Everything from your layout and visual elements to your website’s speed and performance plays a role in how people view your brand and whether they actually make a purchase.
So, what makes a good user experience? A well-designed e-commerce site should be simple to navigate, work smoothly on mobile devices, and have clear calls to action. When customers can easily find what they’re looking for, explore your products, and check out without any hassle, they’re much more likely to come back and shop again.
Here’s where customer reviews come in as a powerful tool. Since customers can’t physically touch or try your products online, reviews help build trust and provide the social proof they need to feel confident about their purchase. Positive reviews reassure potential buyers, and they also give you helpful feedback on what’s working and where you can improve your UX.
In short, reviews and great design work together to create a shopping experience that draws people in, keeps them coming back, and increases sales. Let’s dive into how these two elements can help your brand boost its e-commerce success.
According to research from Google, a well-designed website can boost your conversion rate by more than 200%. On the flip side, nearly 90% of online shoppers are unlikely to return to a site after a poor experience. This shows just how crucial good design is for the success of an e-commerce site.
But why does design matter so much? For starters, your site has only a split second to make a good first impression. Most people form opinions about a brand based on its website, so it’s more than just a platform for sales, it’s a reflection of your business. A visually appealing and user-friendly design encourages visitors to stick around, explore your products, and builds credibility. Meanwhile, a poorly designed site often results in visitors leaving quickly.
The look and feel of your site also play a huge role in conveying your brand’s identity. Consistent use of colors, fonts, and other design elements helps reinforce brand recognition and build customer loyalty. When your design aligns with your company’s values and resonates with your target audience, it becomes easier for customers to connect with your brand, purchase your products, and spread the word.
Finally, having a professional-looking e-commerce site builds trust. Today’s shoppers are cautious about scams or companies that don’t deliver what they promise. We’ve all seen the memes about what someone ordered versus what they got! While those are funny, they highlight how frustrating these experiences can be for customers. A polished, secure website shows your business is reliable. Things like SSL certificates and clear privacy policies further reassure shoppers that their information is safe, which is vital in e-commerce.
In the fast-paced world of e-commerce, creating a seamless, enjoyable user experience (UX) is key to standing out and driving conversions. At 10SQ, we work closely with brands that are serious about enhancing their user interfaces, often prioritising functionality over branding to deliver the best possible shopping experience. From intuitive navigation to personalised touches, every detail plays a role in guiding users towards a purchase. Let’s break down the core elements that can make or break your e-commerce experience.
Navigation is often the first interaction a user has with your site, and its importance cannot be overstated. At 10SQ, we believe effective navigation is about getting users from point A to point B with minimal cognitive effort.
Oftentimes it can be challenging to critically evaluate your own menu. However, you can certainly check to see if you’re making some of the most common mistakes. One of those common mistakes is sticking to the same menu structure for both mobile and desktop. Since user behaviour differs across devices, your navigation structure should adapt accordingly to make the best use of the behaviour on a particular device, for example on desktop, the first level options will likely not mirror the first level options after someone opens the menu on mobile, are there steps that can be skipped on mobile?
The key to great navigation is breaking down categories into digestible steps while keeping the number of decisions users have to make at a minimum. However, this must be balanced with avoiding unnecessary steps, as too many can frustrate users. Menus should be easy to scan and simple to understand. When done right, they provide a smooth, intuitive path through your site, allowing visitors to focus on finding what they need without distraction.
In today’s mobile-first world, responsive design is essential. However, mobile-friendly design often requires sacrificing some branding elements for the sake of simplicity. The more user-friendly your mobile site, the less room there is for intricate branding. Striking this balance can be challenging but crucial for success.
Moreover, mobile design should vary based on your target audience. For example, brands catering to older customers should focus on larger fonts, bigger touch targets, and ample space between clickable elements to ensure accessibility. On the other hand, younger audiences might prefer a design that mimics the app experiences they are most familiar with.
There’s no universal approach, but ensuring mobile responsiveness that fits your demographic leads to a smoother, more engaging shopping experience.
At 10SQ, load time is a frequent point of discussion—and for good reason. No matter how beautifully designed your theme is, slow load times can destroy the user experience. Every second counts when it comes to page load speed, with even slight delays leading to significant drops in conversion rates.
Performance isn’t just about your theme; it’s about every app and third-party integration on your site. Apps like REVIEWS.io are designed with both performance and SEO in mind, making them safe options for scaling merchants. However, other apps, particularly merchandising plugins, require a critical eye. Often, we see merchants comparing heavily customised third-party apps with Shopify’s under-utilised native features, such as Search and Discovery. It’s crucial to fully optimise your existing tools before resorting to external solutions. Hence, before adding additional dependencies to your store, it’s essentially to evaluate whether your goal is achievable with existing technologies already loading in on your store.
Personalisation is a powerful tool in e-commerce, but it’s important to build on solid foundations. At 10SQ, we recommend starting with the basics—such as “recently viewed” products and relevant recommendations—before diving into more advanced features. For example, if a customer selects a 250ml perfume, all recommended items should align with that size for consistency in price and relevance.
These foundational personalisations may seem small, but they dramatically improve the user experience. After establishing these basics, more complex personalisations can be layered in to further enhance customer engagement. One often-overlooked aspect of personalisation is email marketing. Segmenting customers based on their past behaviour ensures that your communication aligns with their interests, increasing the chances of conversion.
Conversion optimisation begins with understanding how different users interact with your site. New customers often scroll down the homepage to explore your brand, while returning customers tend to go straight to the navigation menu. This is why a well-structured navigation system is so important—it should offer fewer than ten choices at any step to prevent decision fatigue.
The homepage should appeal to a broad audience, and as users move through your site, content should become more tailored to guide them toward a purchase. Streamlining this path is key to improving conversion rates and ensuring users don’t get lost along the way.
Another critical aspect of e-commerce design is the placement of call-to-action (CTA) buttons. Too often, the primary CTA is either not prominent enough or appears disabled due to design choices, confusing users. A strong CTA should stand out, be clear, and be positioned as the next logical step in the user journey.
It’s important to remember that more clicks don’t always mean better results. Forcing users to take unnecessary actions can lead to frustration. The goal is to make your CTA buttons feel like a natural part of the flow, encouraging users to take action without hesitation, but certainly not forcing things.
Many merchants focus solely on abandoned cart rates to gauge their site’s performance, but that’s only one piece of the puzzle. A holistic approach considers the entire customer journey, from the homepage to checkout. At 10SQ, we work to create a seamless flow through each stage of the process, ensuring that unnecessary friction is removed. This reduces the likelihood of cart abandonment and boosts overall conversions, helping you achieve your business goals.
Customer reviews and smart design go hand-in-hand in creating a successful e-commerce site.
According to a 2024 survey by BrightLocal, 75% of shoppers regularly read reviews before making a purchase. Even more, nearly 50% of consumers trust reviews just as much as recommendations from their friends and family.
So, why are reviews so powerful? It all comes down to social proof. Sprout Social defines social proof as the idea that people are influenced by others’ opinions when making decisions. For e-commerce, this means reviews show that your brand is popular, trustworthy, and reliable, helping new customers feel confident about buying from you.
Reviews also show potential buyers that others have purchased and enjoyed your products. Placing reviews next to product descriptions or even on Google helps shoppers move from browsing to buying. They don’t just see what you say about your products—they hear it from other customers who’ve tried them.
Another reason reviews are so valuable is their authenticity. Over 90% of online shoppers believe reviews help them make more accurate purchase decisions. Tools like REVIEWS.io offer a way to share real user-generated content (UGC) that shows your products in action, offering an honest look that’s far more relatable than traditional ads.
Still not convinced? Consider this: customers are willing to spend over 30% more with a retailer that has great reviews. In 2021 alone, online reviews influenced $3.8 trillion in global e-commerce sales—a number that continues to rise.
REVIEWS.io offers plenty of tools to help you display reviews on your site, but how do you make sure they fit seamlessly into your design and user experience (UX)?
Here are some key tips:
Place reviews where they matter most—right when your customers are deciding to buy. Show product ratings and snippets of reviews directly on your product pages without cluttering the space. Create a dedicated tab for in-depth reviews so customers can dive deeper at their own pace. REVIEWS.io offers easy-to-use widgets that make adding reviews simple with minimal coding. You can even customize how reviews appear to best fit your brand.
Help customers make faster decisions by summarizing reviews with star ratings or score schemas (like an 8/10). Did you know 71% of shoppers won’t even consider a brand with fewer than three stars? Aim for an average rating of four stars or higher. With tools like REVIEWS.io’s seller ratings, you can display your trustworthy reputation right in your Google Ads, encouraging visitors to check out your site.
REVIEWS.io also offers an AI-powered social proof editor. This tool blends reviews and user-generated content into eye-catching visuals you can use on social media or banner ads—helping turn reviews into sales.
It’s not just about star ratings. Shoppers care about how recent reviews are, whether businesses respond to feedback, and how many reviews a product has. Make it easy for customers to filter and sort reviews to find what matters most to them. This level of interaction builds trust and helps shoppers feel confident in their decisions.
Most shoppers expect to see 20 to 99 reviews per product. Getting those first 20 reviews might be easy, but reaching 100 is a different story. REVIEWS.io offers automated features to encourage customers to leave feedback at the right moments. Post-purchase emails, loyalty rewards, and third-party integrations help you stay top of mind, getting more reviews for your products.
Additionally, REVIEWS.io’s reputation management tools help you build a consistent online presence. Direct customers to leave reviews on third-party sites like Trustpilot or Facebook, which boosts your credibility and helps new customers discover your business.
Blending great design, UX, and customer reviews is essential for e-commerce success. A well-designed site not only attracts visitors but also guides them through a smooth shopping experience. Effective UX makes it easy for customers to navigate your site, find what they need, and complete their purchase with ease. Authentic customer reviews provide social proof, build trust, and influence shoppers' decisions—ultimately leading to more sales.
Want to boost your sales? Focus on creating an inviting, easy-to-use shopping experience. Curate your customer feedback and display reviews at key moments to build trust in your products. And always encourage reviews to keep improving your e-commerce experience.
