Ecommerce Website Design Made Easy

Ecommerce web design has been a popular topic since the birth of the web. Once people got used to using computers to communicate, it didn't take long for people start using them to sell to one another. But as many of the web's first business owners discovered, if you build it, they won't necessarily come. In fact, doing business online can be extremely tough -- all of your competitors are just a few clicks away, and customers are willing to leave your site based on the slightest of flaws.

This is why savvy startups have placed such a high value on great ecommerce website design. A seamless site that doesn't give users any time to pause is a site that's going to keep them around from the initial visit to the final sale. And a great design does more than keep them from backing off: it can also be a way to show that your site is legitimate, established, and that it has invested in being a good business (before deposit insurance and banking regulations, most banks had trouble getting customers to trust them. One trick they used was to have extremely expensive buildings -- so their customers knew that the bank had sunk too much money into their business for it to make sense for them to cut and run).

Great ecommerce web design also has a calming influence on your customers. That huge diversity of options and opportunities can create a lot of stress for customers. Your customers may feel overwhelmed by their options, or stressed by the savings they might be missing -- or even confused by the proliferation of reviews and recommendations that the web has spawned. Don't let them panic: create a soothing web design that makes them feel right at home, and they're likely to stay close.

So what are the keys to good ecommerce web design? You need a site that is friendly, professional, and simple:

* Friendly websites use soft colors, rounded edges, and an uncluttered design to give users a sense of peace of mind.
* A professional website shows users that you mean business -- not that you're after their money, but that you'll treat them with respect, as a customer rather than just another Internet user.
* Your ecommerce website desigb should be simple enough to sell without doing too much else. The tendency among many website owners is to have a website that does everything for everyone. But by taking away features instead of piling them on, you may find that you end up with a site where people spend less time fiddling with your features and more time buying your products.

Coming up with good ecommerce website design isn't easy, but it's very rewarding for your business. Good ecommerce website design doesn't just show your customers an easy-to-use site. It's also a way for you to clarify your own ideas. Once you strip away the extra cruft and featuritis, the site you're left with showcases how you really want to do business.

Byrne Hobart is a New Yorker with widely, perhaps even bizarrely varied interests. He's an experienced marketer, with a strong background in ecommerce website design.

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