Ecommerce has been a consistently growing presence in retail sales, but 2020 saw a massive increase with Ecommerce growing 44 percent over 2019 sales… Of course, COVID-19 was responsible for much of this growth, but even as the world has re-opened, we’re still relying on Ecommerce in 2022 to deliver our groceries, pet products, and everything else we need. But while online sales are increasing, so is competition, and your website has to stand out while providing an outstanding customer experience. To help you make that happen, the team at Digital Excellence is sharing the seven best Ecommerce web design trends for 2022.
Nail the Basics of Ecommerce Web Design
Before you start implementing the trends we’re listing below, you need to have a strong foundation in place so customers can easily find and shop your store. Run an audit on your website to make sure you’re nailing these basics:
Responsive Design
With over 50 percent of Ecommerce sales coming from mobile devices, if your shop doesn’t offer easy use on a phone or tablet, you’re going to lose customers. A responsive design facilitates sales by fitting any screen size and offering the full functionality of your website whether a customer is on a phone, tablet, or laptop. Ask people you trust to shop your website from their mobile devices and ask them to tell you about their experiences.
Clean Navigation
Intuitive navigation provides your customers with a clear path to purchase. They can easily find what they need with just a few clicks from the home page while also getting to browse your product selection. Confusing layouts and having to use the back button after hitting a dead end will cause a visitor to back all the way out of your website and to a competitor. Again, getting opinions from people you trust are an excellent way to see if you need to improve or update your layout.
Simple, Secure Checkout
The checkout page is where more websites lose visitors, and often this is due to an overly complicated checkout process or one that doesn’t feel secure with the payment information. Just like you want a clean, intuitive navigation, you want an intuitive checkout experience that requires minimal information and avoids having the customer navigate several pages to complete the checkout. For security, get an SSL certificate that encrypts any data transferred between your website and the customer’s device.
SEO Basics
Make sure your website is optimized for search engines so people who are looking for your products can easily find your store on Google and other platforms. Making simple additions, such as adding a meta title and meta description to your home page, adding targeted keywords to your home page and product pages, and making sure your website is mobile friendly. Check out search engine optimization Chrome extensions that can help you improve your site as well as our list of top SEO experts and top Ecommerce marketers for easy-to-apply tips.
Top 7 Ecommerce Design Trends for 2022
With a solid foundation for your online store in place, let’s look at our five favorite Ecommerce design trends for 2022 that don’t just look good, they’ll provide a better customer experience!
1. Augmented Reality
Customers want to know how a product they’re buying will work in their real life, and while images and product dimensions can help, they don’t tell the whole story. Using augmented reality (AR) allows the customer to see how the product works in the real world, whether it’s how a couch will fit into a space or how a lipstick shade will look when you wear it. It doesn’t just look fantastic, this technology improves engagement, increases buyer engagement, and reduces returns.
2. Chatbots
Consumers want a personalized shopping experience, but how is this possible with online shopping? Artificial intelligence, specifically chatbots, can do much of the heavy lifting for you. Chatbots offer real-time, 24/7 customer support and are programmed to pick up customer cues and preferences in the conversation, so they can solve problems and help customers find what they need. Today, they’re even going a step further by using more natural conversation, providing personal recommendations, and building brand loyalty.
3. Minimalism with a Kick
Customers and Ecommerce store owners generally love minimalist web design. Not only is it more aesthetically pleasing to most people, but the clean layout directs visitors to exactly where you want their eyes to go. While minimalist web design is nothing new, for years, it’s been steeped in black, white, and gray with sans-serif font, but 2022 is bringing an updated minimalism with vibrant, bold colors, including turquoise, orange, and pink, as well as large images and more original looks so a brand can still stand out.
4. Warm Neutral Backgrounds
If vibrant and bold doesn’t suit your brand, don’t worry, neutral backgrounds are also very much on trend. Instead of black, white, and gray, the move is to richer, warm neutrals and earth tones, including shades of soft yellow, cream, sand, and taupe and monochromatic color schemes within those tones.
5. Interactive Design
Interactive features on an Ecommerce website don’t just look good. Functions and features that respond to your customers’ actions or support them along their journey keeps them engaged and improves sales. Interactive design can be as simple or complex as you want it to be, and include:
- Micro-interactions such as an icon on your website that grows or changes shape or color when a visitor scrolls over it.
- Parallax scrolling, in which the foreground moves more quickly than the background, creates depth and allows the foreground to stand out and make a big impact, plus, it’s a great way to tell your story in a larger format.
- Animation of your product in action or for page transitions.
- Recommendation quizzes that provide a more personalized experience.
6. Multidirectional or Unconventional Layouts
While Ecommerce web design has traditionally only used a vertical layout, we’re seeing a move toward multidirectional grids. This layout allows visitors to scroll up, down, left, right, and even diagonally, creating a more interesting and intuitive interaction.
Dark Mode
As high-traffic websites and social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit all adopt a dark mode, Ecommerce websites are following suit. This option makes it possible to shift from a dark background to light depending on both user preference and environment and allows visitors to your website to reduce eye strain for a more comfortable browsing experience. While most online store owners worry that their products won’t be appealing in dark mode, you may consider updating product photographs and site elements to work with both dark and traditional modes to meet the demand.
Use the Latest Ecommerce Web Design Trends to Update Your Online Store
Adding elements to your online store that increase engagement and improve the customer experience are a great way to increase sales and build loyalty. Which trends are you most excited about? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
