Ecommerce Design #EcomChat Key Points

The #EcomChat session on ‘Ecommerce Design’ was based around 3 loose conversation starter questions:

1. Is ‘Design’ always important for ecommerce sites? & is ‘ecommerce’ design different from other areas?
2. What are your tips for principles Ecommerce sites should follow around design?
3. How can Ecommerce sites understand whether they’re succeeding or failing in this area? Who does design particularly well/badly?

It was a heated debate and it’s clear that design means different things to different people. The most pertinent question was raised by @geake (who said “Define design would be my response”) and @gingerwarriorx (“can we clarify what do we mean by design?”). This was a common theme during the chat, with different aspects of design discussed, from user needs through to pure online UI design. @jamesgurd explained that in his opinion, design defines how something works, which has many components including look, feel, form, material etc – it’s not just look & feel and the general flavour of the chat was that design permeates the entire ecommerce ecosystem. @danbarker summarised it well by saying “often ‘design’ used simply to mean ‘aesthetics’ where it really means much more.”

With over 300 tweets, it’s clear there is scope for break-out sessions on specific elements of ecommerce design but for now here’s a summary of the key discussion points.

Q1) Is ‘Design’ always important for ecommerce sites & is ‘ecommerce’ design different from other areas?

• @aarmitage – Design is always important and for ecommerce especially as it can be measured.
• @montsecano suggested that an appealing site that works well will attract more conversions, which prompted a debate about what appealing really means!
• @edwinbongo used a lovely analogy akin to putting lipstick on the pig – “you can dress a pig up, but it’ll always be a pig – function is key, design enhances that.”
• However @Eoin_Kenneally put forward a different viewpoint to many others saying that “design isn’t always important, an amazing product is the most relevant.” to which @aarmitage replied “if you’ve an amazing product tho, why weaken the offering with a poorly designed site?”
• @lakey introduced the topic of data driven design by saying that “Ecommerce design should be cutting edge, and based on real numbers, not gut instinct. The prize may be huge.”
• @mcmillanstu and @aarmitage agreed that it’s good practice to follow established design patterns.
• @magique83 split out functional from aesthetic design saying “For me, functional design (UX/UI) is extremely important. Aesthetic design is much less important but still can play a part.”
• @aattias referenced the mightly Lingscars as an example of an online business using unconventional design patterns but thriving.
• @Shadrach_Appi positioned design nicely: “For me design is about having your user’s journey in mind – fail that and everything else falls apart.” – this is really important because you can’t create relevant designs if you don’t know what your customers want. A good example of function over look is Amazon as suggested by @magique83, “Many designers like to lambast Amazon for it’s visual appearance but they seem to get by without it looking ‘pretty'”.
• @edwinbongo discussed the relationship between values of the business and the ecommerce design: “The design on the site should reflect the design/values of the product and its customers – that’s crucial to me”.
• @panda_doodle argued that function is more important than look & feel for design: “you can have the best looking design in the world followed by the worst interface, no point designing.”
• The subject of testing designs using data to drive decision making was discussed and @milsom asked @lakey and @jamesgurd how you can test an overall design experience, surely it would be too big an AB test? @lakey suggested “Draw some lines in the sand, and iterate piece by piece, then compare against benchmarks.”
• @uthorise suggested that “Design is definitely more than making browsing a visibly pleasing an experience, but more navigable and accessible for users.”
• An interesting discussion broke out around companies with the cheapest price proposition where design is less important as the demand is there. @lakey countered that “The masses will plough through the pain of buying, but some *will* drop out. Why leave money on the table?”
• @CraigWSoftCat mentioned ecommerce checkout as a key area where design is crucial.
• @danbarker talked about the impact of design for new vs. existing customers: “perhaps slightly controversial: design *generally* more important for acquiring new customers, than for existing customers.” @aattias and @aarmitage both agreed.
• @mcmillanstu made a really good point about end-to-end design thinking: “I’d say good design has to flow right through to the back-end of the site, I’ve spent time improving order processing.”
• @folkdigital believes that design drives ecommerce: “Design drives Ecommerce – design and function should act as one… think about Apple = design & function create value. Great design is rarely noticed, it’s just used. Consumers enjoy the ‘flow’ of ecommerce and design is crucial to accommodate this.” @gingerwarrior followed on with “you only notice poor design; when your user journey is broken and you have to ‘think’ about what to do next.”
• @aattias raised the issue that websites need to look trustworthy & credible and design plays an important role. @magique83 agreed: “That’s a good point. The site certainly needs to appear trustworthy. I’ve stopped a number of purchases on that basis.”
• @aattias believes UX and aesthetics are closely linked: “UX & aesthetics are intrinsically linked imo. What you see affects how you feel about the site and interact with it.”

@danbarker summed up the Q1) discussion with 5 catchy soundbites:

1. ‘Design’ can mean aesthetics and/or user experience (or the process of creating those).
2. User experience is deemed more important than aesthetics generally.
3. But aesthetics are easier to use as a differentiator.
4. Users generally expect ‘better design’ more & more now – both aesthetic & user experience.
5. Design is less important for existing customers than for new, but definitely important for both.

Q2) What principles should ecommerce teams follow around design?

• @gingerwarriorx suggested “don’t make the user think, but allow them to think for themselves – ebuyer =good e.g”.
• @mcmillanstu recommended “think like a customer” if you don’t know how customers think, find out.” and “move away from flat to design to HTML prototype as quickly as possible.”
• @acchaudre explained that “Design is having your user’s journey in mind – fail that & everything else falls apart.”
• @edwinbongo mixed in some biting irony for good measure: “MASSIVE images, carousel, helvetica and some pinterest style boxes, that’s how you have to do it now, right? ;-)” to which @geake proffered “Oh and very important to make sure it’s only the homepage, the rest of the site must look COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.”
• @magique83 recommended “Ecom design should be centred around data & testing and not personal opinion & conjecture.”
• @davechaffey added “A core principle of Ecommerce design for me is to explain the brand OVP across every page template for new visitors.” @danbarker agreed “especially as the journey often starts at product page.”
• @aattias explained that “A principle I see many sites failing to adhere to is having a clear CTA for each page. Often its just clutter/noise.”
• @mcmillanstu suggested that “cultural differences are important, Nathalie Nahai’s book @TheWebPsych gives some good insight.”

@danbarker summed up the Q2) discussion with 5 juicy tidbits:

1. Understand the assumptions you’re making & test/challenge the major ones.
2. ‘Deliver the brand story’ (or value proposition) at every stage of journey through your site.
3. If there are surprises, they should be pleasant ones.
4. Users shouldn’t have to think, except for in the areas they want to.
5. Mobile even harder than desktop, and a place to put emphasis – tighter constraints & fewer defined patterns.

Q3) How can ecommerce sites understand whether they’re failing or succeeding with design?

• @aarmitage gave a short and sweet reply: “Test, test and test again”.
• @mcmillanstu recommended “Running user test labs is always interesting, can be embarrassing, recently did some with @PRWD, easy to see where we got it wrong”.
• @jamesgurd suggested “using VoC tools like Qualaroo/Kampyle to pick up comments around general site design.”

Do spread the word to anyone you think may be interested, do join in the next #EcomChat if you’re free, or simply follow the #EcomChat hashtag on Twitter. If you’re wondering “what is this all about?” there is an about page with more info.

Thanks!

Dan & James.