Visual Merchandising Online: 4 Things Every Successful E-Commerce Website Has

The products you sell on your e-commerce website may be the best on the market, but if your web design is lacking, no one may ever know how great your offerings are. Photography and graphic design have always been a major element of product marketing in print and television advertisements, so why shouldn’t the same be true online? Here are a few features that are shared by every successful e-commerce website.

1. 1. Quality Photos
      The first rule of online visual merchandising is to make a product look sleek and desirable through sharp, clear images. A product simply won’t sell if it can’t be seen. Since the consumer cannot touch, hold, or analyze the product up close, she has to rely on the website’s photographs. That means that multiple high-resolution, professional images shot by an experienced photographer are essential. Make sure that, if necessary, you have photos that cover every angle or aspect of the product, as well as close-ups and even shots of the item “in action.”

1. 1. The Right Kind of Empty Space
      Both the website design and the product images must appropriately utilize empty space. There are many web design options when it comes to layout, theme, and style, but for e-commerce websites, minimalism is always a wise choice because it allows the product to speak for itself. The key is to choose a background that enhances the appearance of your website without taking the focus away from what really matters – the product.

1. 1. A Unified Theme
      A great photo should be complemented by a well-balanced layout. Colors, shapes, textures, and fonts should come together to form an enticing shopping experience. The personality of your brand should shine through and your overall message should be clear, no matter what page the consumer is browsing.

1. Interactive Features
   Again, since consumers cannot evaluate the product up close, it is essential that you give them a comparable experience online. Many clothing retailers, for instance, provide a separate window in which you can examine a product from all angles. Some include a video element, showing models in the clothing so viewers can judge how it will look on themselves.

Nearly half (46%) of internet users say that they determine the credibility of a company based primarily on the website’s design. To ensure that online shoppers feel comfortable making purchases through your store, you should consider hiring a website design company to provide custom web development services.