Website Design Tips to Boost Your E-commerce Conversion Rate

When your e-commerce website conversion rate is poor, finding a solution can feel overwhelming. But there are principles you can apply to build a website design that converts visits to sales, and in this podcast, two SEO and email marketing experts will talk you through it.

Ramin Ramhormozi and Michael Trang, managing partners at SKU Agency, use data-driven SEO and email marketing to drive qualified buyers to their clients' online stores and help convert more sales. Ramin and Michael discuss how conversion-focused design can impact your e-commerce conversion rate in this episode.

Out-of-the-box Themes Aren't Great for Conversion Web Design

Ramin: What is your definition of conversion-focused design?

Michael: In my experience as a graphic designer and a front end developer and SEO manager, I've found that there's design, and then there's a design that's conversion-focused.

I would say conversion-focused design is a design that implements specific techniques that help your user convert with whatever you're trying to have them convert on.

Using Conversion Focused Design to Inform Your CTA Button Placement

Ramin: So then, how do you know where to put that CTA? And why is it important to be in one spot versus another?

Michael: A lot of novice designers and merchants rely on the theme itself to make those decisions. A lot of times, when you get those themes, those call to actions are put in certain places, which is fine. But in general, there are a lot of things that go into designing for conversion.

Placement of the CTA is a big deal. There's a visual hierarchy as well. For example, if you have a picture and it's all circles and all the circles are the same size, none stand out. But if you have one circle that's twice as big as your eye, your eye naturally gravitates toward that circle.

The same principle applies to web design. If all the elements on the page are the same weight, then the user doesn't notice anything. So make sure that you understand the visual hierarchy of the things on your page. That oftentimes translates into the call to action being bigger than everything on the page.

Good Conversion Web Design Understands the User Persona

The first step is understanding your audience. That means not only looking at your analytics but understanding who your audience is. If you're catering to the elderly, you may want something visually bigger so they can see it better. If you're catering to a younger demographic, you want the site to be a little more hip, a little more modern.

The first step is understanding your persona and your target audience. We go through a litany of questions to understand how the user works their way through the site. Not only through the site but then after the purchase is made and what that buying experience looks like. That lends itself to repeat customers: how your buying experience happens.

Bounce Rates & Drop Offs Are Symptoms of Poor Lead Conversion Design

Ramin: Okay. So let's say a client comes to us and they already have a site design. What are you looking at first in the analytics to see if there's a problem? What are those key metrics that you're looking for?

Michael: I'm looking inside Google Analytics by looking at the drop-off rate. We're looking at the behavior flow. Usually, you'll see users transition from the path they're supposed to follow.

In e-commerce, you're usually going from a homepage either directly to the collections to look at the products that you're about to buy or straight into a particular product. It depends on the user and your product offering as well. They are looking for where people are dropping off, looking at the time on a page.

Traditionally, if a user is spending a lot of time on the page and the product doesn't necessitate much reading, that could be an indicator that they're not sure what to do or they're not ready to purchase. By the time you get to a product page, you should only need to look at it for a little bit before you click that add to cart button and get out of there and start purchasing.

Establishing User Trust is Key to Conversion Web Design

Ramin: We had a conversation, and you were sharing the details. What I found fascinating were the brands that were doing it well. What one to three things could they do immediately without redesigning their site that could positively impact conversions from a design perspective?

Michael: First and foremost, keep it simple. You've got to get your product out there. You've got to have a good product offering before diving into these metrics. Make sure your product offering and brand are in order before you go down that road.

But after that, if you're going to be playing around with these design elements that help with conversion, I would probably look at the things that have a bigger impact. In the world of Joe DIY, I would probably say, make sure that people trust your brand. When you land on a site, you can tell right away. I think we've all landed on the site where you feel I don't know about these guys.

The design elements are off, or the design is antiquated. Make sure that you establish trust on your website, whether through your other marketing channels, showing the user, or advertising to the user.