Good design is key to making life easier, customers happier and a return on investment greater. A bad design has the opposite effect. It creates unnecessary stress and frustration, plus it wastes valuable time. With so many e-commerce sites on the web, you certainly don’t want your customers to have a negative experience when they visit your site. You want a good design that leaves them feeling positive and eager to return.
Let’s take a look at a few e-commerce web design trends that we can expect to see in 2015 that will keep you ahead of the curves – and your customers loving you!
Flat Design
Flat design isn’t anything new, but it’s becoming increasingly popular thanks to its simple design that keeps buyers on track without distracting them with a busy background. Flat design is easy to understand, easy to navigate and pleasing to the eye. There is room to add some customization in order to bring some text and images to the forefront.
For instance, you can easily integrate call to action buttons that look slightly different than the rest of the text. Drop shadows can also be implemented in a flat design, bringing an element to the front of the screen without it looking like it’s lost in a different realm. Expect this ‘less is more’ trend to continue in 2015.
Tiled Navigation
One thing that you’ll be seeing more of in 2015 is tiled navigation. Since images are more compelling than text boxes, e-commerce sites are implementing previews in the form of tiles. These tiles take the place of lists and reduce the possibility that a shopper will get lost on the site – and not return to make the purchase.
With tiled navigation, shoppers are able to click through high-resolution photos and be entertained. They will even have the option to download free content or make a purchase without leaving your site. The goal is to create a more hands-on experience that rivals shopping in a store.
Micro UX/Transitions
If you can make the online shopping experience fun and rewarding, you’ve nailed what all e-commerce sites are set out to do. But how do you make this happen? One way to do this is by incorporating micro UX effects and transitions to create a more memorable shopping experience. Plus, this will set your brand apart from the competition and give your site personality, something that many e-commerce sites lack.
Ideas include having the colors of the navigation bar change when a user hovers over it, outlining paths for buyers to take and including enlarged product images when hovering over smaller images. Animations are also a bonus. Use micro UX effects and transitions to keep buyers engaged and give your store a fresh, modern feel.
Device-Agnostic
Your e-commerce site should function well on all devices, a term referred to by Trent Walton as ‘device-agnostic.’ The web design should account for screen resolution combinations, input methods, browser capabilities and connection speeds so that each customer, regardless of which device they are on, will enjoy a seamless experience.
