An overview of all aspects of designing for e-commerce
0It seems as though everybody is a small business owner nowadays, and one particular trend effortlessly comes to mind. Yes, entrepreneur is the name and judging by the numbers, it appears e-commerce is the game. Over the last decade, online retail has been consistently rising and it’s not that difficult to understand why more and more people each year are getting involved with the program.
For starters the investments are minimal and you don’t really need to dip into your savings that much to get started. But more importantly, the market is constantly growing, mainly because shopping online is faster, easier and overall incredibly convenient. There are also lots of guides available which can show you in much detail how to start your own e-commerce business.
From a design point of view, there are several key aspects to consider, which will help you establish your brand and build your customer base. Good designs are functional, distinct, aesthetically pleasing and memorable. Satisfying all these factors will allow your company to better position itself on the market, reach a greater audience, make a better first impression and establish a solid, long-lasting relationship with the customers.
The main points to consider about e-commerce in terms of design are branding, website, advertising, and documents.
Branding
Let’s say you had already decided what your product should be and had determined a market niche you intend to serve. Now it’s time to put try and put yourself in the shoes of your average customer. What do they like? What don’t they like? If you could introduce yourself and explain your vision to them, what would you say exactly? Then try to find a common denominator contained in all your answers, and explore different ways of expressing it through your company name and logo, both of which will be the first building block in the process of creating a brand.
People often overlook the trial and error part of the design process, and with branding, you’ need to make different variations. Your solutions should be simple, unique and memorable, but before you even get to the drawing board, make sure to research your competition and determine the best way to make your brand stand out. When designing a logo it’s as much about what you’re not doing and avoiding common mistakes. And don’t forget to focus on the emotional aspect of the process as well. If it doesn’t move or inspire you in any way, maybe you should keep trying.
Pay special attention to this aspect of your startup in case you plan to sell your own products. It’s crucial that your brand fits seamlessly with the product, without pulling any attention from it.
Your name and logo will be the technical aspect, but you need to understand that branding is a never-ending process. Branding is all about what the current and potential customers think and feel about your company. Every interaction made either through business transactions or marketing will affect their opinion. The more people have an opinion – the bigger your brand. The more people have a positive opinion – the stronger your brand.
Website
This will be the very foundation of your e-commerce. All the work you’ve done up to this point will need to be molded and integrated in order to provide your business with much-needed structure. It will be a place for customers to browse through your items and make purchases, which will ultimately determine how much money you make.
With branding, there was an emphasis on simplicity, but with website design, you should be adding another focal point, which is functionality. That’s not saying that you should forget about the appearance, but rather that there is no color scheme, font or illustration that can make up for the frustration of dealing with a poorly thought out website. After you’ve predicted and answered all the basic needs your potential clients might have, you can focus on the looks, and they should be consistent with the holistic style of your brand.
Designing a website isn’t as difficult as it used to be. With the software available out there, there’s much room for a DIY approach, especially if you plan on minimizing your expenses while achieving an acceptable standard of quality.
Advertising
So, you have a product, a brand and a place to sell it. Now you have to make others care about it too, and the competition for precious moments of everyone’s attention is fierce. Content marketing is the most popular way to go nowadays, and while you need quality content in order for it to work, it also needs to be presented properly. Every video that you produce, every blog piece you write, every social media post you make. All of it must have an element of consistency that will connect the content with your brand, which you’ll be able to realize through design. Using the same style, colors and fonts for your content, supplemented by your logo, will lead to people associating your firm with good, helpful content.
Documents
When it comes to files and documents, the main focus should be on the ones that are outgoing because they are going to be accessed by those who you’ll be looking to impress – associates and customers. That being said, you can also benefit from having great looking internal documents, as your employees will benefit from their structure and enjoy their style.
Having organized, polished and well-designed invoices is very important because they are a great opportunity for you to communicate certain ideas about your brand. You need to optimize your invoices because they will be an insight into how well-organized your company is. If you’re not quite sure about the design and what the contents should be, there are plenty of templates you can choose from, looking for a match with your company’s style.
Emails are often overlooked, but they are one of the main channels of your company’s communication. Every member of the company should have a clear-cut, yet memorable signature, which will once again make every single interaction look professional. Another area to consider where design can make a difference is newsletters.
