In the world of e-commerce, customer is always the king, and every year, web developers try to offer something new to end-users to enhance their shopping experience. This desire to improve user experience, coupled with the technological advancements in terms of devices, website application development & design tools, etc., leads to unique website design trends.
Only a few weeks remain in this year and as we get ready to welcome the New Year, so are the e-commerce website designers and developers. So, this is the best time to predict the e-commerce website design trends that will shape the future of online business in 2014.
# Shift to mobile: Responsive web design is going to be the most prominent website design tend in 2014. Obviously, it is not a new trend, but considering the growth of smartphones and tablets every year, e-commerce businesses will leave no stone unturned to make their site responsive. Responsive websites can be viewed from any small or large screen, internet-enabled device and they offer the same level of user-friendly features across all devices.
# Content will be mature: Next year, you will see quality content in e-commerce websites and when I say quality content, it is not just about text description of products. Website designers will embed images and videos in the product pages to make sure customers get all the information in audio-visual and textual form. In the past couple of years, we have seen the damages done by Google Panda and Penguin updates; thus, designers won't take any chances to make users unhappy.
# Customization and personalization: Online stores have been trying to offer customization options to end users and we already have some websites that let users customize the products according to their needs. However, in 2014, you can expect to see more e-commerce websites offering customization options.
For example, you may have chosen the color and size of t-shirts in online stores so far, but in the near future, you may also be able to decide what type of graphics you want on your chest. Besides customization, developers will also employ technologies to track a user's behavioral pattern in the website and suggest the products that he/she may need.
# Infinite scrolling: This feature will increase the conversion rate significantly in the coming year. When users search for a broad category of product in the search field, there can be thousands of results. If you employ the traditional "ten results in each page" design standard and compel visitors to click on page 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on, they may give up before reaching page 10. It is quite possible that the product they are looking for is placed on the 11th page; but since nobody has that much patience, you lose a customer.
On the other hand, infinite scrolling generates curiosity and encourages users to scroll till the "one page" ends. As total one thousand products are displayed in one page, you simply omit the need for "clicks" and chances of conversion increases.
# HD images will rule: High resolution pictures will be used by the by designers to highlight products and impress customers. HD images are certainly heavier, but internet speed has improved quite a lot in the past couple of years and data charges have become cheaper. More importantly, majority of smartphones and tabs now flaunt a HD screen; so, it is crucial to include HD images of products in e-commerce websites.
# Persistent navigation bar: When you offer infinite scrolling to users, it is important to provide them an "anytime accessible" navigation bar as well. No matter how low a user scrolls, the main top navigation bar always remains visible to him. Thus, customers can navigate from one product category to another without scrolling upwards.
These are the e-commerce web design trends that will redefine the success story of online businesses in 2014. Can you think of any other powerful and emerging trend that I missed to mention? Please share your ideas and insights in the comments!
About Author : This is Nitin Soni working as Software Developer at Cygnet-Infotech, a offshore software & website application development company. For any query or suggestion stay touch with me on Twitter @MkNitin
Only a few weeks remain in this year and as we get ready to welcome the New Year, so are the e-commerce website designers and developers. So, this is the best time to predict the e-commerce website design trends that will shape the future of online business in 2014.
# Shift to mobile: Responsive web design is going to be the most prominent website design tend in 2014. Obviously, it is not a new trend, but considering the growth of smartphones and tablets every year, e-commerce businesses will leave no stone unturned to make their site responsive. Responsive websites can be viewed from any small or large screen, internet-enabled device and they offer the same level of user-friendly features across all devices.
# Content will be mature: Next year, you will see quality content in e-commerce websites and when I say quality content, it is not just about text description of products. Website designers will embed images and videos in the product pages to make sure customers get all the information in audio-visual and textual form. In the past couple of years, we have seen the damages done by Google Panda and Penguin updates; thus, designers won't take any chances to make users unhappy.
# Customization and personalization: Online stores have been trying to offer customization options to end users and we already have some websites that let users customize the products according to their needs. However, in 2014, you can expect to see more e-commerce websites offering customization options.
For example, you may have chosen the color and size of t-shirts in online stores so far, but in the near future, you may also be able to decide what type of graphics you want on your chest. Besides customization, developers will also employ technologies to track a user's behavioral pattern in the website and suggest the products that he/she may need.
On the other hand, infinite scrolling generates curiosity and encourages users to scroll till the "one page" ends. As total one thousand products are displayed in one page, you simply omit the need for "clicks" and chances of conversion increases.
# HD images will rule: High resolution pictures will be used by the by designers to highlight products and impress customers. HD images are certainly heavier, but internet speed has improved quite a lot in the past couple of years and data charges have become cheaper. More importantly, majority of smartphones and tabs now flaunt a HD screen; so, it is crucial to include HD images of products in e-commerce websites.
# Persistent navigation bar: When you offer infinite scrolling to users, it is important to provide them an "anytime accessible" navigation bar as well. No matter how low a user scrolls, the main top navigation bar always remains visible to him. Thus, customers can navigate from one product category to another without scrolling upwards.
These are the e-commerce web design trends that will redefine the success story of online businesses in 2014. Can you think of any other powerful and emerging trend that I missed to mention? Please share your ideas and insights in the comments!
About Author : This is Nitin Soni working as Software Developer at Cygnet-Infotech, a offshore software & website application development company. For any query or suggestion stay touch with me on Twitter @MkNitin
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