trends that will likely determine e-commerce success in 2018.

Use the story approach

One way to captivate a customer’s attention is to tell a story about your brand. Now, you can actually incorporate that tactic into web design. You see, customers engage with businesses that they can identify with. So, it’s necessary that you create that perception.

One of the first things to do when developing your website is to focus on the products that you’re selling. After all, that’s what customers want from you. But, a lot of e-commerce operators make the mistake of focusing on the history of the site itself. So, avoid placing too much emphasis on the personal story.

Remind yourself that it’s the site’s usability and the products that ultimately lead to an increase in revenue.

But, this doesn’t mean you have to completely avoid the story. The idea is to keep things simple. For instance, use a simple layout and allow the customer to dig up information naturally. According to experts, the best websites always keep things simple on the main pages and force customers, in a very subtle way, to deep dive for more details.

There are many “short and sweet” strategies you can use to communicate your brand without hogging too much of the limelight. For instance, Justin Shaw, the founder of One & Zero, believes that all information about the business or brand must be communicated immediately above the fold.

Become mobile-friendly

Around 80% of e-commerce patrons use mobile phones and in 2018, we will be seeing mobile account for about 27% of all retail sales. So, it’s obvious that, sooner than later, your customers are going to go completely mobile. Every time a new customer interacts with your site, you can be fairly sure that it’s going to be done via a mobile device.

It’s clear now that you need to start focusing on responsive web design. Your site needs to be equally good on mobile devices and desktops. It needs to be functional and appealing on mobile, just as it is on desktop devices.

The keyword here is “responsive”. We aren’t suggesting that you go mobile completely. Keep it responsive because customers still prefer to use the desktop for actual purchases. It’s mainly their initial interactions that are exclusive to mobile devices. So, you need a double-edged sword kind of strategy.

The online shopping experience is the primary component in determining satisfaction. However, if you can afford to have separate sites, it isn’t a bad idea to go ahead with that strategy. But, opting for the responsive design option is far more financially sensible, especially if you’re a small business.

Keep it simple

A simple and intuitive design is what positively impacts customer engagement and eventually generates better sales figures. So, adding white space, limiting the content to just a few key pages, and adding more images instead of text can go a long way in boosting the overall simplicity of the website.

There is no need for things that are not relevant to the overall objectives of the site. If you think something is a bit too much or unnecessary, it most likely is.

Simple designs that boost ease of use and offer a memorable experience are far better than designs that boast aesthetic value but end up being complex in terms of operation. Never add components that compromise on usability; no matter how aesthetically pleasing they are.

Always aim for function over form if you can’t strike the right balance. It’s much safer to do this than to choose form over function. In fact, adding too many components can actually end up crowding your pages and even distracting users from key elements.

For instance, live chat pop-ups can be very useful if your site wants to engage with customers. However, if constant engagement isn’t a necessity, you can avoid using such pop-ups.

Many websites fail to actually benefit from such chat pop-ups. Before implementing such features, they need to make sure their audience wants it.

Use original images

Images are a core part of an e-commerce site’s appeal. After all, customers need to have high-quality images to determine if the product they’re buying is worth the investment. So, use high-quality images. But, more importantly, avoid using stock images.

It’s better to always use your own images. You can simply outsource the task to professionals or hire one of your own.

Original, high-quality images can do a lot for your e-commerce site.

Use high-quality content

Once again, the attention is on content as always. 2018 isn’t going to be any different with regard to content. Content is how customers learn about your product and make purchase decisions. So, start incorporating blogs, images, and social media posts.

The content must be relevant to the user. Avoid focusing on content that is business-oriented. This doesn’t work in a B2C environment. The average customer is only interested in the product. The cold hard truth is that they are almost apathetic to your business.

So, instead of focusing on why your e-commerce business is great, focus on why what you’re selling is great.

For all your e-commerce web design needs, get in touch with Crafted, one of NYC’s top-ranked digital agencies.

We all know just how important responsive web design is.

There are plenty of statistics to support this. For instance, 57% of users on the Internet will not recommend a website that possesses poor design on mobile screens.

In other words, if your website isn’t optimized for mobile devices, you’re likely to lose more than half your prospects. Needless to say, this makes it very clear as to just how important responsive design is.

But, it isn’t enough to just jump onto the responsive web design bandwagon. You see, like most other things, responsive design isn’t a constant. It evolves and changes. You need to make sure you’re updated about those changes in orders to keep staying relevant in the market.

You simply can’t afford to get lazy in today’s highly competitive landscape. So, it’s best to know what’s happening around. Keeping in line with this sentiment, we’ve listed out a few responsive web design practices that are likely to be a big deal in 2018 and further.

Take a look and implement the ones that apply to your site the most.

An uptick in micro-interactions

One of the most interesting things that experts have taken note of this year is the growing use of micro-interactions. If you’re wondering what they are, let us explain – micro-interactions are variables in a design that make it possible for the user to interact with a web page without having to reload it time and again.

A good example of this would be the whole Facebook reactions thing. These are features that have been added to indicate a response to the post. You have multiple reactions to choose from, ranging from a simple like to laughter.

But, here’s the thing – when you react to the post, does anything get altered? Well, not at all. The post stays the same.

These are called micro-interactions and they will soon become key components in the user experience mix. In fact, it has been predicted that 2018 will be the year where they gain mainstream attention.

Improve your mobile IQ

Mobile designs have come a long way in terms of the coverage they receive amongst mainstream media. Everybody is talking about them and journalists want more attention focused on all things mobile. This is simply due to the fact that most of the online traffic today originates from mobile devices.

But, here’s the thing – you need to separate apps from websites. The responsive design of apps isn’t the same as the responsive design of websites. However, there’s a good chance you might end up working on both of them under certain circumstances.

At this time, what you need to remember is that apps may have components that are identical to what you might use for a website. But, certain semantics will not go down very well in terms of responsive web design. For example, A/B Testing for apps is very different than A/B testing for websites.

Innovative grids

We have seen trends where certain grid-based designs were all the rage. For example, we had 12-unit grids, common column amount grids, and the rule of thirds. However, to keep people interested, you need to get their attention in a more subconscious manner.

Grid layouts can be helpful with regard to this. They can maintain the site’s aesthetic value while making it possible for you to incorporate as much uniqueness as possible. This is mainly achieved through various methods of page organization. For instance, you can experiment with column combinations that aren’t too common or even experiment with the white space. You can also play around with the CSS grid; identify new ways to organize pages.

Smart typography

Focus on using a typeface that fits your responsive pages. For example, your desktop site may work best with Helvetica 24 pt. However, the same may not be true for the mobile versions. So, try something else. Maybe Arial is better suited for smaller screens.

There are fonts that do well on a large screen while others perform better on a mobile screen. This is because fonts are inherently designed to appear the way they should, that is, large or small. So, using appropriate fonts based on the screen size makes things far more effective.

However, be careful. You might end up disturbing the aesthetics and even pushing out certain texts. This is where textual hierarchy can be leveraged. Play around with sizes to offer a better experience.

Keep it vibrant

When it comes to colors, the latest trend is to keep things as vibrant a possible. Experts from companies such as Elegant Themes agree that 2018 and onward will be a period of vibrancy. Vibrant colors are what most designers are going to experiment with.

Creative Bloq also published a blog on Flat Design 2.0 and the recent shift towards creating gradients using vibrant colors. It is believed that this is something we’ll be seeing a lot of.

Vibrant colors were rarely relied on in the past due to the simple fact that most mobile screens weren’t up to the task of reproducing them properly. However, that’s not the case anymore. Smartphones have really changed the game and offer several advancements that make design experimentation almost limitless.

Plus, the screens on mobile phones today have evolved greatly, almost eliminating the differences they possess in comparison to larger desktop screens. So, content on smaller screens today is just as effective as it is on larger screens.

So, there you have it – the latest trends in responsive web design. Now, it’s not necessary to actually apply all of them. The key is to experiment and find out what works best for your market. So, some due diligence is required before you simply incorporate these ideas.

Take the time to understand how your market could react to such changes. There’s a slight chance that the industry you’re in and the market you cater to might not respond favorably. So, look for other innovative options.

But, having said that, what we’ve just discussed is likely to work for most businesses as these are the current trends.

For all your responsive web design needs, get in touch with Crafted, one of NYC’s top-ranked digital agencies.

Month: April 2018

Web Design Trends Set to Impact E-Commerce in 2018