7 E-Commerce Website Design Mistakes to Always Avoid
Your website is the foundation of your online sales strategy. Strong e-commerce website design should guide users seamlessly from discovery to checkout. Yet many brands lose conversions due to avoidable design mistakes that frustrate users, reduce trust, and create friction in the buying process.
Whether you’re launching a new site or optimizing an existing one, avoiding these common design pitfalls can significantly improve user experience and conversion rates.
Why E-Commerce Website Design Matters
E-commerce shoppers expect speed, clarity, and ease. If your website feels confusing, slow, or untrustworthy, users will abandon their carts and look elsewhere.
Effective e-commerce website design balances aesthetics with usability, ensuring customers can quickly find products, understand value, and complete purchases without friction.
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Capturing relevant information about customers, fans, followers, and friends enable us to create more personalized interactions. In turn, we can better understand how to provide the best possible experience for our target audience.
7 E-Commerce Website Design Mistakes to Avoid
1. Poor Mobile Experience
With a significant portion of e-commerce traffic coming from mobile devices, a poor mobile experience can quickly cost you sales. Sites that aren’t designed mobile-first often suffer from slow load times, hard-to-tap buttons, and layouts that don’t translate well to smaller screens, making it difficult for users to browse and buy.
2. Complicated Navigation
When users can’t easily find products, they’re unlikely to stick around. Overly complex menus, unclear category names, and cluttered layouts create friction and frustration, interrupting the shopping experience and increasing bounce rates.
3. Slow Page Load Times
Speed plays a major role in conversion. Pages that take too long to load can cause shoppers to abandon your site before even viewing a product, especially when browsing on mobile or slower connections.
4. Unclear Product Information
Incomplete or confusing product details make it harder for customers to feel confident in their purchase. Without clear descriptions, high-quality images, and essential information like sizing or availability, users may hesitate or leave to find answers elsewhere.
5. A Confusing Checkout Process
A complicated checkout experience is one of the most common reasons for cart abandonment. Too many steps, unexpected fees, or a lack of payment options can disrupt the buying process at the final stage.
6. Lack of Trust Signals
If shoppers don’t trust your site, they won’t convert. Missing or unclear trust signals, such as customer reviews, secure payment indicators, or transparent policies, can raise doubts and prevent users from completing their purchase.
7. Ignoring Accessibility Best Practices
Accessibility is a critical but often overlooked aspect of e-commerce website design. When sites aren’t built with accessibility in mind, they exclude users and create unnecessary barriers, limiting reach and negatively impacting usability for everyone.
Capturing relevant information about customers, fans, followers, and friends enable us to create more personalized interactions.
Optimize Your E-Commerce Website
E-commerce website design should prioritize the customer journey. By eliminating friction, improving clarity, and building trust, your site becomes a stronger sales tool that supports long-term growth.
At Kraus Marketing, we design and optimize e-commerce websites that balance performance, usability, and conversion. Contact us today to evaluate your e-commerce website design and identify opportunities to improve user experience and increase conversions.