I wrote the following blog post for an ecommerce platform company. The process included: creating an outline, doing some research, and writing the blog post while incorporating SEO keywords and links.
(Length = 2733 words)
Website Homepage Design 101:
10 Homepage Examples to Inspire Your Ecommerce Shop
In a digital world with a plethora of options at a user’s fingertips, it’s more important than ever to stand out from the crowd and make a great first impression with your website’s homepage design.
As users are more distracted than ever before, you have less than 10 seconds to educate your visitors on the value you can provide them and convince them to stay on your site rather than hitting that back button into a sea of more options. As daunting as this short time limit may sound, don’t take yourself out of the race just yet. There are many ways to increase the likelihood of your page visitors staying and navigating to different parts of your ecommerce shop, including homepage design, functionality, and user experience.
In this deep dive, you’ll learn about the benefits of having an innovative website homepage design and explore homepage examples from profitable companies who are doing it right.
Homepages Create First Impressions
Your homepage is the first step in your customer’s journey. It welcomes them, tells them what to do, where to go, and how to find what they’re looking for. If you can answer those basic customer questions with your homepage design, you’ve built a great foundation for the rest of your site. As an ecommerce shop, your goal is to create the best user experience through your homepage that will encourage your customer to navigate to their final destination – making a purchase.
Benefits of a Well-Designed Homepage
Having a well-designed homepage for your ecommerce business is important to increase trust, communicate value, and help guide visitors through the funnel. These benefits last longer than a few seconds; they actually improve upon the entire customer buying journey.
1. Confident customers.
Customers want to interact and build a relationship with companies that they trust. The truth is, customers judge a book by its cover, so if your homepage design is appealing this will automatically increase your credibility with your potential customer. This will also increase their comfort level in exploring your products and eventually making a purchase.
2. Optimal CX.
The first interactions with your site will dictate to a customer how their customer experience will be. 88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a site after a bad experience. Since you only have one shot at creating a smooth and valuable customer experience, make sure you’ve optimized your homepage to be the easiest design possible for customers to make their way to checkout.
3. More conversions.
If customers are able to assess the value that you can provide them from the start and have a clear path to follow to your products, then this simplifies their customer journey leading them from homepage to checkout in a stress-free experience.
4. Brand recognition.
You want your brand to be the first thing people think of when looking for anything in your product line. Highlighting your brand and story on your homepage gives customers that familiar feeling each time they come to your site or see your products.
Factors That Influence Your Homepage Design
Now that you know the benefits of a well-designed homepage, there are a few factors that you should keep in mind while you’re in the planning stages of your design.
1. Color schemes.
Making sure your colors match throughout your site is an essential factor to create cohesiveness and visual appeal, but there are other factors to consider when deciding on your color scheme for your site. The colors on your site should be an accurate representation of your brand so that consumers can make an immediate connection to your brand from every page on your site. Since color is the first thing a visitor will notice about your site, it’s wise to consider the emotions that the colors you choose will evoke. Color psychology tells us that yellow provokes positive feelings and blue increases trust, so think about your brand and the immediate feelings that you’d like your consumer to feel as they enter and leave your site. Make sure your colors enhance readability, and don’t forget to select an accent color, which will come in handy when highlighting certain elements on your site and making CTAs stand out.
2. CTAs.
Your CTA (Call-to-action) buttons should be clearly labeled and direct customers to the next logical step in their buying journey. Some examples of CTA buttons you might include on your homepage are “Shop Now,” “Learn More,” and “Join Now.” These CTAs will help your visitors know what to do next without getting lost.
3. Value propositions.
If your potential customer can’t figure out what your value proposition is from your homepage, then there is no reason for them to stick around. Make sure you clearly showcase how you can solve a problem for them better than your competitors. Some ways that ecommerce shops do this is through effective copy and incorporating their tagline or slogan towards the top of their homepage. Another way is by showcasing specific imagery of their products in use. If a visitor can easily understand what you can provide for them from your homepage, then you’re on the right track.
4. Logos and brands.
Your homepage design sets the aesthetic for your entire website, and every other page should complement it. Even though your homepage usually gets the most traffic, it’s important to consider that some visitors will end up on your product pages through another reference point like social media. Because of this, you want to make sure your branding is consistent throughout your entire website. Include your logo and consistent color scheme on every page to ensure visitors know it’s really you who they are interested in buying from.
5. Site speed.
Don’t let a slow loading site be your roadblock in gaining new customers. As little as a 100-millisecond delay in a website load time can hurt conversion rates by 7%. Confirm that the number of images and the sizes you are using throughout your site are not contributing to a slow loading speed and high bounce rate.
6. Mobile-friendliness.
In today’s mobile world, visitors will be accessing your site from a multitude of devices and screen sizes. The experience they get from your desktop site must be similar to the experience they receive on every screen size. 40% of visitors will leave your site for a competitor if your site is not mobile-friendly. In order to reach your goal of creating the best customer experience, you need to be consistent across all devices.
7. Target Audience.
Everything on your homepage from the design to the content should resonate with your target audience. You can have the most attractive and functional homepage design, but if it isn’t narrowly focused and built with the right people in mind, then it won’t create the positive results you’re aiming for.
8. Dynamic Layout.
As your loyal customers continuously visit your site or when a potential customer revisits your site, it’s ideal to update your homepage design occasionally. This could be as simple as updating content for a specific sale or product release or incorporating videos and animations to create a more engaging experience. Taking a dynamic approach with your homepage design will encourage your visitors to come back to your site for more.
10 Website Homepage Examples for Innovative Design
Now that you know what factors to consider when designing your perfect homepage, let’s take a look at 10 ecommerce shops who are incorporating these factors. Keep in mind that each site prioritizes which factors are most important to them and their brand, so take note on what would work best for you.
1. Ben & Jerry’s.
[Screenshot of Homepage here]
Why it looks great
· If Ben & Jerry’s homepage design doesn’t make you want to indulge your sweet tooth, you’ve got to be kidding. Their thoughtfully styled lifestyle images showcase select products from their product line enticing the consumer to want to see more.
· Naming their store with the headline “Ben & Jerry’s Gift Shop” is a cute and clever way to remind consumers to buy products for themselves and others.
2. Bliss.
[Screenshot of Homepage here]
Why it looks great
· Bliss knows a thing or two about picking effective colors for a homepage design. Their first image is an attention-grabbing orange, and their CTA buttons are in a bright positive yellow and trust inducing blue. Strategically, this blue is also a part of their branding, so it is used throughout the site to create familiarity.
· An easy to follow navigation bar at the top of their homepage explains what types of products they sell.
· Bonus points, their logo and branding are consistent throughout their entire site.
3. Clarks.
[Screenshot of Homepage here]
Why it looks great
· Clarks keeps their homepage dynamic with their carousel featuring current sales and shoe collections.
· Various shoe styles are showcased on their homepage, which gives a clear picture to visitors on what they can find if they keep digging through the site.
4. FireWire.
[Screenshot of Homepage here]
Why it looks great
· FireWire’s homepage design is clean, simple, and sleek just like their boards. They’ve incorporated action-oriented visuals to show their brand personality and tell their story.
· By including one sentence that explains exactly who they are and what they do, they are transparent with their visitors and immediately explain their value proposition. “We elevate the surfing experience with innovative designs, new materials and advanced construction methods.”
· If FireWire’s site wasn’t attention-grabbing enough, they also feature some of their blog articles at the bottom of their homepage which link to videos and podcast episodes. This is an innovative way to spark interest, educate, and keep visitors exploring their site.
5. Gilette on Demand.
[Screenshot of Homepage here]
Why it looks great
· Gilette on Demand’s homepage design is tailored to include all the facts consumers want to know with no frills. Straightforward copy and imagery explain the value they provide from the start.
· Their CTAs pop against their white background and include unique messaging like “Choose Handle” for a more brand-specific approach.
· By far one of the best things on Gilette on Demand’s homepage is their “How It Works” section towards the bottom of their page where they include easy to follow steps to guide visitors through the ordering process. These steps are great because it guarantees zero customer confusion and leads them to their next step seamlessly.
6. Hush Puppies.
[Screenshot of Homepage here]
Why it looks great
· Hush Puppies uses zoomed-in rectangular and square photos featuring their various shoe collections in order to create a fun mix that is appealing to the eye.
· They also give their customers the option to pay through AfterPay, and rather than just mentioning this option during check out, they’ve included a CTA on their homepage to “Learn More,” while also including a short blurb about how easy it is to pay in 4 payments. This approach is great because giving customers a heads up about this option before they’ve started shopping can positively influence their purchases.
· By showcasing their Instagram feed and encouraging customers to share photos through a specific hashtag, they are doing a good job of generating user social proof.
7. PayPal HERE.
[Screenshot of Homepage here]
Why it looks great
· Paypal HERE’s homepage design is an excellent example of communicating value through every design element. They immediately communicate what they do through their imagery and copy. Through their subheadline, they also point out a detail that most customers would likely be curious about. “Accepts chip and magnetic strip cards where your business takes you.”
· Not only do they highlight their product options, but they also list who each product is best suited for directly speaking to their target audience.
· They Include a section that features complementary products, which is a smart way to help visitors envision what other products they may need to complete their experience.
8. Skullcandy.
[Screenshot of Homepage here]
Why it looks great
· Skullcandy’s homepage design is the definition of dynamic and exudes emotion and trendiness. They keep their copy short, powerful, and clever and really focus on the visual and interactive design elements of their site. With simple CTAs at the top of their page, they highlight their “12 Moods” feature which is a compilation of the unique themes they have on their site each month. These themes differ by colors, products, and artists and athletes featured. This fresh take keeps consumers coming back, and the featured artists and athletes are great social proof!
· By highlighting their support for a non-profit, Skullcandy shows what they care and stand for as a brand, which adds to their story and speaks volumes to their visitors from the get-go.
· Harnessing their relationship with their customers, they include social media icons as well as their podcast listening options, which helps keep their brand in the forefront of their consumers’ minds long after they’ve let the site.
9. Woolrich.
[Screenshot of Homepage here]
Why it looks great
· Woolrich’s homepage design is all about simplicity, neutrals, and no-nonsense. Flannel is a serious matter, after all. With minimal copy, they focus on CTAs and their visuals do exactly what they need them to do, showcase the product.
· Their clear navigation bar points their visitors to their most popular product categories and leads them to their next step on their customer journey without a doubt.
10. Passion Planner.
[Screenshot of Homepage here]
Why it looks great
· Passion Planner’s homepage design incorporates emotion with a stellar user experience. By utilizing a video that explains how to create the life you’ve always wanted and achieve your dreams; they explain their value proposition while keeping the content interesting.
· Mentioning that over 800,000 customers are using their planner is an excellent example of social proof.
· Last but not least, shout out to Passion Planner for their consistency on their mobile homepage too!
4 Considerations For Choosing a CMS & Website Platform
When choosing a content management system and website platform for your ecommerce shop, it’s important to understand how they will help you reach your ideal home page design goals. The last thing you want is for an unforeseen roadblock to get in the way of your design. Here are a few considerations to think about before making your choice.
1. Ease of editing.
Sometimes trial and error is necessary when it comes to designing the homepage of your dreams, so make sure that editing is simplistic enough for quick and seamless edits. Nothing’s worse than trying to fix something and not intuitively knowing how!
2. Flexibility.
Not all website platforms are as easily customizable as others; some may require a knowledge of coding while others do not. Make sure to check if a platform has rigid settings or if you’ll have the option to design the perfect homepage. At CompanyName, you have the option to use an intuitive storefront editor with no coding required, or you can build a custom online store with HTML, CSS, and popular code libraries.
3. Designs.
Some website platforms offer beautiful tried and true designs that you can choose from. CompanyName offers more than 80 carefully curated designs to help you get that stunning homepage and consistent website look. If you’d rather start from scratch, make sure you have a great designer on your team or allocate the budget to hire one.
4. Customer Support.
Once you have your beautiful homepage up and running, the last thing you want is for something unexpected to happen and cause your homepage to be down. Make sure the platform you choose has an excellent customer support team that you can trust to help you out in times of need. Here at CompanyName, we offer 24/7 chat, email, and US-based phone support to help you every step of the way.
Conclusion
Designing your ecommerce homepage should be fun and exciting. Try to incorporate as many beneficial factors that we mentioned as you can, but always make it your own and stay true to your brand.
The best home pages make a great first impression, focus on creating the best user experience, and get the visitor to move through the customer buying journey. If you do this, you’re on your way to reaching your goals!
Choosing a website platform is a big step, so do your research, sign up for a free trial, and contact their customer support team to answer any lingering design questions.