4 Minute Read

Several factors determine the overall success of an eCommerce website including product quality, brand recognition and trustworthiness, shipping charges, return policies, and customer service. However, a well-thought-out user journey is also key to providing customers with a satisfying, friction-free experience. It will not only convert clicks into actual eCommerce transactions but instill brand loyalty and keep customers coming back.

While having a professional and presentable presence was optional a few years ago, now it’s a must. Since 69% percent of Americans shop online, design is even more important for an eCommerce website. Studies have shown that you have a total of 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression when someone visits your website. Despite the time you spend writing great copy, sourcing the right products, and providing exceptional customer service, research has shown that three-quarters of users judge a company’s credibility based on its web design, and more than 90 percent of first impressions are related to design. And that’s why you should engage a professional eCommerce web design agency. 

While good design means a good impression for all websites, it means conversions and real dollars for an eCommerce website. Good design is something that can make or break your conversion rates and, as a result, your bottom line. While most people think that design is simply about “making it look good”, there’s a lot more to it than that. 

Design is about how things look AND function. If you plan to have a professional design, you’ll need professional designers. In the case of an eCommerce retailer, the professionals we’re talking about are eCommerce web design agencies. 

Now, if you’re thinking about hiring a freelancer or putting those art classes from third grade to good use and doing it yourself, that’s a bad idea. It’s the kind of idea that seems like a fun challenge at first. Later, you regret it when it’s too late. 

Here are a few of the top reasons why partnering with an eCommerce web design agency is the right thing to do for your brand, your reputation and to achieve the ultimate target of increased conversions and revenue:

eCommerce Web Design is a Team Sport

You can get away with having a single person design a small marketing website or a simple landing page. In many cases, the person who will design that website will be the same person who will develop it. It’s a one-man job. 

Even if you hire an agency, the above scenario may still happen. The agency will send the project to their “design team”, and a single person will work on it from start to finish. That’s what happens behind the scenes. For eCommerce websites, though, the process is typically a bit different. 

The scale for most eCommerce projects can range between large and humongous. If your five-page company website was a cabin in the woods, an eCommerce project is a shopping mall. Or even Disneyland. It’s the kind of project that requires many people from different disciplines working together to pull it off. 

A good eCommerce web design agency will have a team of professional designers who collaborate to give you the results you are looking for. The agency design team keeps up on the latest UI/UX best practices and collaborates with you on your specific user journey. You should be able to ask that team difficult questions (“Describe a recent project you were particularly challenged by and how you approached the problem.”, Provide some examples of how you adapted a UX/UI for increased conversions.”) and receive quality answers. Even if you hire six freelancers and try to coordinate the work between them yourself, it won’t be the same. You need a group of designers that have executed projects together before. That’s what agencies are all about. 

Design is Never Done

Design is an ongoing process. Even after you launch your website, there’s always room for improvement. In the context of an eCommerce website, better design means a better customer experience, more engagement and loyalty, all leading to more conversions. That’s how you evaluate your design and the effectiveness of your website. 

When you work with an eCommerce web design agency, you’re able to build the kind of long-term relationship you need to continuously improve your website to increase your online sales. Their team will constantly evaluate and analyze your website’s performance and fine-tune its design to optimize performance over time. They will recommend and implement the kind of strategic changes that will positively impact your bottom line. Small improvements in conversion rates can pay big dividends over time.

When you work with a freelancer, the design will be finished as soon as your website goes live. It’s one of the few cases where design is done. By the time your website goes live, the main bulk of work in your project would be depleted, and that freelancer will likely move on to something else. Not to mention that freelance designers don't have teams to track your website’s performance and work with you to make strategic decisions based on real-time data for upgrades or changes. 

Multidisciplinary Collaboration is a Must 

Successful eCommerce websites require more than just “design” to perform well. The people creating your website need to collaborate with developers, SEO strategists, content creators, and digital marketing professionals- all with the same goals and objectives in mind, to create a cohesive website with a user experience that converts. 

This is how you build an eCommerce store where design, development, and marketing efforts are aligned. When this happens, you can expect much better results, compared to what you may get from a freelance team, where everyone works in their own realm. 

Established eCommerce agencies will have all these disciplines at their disposal, they’ll also ensure that everyone working on your project has the same goal, which is your success. When the individuals you’re working with are not a part of an agency, it becomes difficult to ensure that “success” means the same thing to everyone. When you are working with an agency, KPI’s are set with a common definition of success and you have a company that can be held accountable for your project's overall success. 

TL;DR

Design plays a significant role in the success or failure of your eCommerce store. Creating a successful eCommerce website is a complicated process. It requires the collaboration of highly skilled professionals who are determined to make your project succeed. The only way you can achieve this is by working with an eCommerce web design agency. 

These agencies have the resources and expertise to help you design your website in a way that turns visitors into paying customers.