Shopify is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms, enabling businesses of all sizes to create an online store easily. However, just having a Shopify store isn’t enough to guarantee success. A well-designed website is essential to attract and retain customers, increase conversions, and boost sales. In this blog post, we will explain some custom shopify website design tips that can help you create a perfect site, with a focus on improving user experience, optimizing for conversions, and enhancing brand identity.
Why Is Custom Shopify Website Design Essential?
The website designs of your online store are highly essential and also affect your business in various ways. Below are some of the advantages that custom shopify website design can bring to your business:
- Improve your brand’s visibility and reputation among existing and potential customers.
- Establish a solid online presence for your business.
- Showcase the core values and credibility of your business.
- Influence how customers perceive and engage with your store.
6 Custom Shopify Website Design Tips For Creating A Beautiful Site
Pick the right theme for your Shopify store.
When you are just starting to design your Shopify store, the first thing to remember is the proper theme for your store. The theme will affect how your website appears to your audience and, therefore, define the success of your online store.
There are many Shopify templates, so you can choose the theme per your preferences. In addition, many are free, while others cost around 100 to 180$ per template.
But how can we know the right theme for your store? For this, here we have mentioned some tips that you need to consider while selecting a theme for your online store :
- Well-defined feature: Consider all the features you want to use on the site. Are you looking to enhance your customers’ browsing experience by using infinite scrolling or integrating Instagram for social media engagement?
- Proper product display and layout: To display your products correctly, ensure that the theme you choose is tailored to your specific items. For instance, fashion products should have large images, while books and other products require detailed descriptions.
- Optimize user experience: Optimizing the user experience is crucial for website success. Consider the design layout, text placement, and image sizes, and choose a mobile-friendly theme.
- Budget of website design: While plugins and apps can simplify custom shopify website design, they can also be costly, especially for startups. Luckily, there are many free themes available on the market.
Set up your site while using apps.
One of the essential things you need to do is set up your site using apps. Various apps are available that integrate with Shopify. This way, they can help you set up your Shopify store site without much effort.
With so many apps to build the website, you can easily customize your store’s interface with various elements. Moreover, many apps ensure the smooth functioning of multiple features like responsive design, Search Engine Optimization, data tracking, and much more. And for premium apps, you can get proper assistance building and creating your website.
There are several methods to choose the best app for your business, but one of the perfect ways is to select the app according to your app categories, such as :
- Apps for store designs and finding products.
- Apps that have customer support and data tracking.
- Apps that focus on marketing, conversions, and sales.
Most apps and plugins are designed to improve the overall user experience. If you are unsure about your ability to design a website that optimizes user experience, consider using a top-tier website-building app. Alternatively, seeking the expertise of professional Shopify website designers is always the best option.
Enhance the loading speed of your website.
The website’s loading speed is the most significant element in determining your store’s conversion. With a high loading speed, the customer’s experience will improve, whereas a slow website loading speed can undermine the success of your online store.
Studies have demonstrated that for every additional second it takes for your website to load, the conversion rate declines by 7%, and the number of website views decreases by 11%. Customers are not willing to wait for slow-loading websites. As a result, businesses are estimated to lose $2.6 billion in revenue per year due to websites that load slowly.
Apart from the customer experience, fast-loading websites can receive higher rankings from Google. Therefore, enhancing the loading speed of your Shopify store website can improve the user experience and enhance search engine optimization.
There are many reasons why your site loads slowly. For this, you need to follow the below strategies that help you to enhance your website loading speed :
Compress the size of the images
A high resolution of pictures can help you visualize your product but slows down your website speed. This is why you need to reduce the file size of photos by compressing them. Various online tools can help you shorten the size of your pictures without impacting their quality.
Take off unnecessary features
To ensure a smooth shopping experience for customers, it’s essential to focus on the most valuable features and remove any unnecessary widgets and plugins that slow down the loading speed. Keep it simple and efficient.
Do not use third-party themes
Using third-party themes for your website is usually fine. However, if the themes are not created directly by Shopify, they can significantly slow down the loading time of your store’s website. If third-party themes made by Shopify are causing your website to slow down, you can contact the Shopify developer to address the issue.
When you are designing a website for your Shopify store, make sure to check its loading time. For this, you can use some tools such as PageSpeed Insights by Google to view your site’s current speed. These tools can analyze your site’s loading speed and assist you in enhancing the speed.
Another option is you can get help from Shopify’s speed optimization service. But keep in mind that most services are premium.
Use visuals on your website.
Another essential tip to consider when building your website is using the visuals on site. This is because you are running your business virtually; it is necessary to give your customers as much information as possible about your products. And the best way to do this is by using visuals in your Shopify store.
Studies indicate that photos (40%), color (39%), and videos (21%) are the most appealing elements to customers. To make the most of these elements, it is recommended that you allocate your time, effort, and budget accordingly. When showcasing your products, you must use high-quality photos that will captivate your customers.
Additionally, you can also use carousels to showcase the products from different angles and environments. However, be mindful of the photo sizes, as larger sizes can negatively impact your website’s loading speed.
It’s essential to ensure that your website’s visuals match the overall custom shopify website design of your online store. The layout, color palette, font typeface, and other components should be in harmony, without any significant contrast.
Add features to connect with your consumers.
Another essential tip you should consider while building a website for your Shopify store is to add features that help you connect with your audience. Various ways can help businesses connect with their consumers, but the best practices are before, after, and during their purchase.
Before people make their purchasing decisions, it is obvious that they have many questions regarding your products, services, warranty, and many others.
The perfect way to do this is to deploy chatbots to help answer some of the consumer’s frequently asked questions. You can also select to link your social media or other forms of contact, such as email, to allow the customers to ask you directly. Make sure you have a contact section on your website.
As customers near the point of purchase, they may have questions about payment, shipping, or available sizes and colors. To address these concerns promptly, it’s essential to have a chat feature that allows you to connect with customers and provide quick answers.
And after consumers have purchased the products, you need to emphasize their retention. One method is to add an email sign-up section so that consumers can get newsletters and receive updates regarding your store’s new products, exclusive discounts, offers, etc.
Keep your website simple.
As a beginner, you might think that including everything on your website is necessary for functionality. However, this can actually overwhelm your customers and make it difficult for them to navigate.
Focus on the critical features and remove unnecessary or rarely used ones. Don’t overload your customers with too much information. For visuals, only showcase the best photos or videos and limit your typeface to 2-4 fonts.
You might also like: A Complete Guide To Shopify Conversion Rate Optimization
Conclusion
Creating a perfect website requires careful attention to custom shopify website design and functionality. However, by following the tips, such as using visuals, choosing modern themes, adding various features, and incorporating high-quality images and videos, you can create a site that looks great and drives sales and conversions.
Remember to keep your target consumers in mind and continually test and refine your site to ensure it meets their needs and expectations. With these tips in place, you’ll be well on your way to building a successful ecommerce business on the Shopify platform.