10 usability rules for e-commerce websites

The competition for e-commerce websites is getting increasingly fierce. Although you may sell the best at the lowest price, the equally important thing is the user experience. For e-commerce websites, ease of use is to allow users to complete the purchase as quickly and simply as possible. Sometimes, a small improvement may bring about a huge change. This article describes the usability rules of 10 e-commerce websites.

1. users do not need to register and directly purchase

Many companies like to let users register, but the registration process is too long, especially for those users who temporarily patronize, forced registration will scare them away. Let users add goods directly to the shopping cart. Before settlement, it is very effective to provide another registration option to facilitate their next purchase, achieving sales is more valuable than collecting a bunch of email addresses.

2. Easy registration

How much information do you want a registered user to provide? The more you need, the better. In fact, you cannot use that much. What you really need may be an email address and a password. Try to use the email address as the user name, because the user name is easy to confuse, And the email address is unique and easier to remember.

3. Tell the user the procedure

The bread navigation bar is necessary for any large e-commerce site. users need to know the current steps and the remaining steps at any time. Otherwise, users may feel confused or even give up halfway. In addition, the breadcrumb navigation bar can also help the user to move back and return freely, so that the previous operations can be modified as needed. If the breadcrumb navigation bar is not easy to implement, then you should at least identify each step, for example, step 1/4 in total.

4. give users a sense of security

Users are very concerned about security, especially when they need to enter a credit card number, you need to make them feel safe at any step of the user's purchase, and let them know that you will protect their security and privacy. The best way is to deploy SSL on the website.

5. confirm the order

The confirmation page is necessary for the ease of use of an e-commerce website. It not only allows the user to confirm the content of the previous operation, but also prevents the user from constantly querying you for uncertainty.

A valid validation operation consists of the following three parts:

The last step of order processing allows the user to confirm. The confirmation page should contain all necessary information, order summary, total price, delivery information, and order cancellation buttons.

Once the order is confirmed, the user will see the order confirmation information and order number, which can be saved and printed.

At the same time, the order confirmation information should be sent to the user by email.

6. Search

Any e-commerce website needs a search box that is visible at any time. Users can filter the results. The search function allows users to better search for products and provide a pleasant experience. If you have a wide variety of products, search should support filtering by category. Allow users to search by color and size without losing a good way. In addition, you can also customize your own search results, such as how many results are displayed on each page.

7. List related products

If appropriate, listing related products can lead to cross-selling. For example, when purchasing electronic products, users can list battery, cable, and other accessories related to the product, amazon proves that this method is very effective.

8. Call-to action button)

Do not underestimate the power of those action buttons. "add to shopping basket", "register", and "settle" buttons can increase your transaction rate and ease of use. To make these buttons attractive, you need to carefully think about the font, color, wording, and position. The buttons should be large and clear enough, and the color should be compared with the background. In terms of wording, you should use "add to shopping basket" instead of "Buy now", which will scare some users away. We should consider using a localized language. For example, American users prefer "add to shopping cart", while British users prefer "add to shopping cart ". If possible, you can use IP addresses to differentiate customer sources and provide different localization languages for users in different regions.

9. Avoid hiding costs

The concealed cost is more angry than anything else. The price, tax, express delivery cost, and possible discounts will be clearly displayed to the user, and the sooner the better, people like to know how much they need before they add goods to the basket. If they find a lot of extra fees before settlement, they will give up the order and will not come back.

10. Make the shopping cart visible at any time

The shopping cart should be visible at any time and floating in the upper right corner. In this way, you do not have to scroll through the page to view the goods and total price. To better reflect ease of use, users should be allowed to modify, add or remove goods at any time. The "Settlement button" should be placed in the shopping cart for quick access.