The first thing customers see is not the product, they see your platform. They’re looking for a solution to their problem, and you’re there to provide it. You need to hold their attention long enough to tell them that you can provide what they’re after.
UI design is critical to e-commerce. The user/customer has to easily extract the information and be encouraged to follow further into the app, web app, or website. To accomplish this, there are things you should know about the audience and their habits.
Who Is the Audience?
A user interface designed for e-commerce has to be engaging and intuitive, but also have the right aesthetics for your audience. Discovering who your audience is and why they are coming to you is key to the look and feel of your UI design.
‘Who is your audience’ is probably the most critical aspect when creating a UI. Every UI designer should know to take these into consideration when developing a UI:
- Average age
- Values
- Expectations
- Behavior
- What would encourage them to shop with you
Building personas of your potential customers can help you with designing and creating a UI that displays a sense of familiarity with the user. Hone in on the elements your audience will be looking for, show that you understand them and encourage them to continue their journey.
Balance of the UI for E-Commerce
This mostly concerns images and text, getting the balance between the two right is another crucial part of UI design. Too much text and the user can be overwhelmed, but too many images and the user can’t extract what they want. Both will result in an increased bounce rate which is detrimental to your sales.
You may find you often have images containing text as well, and not considering this could throw off the balance in your UI. Users and customers looking for a product need an image to draw attention followed by text providing information. The size of both should coincide with each other, creating a good balance.
The Element of Unsurprised?
Images placed in optimal positions undoubtedly draw attention. But you should know that text accompanying an element of your UI is just as important. Users look in specific places for elements like top for navigation, left for a menu, and bottom for company information links; Adobe has more information on applying Fitts’ Law to elements.
Capitalize on this by providing text that helps the user confirm what they are looking at is what they want. This will increase the chance of the user continuing their journey. Images are not always big, bright and colorful. Icons are your friend in this case, these tiny images can also give immediate confirmation of what an element does through recognition.
Ditch the Pre-Built UIs for E-Commerce
Whilst they might look clean and be balanced to a generic extent, they don’t provide that familiarity or connection to your audience. They can work as a base to be built upon, but if you are serious about your business you should be looking at unique and customized solutions.
At Axis Software Dynamics, we provide bespoke solutions to match your business and impress your customers. We are well versed in not only UI design, but other accompanying factors such as UX too. You can feel comfortable getting in touch with us, knowing you will have something to connect with and satisfy your customers.
