As an e-commerce retailer, you have more choices than ever when it comes to adding functions to your online shop. Still, it’s usually a good idea to stick to the golden rule: less is more. The keys to boosting usability on your site are an intuitive user interface and a clear, easy-to-navigate design. Here are some tips to help you make your website even more user-friendly.

Tip 1: Keep load times to a minimum

In many cases, visitors decide whether to stay on a page or quickly leave it simply based on how long it takes the page to load. If your online shop hasn’t fully loaded in two to three seconds, there’s a good chance that the user will hit the back button right away and return to their search results. If that happens, you’ve lost them to your competitors. In addition, your conversion rate will suffer, and the higher bounce rate on your page will send a negative signal to Google. Your site’s search engine ranking will suffer if users frequently leave within just a few seconds. That’s why one of the best things you can do to improve usability is to optimise your site’s load time (for example, by using compressed product pictures). 

The images you use on your site should never be larger than 1920 x 1280 pixels. And follow this rule of thumb: upload photos and high-quality graphics as JPEG files, and upload smaller graphics or ones with few colours or transparencies as PNG files.

Tip 2: Stick to a classic design

Over the years, websites have gradually adopted a more or less standard page layout. This enables online shoppers to intuitively navigate a website. Usually, the elements of an online shop are arranged as follows:

This doesn’t mean that every online shop needs to look exactly the same. However, these standard elements make the site intuitive for your users, which improves usability. If your site uses an unusual, overly creative design that puts the standard elements in hard-to-find places, it’s likely to put off your potential customers. The same goes for the terms you use. Avoid using unconventional names for things like the shopping cart or login. This only leads to confusion.

Tip 3: Make searching simple

Your customers must be able to find products on your site as easily as possible. That’s why the following elements are so important:

• Logical product categories

• Clearly defined filters

• Search function

You can also use auto-complete to make the search bar even more user-friendly. As your user enters a search term, show them a list of possible matches and the number of search results for each match.

Tip 4: Arrange pictures and descriptions helpfully

Once the user finds the product they are looking for, detailed pictures and informative descriptions help entice them to make a purchase. Once again, it’s important to arrange on-screen elements so that the shopper can intuitively navigate the page. Some elements, for example, usually appear to the right of the image gallery. These include:

• Size and quantity selection

• The ‘Add to cart’ button

• A quick list of key product features

• A size table (if applicable)

Detailed product descriptions and customer reviews should be positioned below the image gallery.

Tip 5: Let customers ‘continue shopping’

Another important usability feature is to allow the user to immediately continue shopping after they’ve added an item to their shopping cart. For instance, you can use a pop-up window to give the user the option to either ‘Go to cart’ or ‘Continue shopping.’ If they choose to continue shopping, they should be able to pick up exactly where they left off, without having to perform a new search or set their search filters again.

It’s also important to include a ‘Continue shopping’ button inside the shopping cart. In many online shops, a customer has no option to return to the shop once they enter the shopping cart. As a result, it takes them longer to find their way back to the product selection they were viewing previously, and they might even abandon their cart. To ensure maximum usability, always include a clearly visible ‘Back to shop’ or ‘Continue shopping’ button.

Tip 6: Simplify the checkout process

Checkout usability is one of the most important factors that can boost your conversion rate as an eCommerce retailer. This could mean reducing the steps in the order process to the lowest possible number. Also give your customers the option to make an instant one-click purchase without creating an account. For more tips, check out our complete guide to optimising your checkout process to boost conversion.

Tip 7: Automate forms

These two automation options make filling out forms on your website easier and more user-friendly:

• Auto-fill automatically fills in form data fields as soon as the customer enters their address information.

• Inline validation finds possible mistakes in the information the user has entered by instantly checking things like: