What makes a good e-commerce website? Best practices & examples.

Good e-commerce website design is about more than simply displaying your products. The best online stores provide a standout shopping experience.

They support every aspect of your retail business, from sales to repeat custom to marketing. They do more of the hard work for you, ensuring high conversion rates and lots of happy customers.

Here, we take a look at the principles to bear in mind when designing an e-commerce website (or working with an e-commerce web designer). We’ll be exploring best practices and looking at some examples of excellent e-commerce web design too.

22 e-commerce website best practices

Want to get the best from your e-commerce website? Then follow these e-commerce website best practices when designing, developing and maintaining your site.

Recognisable branding

Good e-commerce websites have distinctive branding. They stand out from other competitors in the industry and create an emotional connection with users. As a result, users are more likely to remember your brand and website, which means they’re more likely to return.

Responsive design

69% of UK consumers use their smartphones when shopping online. So your online store should look as good on a smartphone screen as it does on a tablet or desktop device. For this, you need responsive design. Pages automatically rearrange to fit a user’s screen, so it’s easy for them to navigate, browse products, click and checkout.

Accessibility

Next on our list of e-commerce site best practices is accessibility. When you build an accessible website you ensure that everyone — no matter their ability — can access your site and shop with you.

Key accessibility features include the right colour contrast, video captions and image alt text. Users should also be able to interact with your website in their preferred way, whether that’s via text-to-speech, voice recognition or keyboard navigation functions.

Clear calls to action

Whether users want to view your products, add a product to their cart, check out or sign up for your email newsletter, it should be obvious how they take that next step in their customer journey.

Well-designed call to action (CTA) buttons guide them in the right direction. So create CTAs with bold colours that stand out on the web page. And include compelling copy that persuades users to click.

Fast site speeds

Internet users expect super-fast website speeds — particularly when they’re shopping online. Ideally, pages should load in a maximum of two to three seconds.

The speed of your website comes down to a couple of different factors. These include your hosting provider and setup, the quality of your website code and the number of plugins you’re using.

Quick links to delivery and returns options

Don’t hide essential information away from users. They’re more likely to shop with you when they can find delivery and return information easily. Put links in your website footer and include details (or links) on your product pages so customers know exactly what to expect.

High quality images

We get it. The costs associated with your e-commerce website and business can quickly mount up. But — whatever you do — don’t be tempted to skimp on website images when designing for e-commerce. You need professional photographs, including high-quality product photos and lifestyle shots that show your products in use.

Reviews

Another e-commerce website best practice? Including customer reviews — of your brand and individual products. These reviews act as social proof. Customers see that other people have bought and (hopefully) liked your products. This makes them more likely to buy your products too.

User-generated content

User-generated content is another type of social proof. Encourage customers to show off their purchases online, using a branded hashtag. You can then collect and publish these posts on your own home and product pages, giving browsing customers even more reassurance that your products are popular.

Trust signals

Good e-commerce website design incorporates trust signals at key points throughout the user journey, giving customers the reassurance they need to shop with you. Social proof is a type of trust signal.

Other examples include company contact details, product guarantees and security badges. Do everything you can to show you’re running a reputable, secure website — and that you’re a brand that cares about quality and customer service. It’ll improve your conversion rate.

Personalisation and AI-powered recommendations

The best e-commerce site designs offer personalised, streamlined experiences. One way they do this is by using user behaviour data to provide tailored recommendations.

For example, they may upsell products based on the product a shopper has just been looking at. Or they may provide quick links to the products a user has viewed most recently.

Comprehensive product pages

When designing an e-commerce website, follow product page best practices. That means writing detailed product descriptions that describe the benefits and features of each product in an easy-to-digest format.

You can enhance product pages with features like website video, going beyond static images to showcase your products from all angles. Scarcity and urgency tactics are also useful at this point in the customer journey.

An easy checkout process

Checkout is another crucial part of any good e-commerce website. A seamless checkout experience leads to more sales and more happy customers, whereas a clunky or frustrating checkout means a high proportion of abandoned carts.

So try to follow e-commerce checkout best practices. This includes minimal design, with no distractions. It also means providing the utmost convenience, allowing users to checkout as a guest, providing a variety of payment options and ensuring users can complete the process in as few clicks as possible.

Zero clutter

It’s easy for e-commerce websites to end up looking cluttered. A page full of products — with photos, prices and product names — can feel overwhelming for users. You can avoid this by incorporating white space and minimal design principles into your e-commerce design.

Easy navigation

Users should be able to find what they’re looking for on your e-commerce website in seconds. Otherwise, they’re liable to leave. That means creating simple, easy-to-understand navigation menus. It also means including product categories and filters that reflect how your users tend to shop.

You can use breadcrumb menus too. These help users understand where they are within your website architecture and make it easy for them to navigate back to a previous section of your site.

Product sort function

Customers use your category and filter options to narrow down the product selection. But you can give them even greater control over their website experience. Allow customers to view your cheapest products or newest products with ease by giving them the option to sort products according to their chosen criteria.

A strong SEO strategy

If you’re not attracting organic traffic, you’re missing out on new customers and increased sales. So ensure your site can be found on Google and other search engines by implementing a strong SEO strategy.

That starts with solid SEO website design, the right website architecture and SEO-friendly coding. It then requires fresh website content, optimised for SEO with relevant keywords.

Answers to customer FAQs

Another top tip when designing for e-commerce? Create an FAQ page and link to it from the footer of your e-commerce website. This page will help customers make informed decisions and prevent them from leaving your site due to a lack of brand, product or purchase process knowledge.

Marketing tools

A good e-commerce website supports your marketing efforts. It allows for the capture of user email addresses via a user opt-in form so you can develop an email marketing strategy. It also features links to your social media profiles and includes landing pages related to specific advertising campaigns.

An engaging hero section

The first thing a user sees when they land on your homepage is the hero section. This is the part of your website that sits above the fold (ATF) — the part of the page a user can see without scrolling.

The hero section should inspire your customers. You can use this space to highlight discounts and special offers. Or to share a spectacular lifestyle shot that conveys what your brand is all about.

A comprehensive search function

Sometimes shoppers know exactly what they’re looking for. For these decisive customers, you need a search bar. Here, they can enter the product they’re interested in and your website will provide a list of relevant results.

The best search facilities account for misspellings and the many different ways a user might choose to describe a product. A customer shouldn’t have to get the product name exactly right in order to find what they’re looking for via search.

Regular updates and maintenance

Regularly conduct an e-commerce website health check. Broken links can cause user experience and SEO problems. This is a common issue for e-commerce websites, where product pages can quickly become outdated or irrelevant. By regularly running a website audit, you can identify and fix errors before they cause problems for customers.

Good e-commerce website design: 6 examples

Let’s see some of these e-commerce website best practices in action. Here are six examples of good e-commerce web design that you can use as inspiration for your own online store.

Joanie

Joanie’s product pages are packed with information, including product details, garment care advice and delivery and returns info.

It’s easy for customers to choose a size and a pattern. There’s a big, obvious “Add to Bag” button. More information is available via a “View Size Guide” link and — if you scroll further down the page — there are personalised product recommendations and images of real-life customers wearing this particular dress.

MJ Supplies

MJ Supplies is an online hardware store that specialises in paints and painting equipment. The brand’s e-commerce website features a hero section. Here, users get an introduction to the company’s reliable, professional, no-nonsense brand personality.

Elsewhere on the site, you’ll find features that make life easy for customers, including a mega menu that ensures products are only ever one click away — and a colour swatch tool that helps customers explore the range of colours available.

Seven Brothers

Users are unlikely to become overwhelmed as they browse through the Seven Brothers Brewery product offering because they’re treated to a simple and satisfying user experience.

Product images are minimalist and — thanks to a thoughtful touch — customers can hover over an image to see the colour of each beer when poured. Essential information about price and alcohol content is listed clearly. And the “Buy Now” button stands out a mile.

Pont Packaging

Pont Packaging is a B2B brand that sells product packaging for food, beverage, pharma, and personal care businesses. They tasked us with designing and building their new e-commerce website.

This company offers a huge range of products. So we made it super easy for customers to find what they need with extensive filter and category options. Customers can search by packaging material, style of closure or industry. Filters include capacity, neck finish and colour.

Perfume Click

The Perfume Click e-commerce website is another of our designs. On its homepage, you can see plenty of trust signals including a Trustpilot star rating and company contact details.

A few of the brand’s unique selling points (USPs) — including next-day delivery and free delivery on orders over £50 — are clearly visible. And the brand’s fun and approachable personality is clear from the hero image, which is used to encourage email newsletter sign-ups.

Moda

Moda is a garden furniture company. Head to the brand’s homepage and, as you hover over the menu bar, a mega menu appears. Here, product categories are organised logically, in short lists, making it easy for customers to find what they’re looking for.

Contact details and a product search bar are also visible at the top of the homepage. And users can see quick links to their account and basket.

What good e-commerce web design does for your business

A great website is the foundation of any business. But when you’re selling online, it’s particularly important. Your website can make or break the customer experience.

Put time and effort into the design and development of your e-commerce website — incorporating the e-commerce site best practices above — and you get the best possible business results. Which means you can count on all the following.

Unbeatable customer experience

A well-designed e-commerce website makes browsing and buying easy for your customers. They can find what they’re looking for and navigate to relevant parts of your website in just a few clicks.

Sky-high customer loyalty

The best e-commerce web design has distinctive branding. This — along with an exceptional user experience — encourages users to like and remember your brand. As a result, you build customer loyalty and get more repeat customers.

Maximum conversions

When your site is easy to use, you improve your e-commerce conversion rate. Users want fast, convenient online experiences. Provide friction-free shopping and they’re much more likely to buy.

Get an e-commerce website that works hard for your business

The best e-commerce web design creates a seamless and memorable user experience. It introduces customers to your brand, gives users all the information they need and helps them to browse and buy with ease.

Inspired by the examples above? Then get an e-commerce website that drives customer loyalty and conversions with Radical.

Our web design and development company is experienced at putting e-commerce website best practices into action. The Radical team works with you to understand your business, competitors and customers. Then, we build a cutting-edge website that helps you get seen and make sales online.

Get in touch with the Radical team today to chat about your e-commerce website project.