When it comes to ecommerce, the character of your website, its clarity and facility of use matter more than its aesthetic appeal. A number of winning characteristics clearly demarcate a successful ecommerce website design. It is important to recognize these characteristics and make use of them in your ecommerce website. It is also equally important to keep away from some of the catastrophic errors of designing.

Successful ecommerce website design: Do’s

Keep your website simple and to the point. When it comes to business, brevity is the soul. Every image, caption and explanation must aim to bring the user one step closer to buying the item.

Navigation must be simple, clear and sufficient. Many ecommerce websites make the mistake of linking through images. But to maximize your chances of success, stick with textual links as far as possible. Also, take care to scatter checkout and payment buttons or links wherever needed. Research shows that people are more likely to purchase an item when it is quickly followed by the ‘Buy Now’ button. Name every link, so that your customer knows where the link leads. Establish a pattern in your website so that the buyer knows what is going to happen next. This builds trust and reassures the buyer that he is dealing with an experienced businessperson at the other end.

Check your links. Nothing can be a bigger embarrassment to a successful business that links that do not work. Such links immediately kill the trust your customer has in you. After all, they are justified in their thought that if you cannot keep your website in order, then you must probably be sloppy in business too.

Use simple language. Avoid jargon. If you must use it, explain it in layman terms so people understand you and do not feel intimidated by what is on your website.

Keep only those items that are in stock. If you are in a situation where you need to send a regret letter when someone orders something, it can seriously hamper your business profile.

Successful ecommerce website design: Don’ts

Avoid using images, audio and video that take too much time to download. Media is the in thing these days. Videos help you demonstrate your product or service. They reassure the customer. But videos that are too long will only have customers clicking away from your website.

Avoid leaving out important links to your website. Many businesses make the mistake of leaving out important contact information. Always keep your website address and linking info where users can see them.

Do not use frames and flash intros. Frames are outdated and may not sit well with many browsers. Flash intros that are too slow to download are asking too much from your customers.

Do not ask customers to install software just so they can view your website. Most customers are wary of installing new stuff, and if you ask them to install anything, they will simply march off your website, and get the product from somewhere else!