Designing an e-commerce website for your small business that converts

When it comes to selling online, having a great website is more important than you might think. Sure, you can encourage people to DM you to purchase something, but there are potential customers out there that would rather visit your website, browse your products, and silently make a purchase.

Having a website for your e-commerce business is all about making the browsing and buying process as easy as possible for users. Removing as many barriers as possible will always result in more sales. 

Now that you know you need a great website, what are the components of an e-commerce website that make it great? Let’s dive right in!

1. Clear navigation

Have you ever been to a restaurant and been completely overwhelmed by the options on the 12-page menu? Creating a menu with limited options helps mitigate choice paralysis, and this applies to your website navigation (or menu) as well. 

Standard navigation for a product-based website typically looks like this: 

• Shop

  • Product categories, ie:

  • Summer Collection

  • Drinkware

  • Stationery

  • Accessories

  • FAQ

• Wholesale

  • Make it very obvious that you offer wholesale by putting it in the main navigation. Stores shouldn’t have to spend time searching for this information.

• Retailers

  • If you currently have your products in stores, make it super easy for people to find! List out the store names, location, and a link to their website. This will help create social proof that your brand is credible and show off that other retailers already trust you.

• About

  • Include a photo of yourself and a short paragraph on why you do what you do. This will help build trust with your audience and trust leads to sales.

• Contact

  • Having a dedicated contact page is beneficial for SEO

  • You can include location information here as well, if applicable.

2. Hero banner

Your website should make it super easy for potential customers to know exactly what you sell, and why you sell it. A hero banner with a high quality photo, a clear message and a button to “Shop now” will make it easy for people to get right to the products they are looking for, especially if you have just launched a new collection. Don’t make people hunt for your products, or you will lose sales.

3. Introduction

For users that want to learn a bit more as they scroll your home page, you can dive a bit deeper and introduce how your business will help improve their lives. Answer: what problems do your products solve?

4. Featured products

Some of your website users will be hitting your website for the first time, so they will want to scroll your home page to see what you’re all about. Add your newest or best-selling products here to encourage people to start shopping. 

5. Shop by collection

Again, making it as easy as possible for people to browse your products is key. Lay out all of your categories on the home page so users know exactly what to expect from your shop. This will help guide them to what they are looking for.

6. About section

People want to see your face, and learn about YOU, the person behind the business. Showing yourself not only helps people figure out if you are a legit business or not (we’ve all been to those Instagram ad websites that seem a bit sketch…), but will also help to build a relationship with your customers. People buy from people they trust, so show them who you are!

7. Email collection

Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach your customers and put your offer directly in front of them in their inboxes, where they are more likely to see it. Sure, social media is great, but you don’t own your property on social media. If anything were to happen to your social media accounts, you will always have access to your email list. Start building your list by offering a discount when people sign up for your emails. It’s easy and it really works!

8. The footer

Lastly, we’ve reached the bottom of your website! Put easy to reference information in the footer, such as your store location, phone number, and other important information you want customers to find easily. A secondary menu for policies such as shipping, returns, etc is a common practice on websites so users know to scroll to the footer to find this information. 

Do I really need a website? Yes, you do!

We want to make it as easy as possible for potential customers to find what they need. Your business solves a problem that they have, so make it easy for them. The less friction they have, the more likely they are to stay on your website and purchase from you. Lay everything out as clearly as possible to avoid any confusion and your potential customers will turn into purchasing customers in no time!

Want it done for you?

If you’re done with trying to DIY all the things, let’s chat about how I can help you get your time (and life) back!

LET’S GET STARTED