Website design is continually evolving. Each year, new concepts and ideas are being introduced. User patterns are changing and various concepts that were once ignored are now growing in importance. To ensure that customers have the best shopping experience, designers need to constantly reevaluate their design. Whether you’re a designer or an e-commerce website owner, you can’t afford to get left behind. Listed below are the top e-commerce design trend this year.
eCommerce website themes
1. The Reign of Mobile
In the past, web design focused on being responsive and adaptive. Designers had to create desktop web pages that could easily be used for a wide range of mobile devices (tablets, smartphones, iPads). Now, the tides have turned. A huge percentage of online shoppers prefer using mobiles to shop. Because of this, companies had to shift their focus to ensure they’re making the most out of their business potential.
This change meant only one thing: designers had to create e-commerce websites for mobile first and only adapt for larger screens. For us who like to use our desktops to shop, this means we’ll see more mobile-friendly features on many eCommerce website themes such as long scrolling pages, card-like layouts, and finger-friendly icons.
2. Interactive Shopping: Animations and Cinemagraphs
Image Source: flixel.com
With the popularity of Google’s Material Design come e-commerce websites that will be built with interactive elements. This year we shall see lots of sites using animations as well as innovative interactions that help shoppers navigate quickly by simply swiping or tapping. E-commerce websites will also have cool buttons, icon rotations, and animated loading bars that grab user’s attention.
In the homepage, we shall see more cinemagraphs. Cinemagraphs are images with small, repeating animations. They’re created in GIF format but unlike the gifts we know, they come in a more subtle form. They usually appear as home page banners and background images displayed to give life to your otherwise boring site. As a trend that started late in 2016, we should expect more cinemagraphs in e-commerce stores this year.
3. Striking Colors
If the past few years were all about minimalism and the white space, this year’s latest trends will have designers experiment more on bold bright colors that will make a website pop. Colors are not only for aesthetics, in design they are used to connect with customers. In e-commerce, the intelligent use of colors can help convey messages and bring a positive shopping experience.
Gone are the days of monochromatic websites. In 2018, we shall see more eye-catching websites with colorful homepages. In terms of texture, more websites will be clad in striking colors paired with neutral backgrounds and with big typography, letters with highlights, and interesting navigational aids.
4. Chatbots
Image Source: chatbotslife.com
The need for a personalized shopping experience will bring chat bots with artificial intelligence into e-commerce. The evolution of these digital assistants will help businesses bring innovative ways to serve their valued customers. Chatbots are primarily built to answer customer queries about products and its usages. But they can also be tweaked to do more. Some chatbots are designed to give customers the best shopping experience by helping with purchase decisions, offering discount codes, and delivering shipping notifications. Today, many e-commerce designers and e-commerce platforms like Shopify are introducing chatbots to their platforms.
5. Original Photography
A picture speaks a thousand words, that’s why it’s important to choose only beautiful high-quality pictures for your brand. With this in mind, custom photography will become a trend this year. Many companies will start hiring professional photographers to provide authentic images. Large images will not only be displayed on the homepage but for inner product pages as well. Stock images will be used less and less as brands will want to sell their stories and products more effectively.
6. Storytelling
Using various design approaches, you can tell a great brand story. And a good story can always breathe life into a lifeless brand. Brands that make the effort to establish an emotional connection between their customers through storytelling will earn credibility and trust from consumers. It makes your e-commerce business stand out from the crowd.
When creating a story, make sure that 1) you highlight your brand’s humble beginnings 2) show your passion for the product/service and 3) give a solution to the customer’s problem.
7. Improved Security
The year 2016 was not a good year for cyber security. Dell Security Annual Threat reported that malware attacks nearly doubled to 8.19 billion in 2016. While Verizon’s Data Breach Investigation reports that 89% of cyber attacks are done with financial and espionage motivations.
Ten years ago cybersecurity seemed unnecessary or rather reactionary measures only after your system has been attacked or breached. This has resulted in more and more cyber attacks over the decade which pushed businesses to start improving their security measures. Virus from free music downloads, movies and applications are the usual culprits, but today fraudsters have found ways to connect with people through email, social media, and even eCommerce sites. Today eCommerce websites are embracing HTTPS encryption to improve security and increase their customer’s confidence when online shopping.
What are the other design trends you think will be used in 2018?
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