When you are walking on the mall grounds for shopping, the first thing that typically catches your eye is not always the beauty of the product but the design of the store. Some stores have simple, minimal interior design while some have an artsy and eccentric look. This shows that the visual presentation of the store plays a vital role in attracting shoppers. The same principle goes with e-commerce.
Physical appearance matters, especially in e-commerce where shopping takes place in a virtual entity called “the internet.” It’s a given that the quality of the product, the price, and the shipping terms are important factors that affect consumers’ behavior, but having these presented in a creative way may improve their online shopping experience. Talented web designers all around the world give their best shots in contributing to the success of the e-commerce by using the power of design to gain the interest of the consumers.
If you want to thrive in e-commerce, you have to stand out, be interesting, and take the risk in breaking conventions. To give you a little boost, here are some of the visually-appealing ideas for e-commerce website as well as some of the acknowledged web designs worldwide that might inspire you.
1. Photography
Photographs with impressive compositions are effective in creating a positive, lasting impression when visitors reach the site. Most web designs that receive great reviews awards, whether for business purposes or personal portfolio, have stunning photographs in their headers.
One of them is the official website of Peter Nappi, an Italian footwear company. The photo shot in the great outdoors showcases the beauty of traveling off the beaten path wearing their shoes. They also have a separate gallery for great shots of their products worn in the fields.
Another website with high standards for photography is Mah Ze Dahr. Just by showcasing close-up shots of their pastries, the online bakery has the capability to leave the visitors’ sweet-toothed souls craving.
2. “Out of the box” Product Presentations
The term “out of the box” conveys the idea of breaking conventions and taking risks for the sake of creativity. But there are e-commerce sites that take the phrase literally by taking their products out of the products page and displaying them on the home page, unboxed.
In the website of Hard Graft, a UK-based company specializing in leather products display the full range of their goods on their home page. Unlike other product shots, some of them contain personal items like gadgets, stationeries, and toiletries, leaving them cluttered and crumpled to show the use and appearance of the product in a realistic perspective.
The online apparel company Bill Blass displays their vivid collections as if they are art pieces hung on the wall of their page. Just click the product and the close-up shot and the description will appear.
3. Quirky Illustrations
If you find photography too mainstream, you may stand out from the rest by having creative illustrations. Pop arts, typography, animations, and other fresh forms of graphic design can easily catch the audience’s eye.
Their products are very basic but Old Spice, specializing in men’s hygiene, made their approach vibrant and catchy. They made use of vintage-style posters not only for their headers but also in showcasing their products.
Creatures and Features also did a great job in making use of doodles in their web design. The home page overloaded with typography is in line with their specialization, which are custom shirts for kids. Their three-way steps in creating a shirt are also presented in doodles.
4. Minimalism
Uncluttered, subtle, and clean – this trend never gets old. Minimalism in web design gives emphasis to what is significant and of great quality by minimizing the unnecessary information. The product or the company’s message to be highlighted should be clearly understood just by leaving a concise text or a simple illustration.
The web design of This is Liger, an apparel company, demonstrates minimalism. It has a simple, clean, and quiet background that allows the loud, bursting creativity in their t-shirt design speak.
Simple font, neutral colors, and clean image, accompanied by a clear and catchy statement – these are what tech-savvy consumers can see from the website of Fifty-three, a digital stylus for tablets and smartphones. They also include tutorials that are easy to comprehend in the forms of short videos and photos.
5. Moving Picture
If you can’t express through words and still pictures, use an audio-visual media. Some websites greet their audience by automatically playing a video showcasing the actual size of the product, its functions, and features, and basically how it looks like in motion.
Rogue, a one-stop shop for guitar supplies, is one of those e-commerce sites that greet their consumers with a video – short clip of a man playing one of their guitars and creating music. Great cinematography blurs the line between direct promotion of their products and a captivating product reel.
Bellroy, a wallet brand also include short videos on their website. In the form of stop motion, the company shows the unique and interesting features of their product that make them stand out from other brands.
6. Customization
While online shopping offers convenience, it does not give the same gratification that traditional shopping gives since the products are intangible. However, some e-commerce sites try to improve shopper’s experience by engaging them actively, like letting them customize their product.
One of the companies that have this unique product presentation is My Own Bike in Germany. The consumers can customize their bicycle from pedals to the steering wheel. The overall cost of the bike itself and the customization can be easily seen.
7. Single-page Approach
Whether you want to take your audience on a visual journey or you want a direct to the point message to come across, a single page is ideal. One-page sites are easy to navigate with less clicking and searching and more scrolling.
Triple Cherry Coffee has a one-page site with simple yet interesting web design. Their illustrations are catchy, as well as their brief and concise texts. The page can be easily navigated since the products, company profile, and the contact forms are all on one page.
Visual storytelling is the edge of Mugs compared to other cafes. All you have to do is sit back, scroll, and view the features of their place from its doorstep to the people behind the business. The look of the cafe as well as the menu is creatively illustrated through amazing photographs and graphic designs that flow smoothly in their page. The website is not for e-commerce purposes but the idea can also be utilized by some e-commerce sites to engage their consumers.
Author Bio: Aside from taking amazing photographs using her 4-year old camera, Carmina Natividad also loves writing blogs about the rise of e-commerce and great finds online. She writes for Zapals, a renowned global shopping website located in Australia, Hongkong, and China.
