Ecommerce.co.za

How to improve the user experience on your ecommerce website

In this article, xneelo looks at how to improve the user experience on your ecommerce store.

In today’s busy ecommerce landscape, customers are spoilt for choice. A positive experience can be what sets your online store apart. 

What is user experience?

User experience (UX) refers to the overall experience that users have when interacting with a product, service, or system. In this case, your website.

Done correctly, good UX can positively affect your:
  • Sales
  • Customer satisfaction levels
  • Number of repeat customers
  • Customer lotalty
  • Competitor advantage
  • Brand reputation.
You want to create a seamless, positive experience for your website visitors. This involves structuring your website in a way that is logical and intuitive for visitors to navigate. For an ecommerce store, you want your customers to enjoy an effortless, hassle-free shopping experience.

What does a good user experience on an ecommerce website look like?

A good user experience on an ecommerce website can be acheived by looking at your customer's journey across your website and optimising every step of that journey.

A good user experience would look something like this:
  • Clear and well-organised navigation, so your customer is able to find what they are looking for quickly and easily.
  • High-quality images and easy-to-understand copy that outlines the benefits of your product or service helps the customer make up their mind quickly. 
  • Consistent branding across your website builds trust with your customer, making them comfortable to continue.
  • Personalised recommendations based on their choice increases their chance of purchasing another product.
  • An easy and uncomplicated checkout process supported by visible security measures, such as SSL encryption, trust badges, and secure payment options. 
  • Accessible customer support options, such as live chat, email, or phone assistance. It also encourages and makes it easy for your customers to leave feedback and reviews, demonstrating your commitment to customer satisfaction.

How to apply these principles to your website

Creating a good user experience is not a once-off process, but involves continuous testing and improvement. That said, there are some basic starting strategies you can implement to lay the foundation of a good user experience.

These include:
  • Put your users at the centre of your design process. Keep their user journey in mind. 
  • Design a clear and easy-to-use navigation system that customers will be familiar with. 
  • Make sure your entire website reflects your brand identity.
  • Simplify the checkout process so customers who want to shop quickly can do so.
  • Establish trust with your customers by implementing security measures. 
  • Optimise your ecommerce store for mobile devices (78.6% of South Africans accessed the internet via their mobile device last year).
  • Optimise your ecommerce website to load quickly. 
Just remember, creating a seamless user experience is an iterative process and involves regular testing, user feedback, and data analysis that inform ongoing improvements.

WordPress makes UX even easier

A well-designed WordPress theme will do most of the UX work for you. xneelo's Ecommerce Starter Site, available with Managed WordPress Hosting, is specifically optimised for creating a frictionless shopping experience and includes safe and secure payment processing with a trusted pre-installed payment gateway and product pages. Your user journey has been optimised for you, including the safe and secure checkout process. You simply need to drop in your own content, keeping in mind the principles outlined above.

Just remember, while a WordPress theme or Starter Site can provide a foundation for a good user experience, it's essential to continuously optimise and improve.


Useful resources:
xneelo
xneelo offers web hosting and business enablement to more than 500 000 South African websites.
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