One of the surprising discoveries that PC World published involved the effect of ugly websites and customer responses. Often times, people assume that attractive sites gain greater favor with viewers and customers than ugly ones. However, in its analysis of the most often used and returned to sites, PC World found that ugly sites beat out attractive sites more often than not. Yet the reasons ugly sites work can be transferred into making a more attractive site work for your e-commerce store.
Functionality over Style
The biggest reason that people tend to prefer ugly sites over attractive sites simply comes down to the functionality. Some of the ugliest sites listed included eBay and Google. Both of these sites use fairly streamlined design techniques, but at the forefront of the design is usability. Anyone can log on to either of these sites and immediately figure out what they need to know. Fancier sites tend to make the process more confusing. In making the various components more attractive, it’s easy to disguise them and make them harder to follow. Instead, you should focus on the absolute functionality of the site. Some components of style can be used. You can use effective computer web templates to establish a reasonably attractive site, but you should never sacrifice the functionality for the appearance.
Loading Speed over Image Quality
Customers and viewers have fairly limited attention spans when it comes to loading an eCommerce store or even a traditional webpage. They want the information or the product as soon as possible. Window shopping on the Internet generally occurs in less than five minutes, and most viewers will decide whether to keep browsing on a website within the first three to four seconds, according to Web Statistics. While most eCommerce stores must have images of the various products to show customers what they have to sell, these images should be streamlined and minimized to allow for maximum loading speed. Your viewers and customers can then click on the thumbnail image to get a larger one, but this way it does not take so long for the page to load.
Desired Effect over Preselected Palette
When it comes to loud graphics and contrasting color palettes, eBay takes the prize. According to “Web Design Mysteries,” eBay uses far too many contrasting primary colors to allow for a comfortable viewing experience, and yet they make it work. The ochre, cobalt, and apple red get the viewer’s attention. If not used properly, this particular color palette could actually make for a very distracting viewing experience. However, the eBay designers coordinated these contrasting colors in such a way that they create the desired effects without overpowering the eye. Often, using a preselected palette in attractive website design means using colors that are quite similar to one another. You need to use colors that contrast significantly to draw attention to those parts of the page, text, or products. But you will have to play with those combinations to make sure they don’t create a distraction. When designing your website for your eCommerce store, make sure that you evaluate the color choices based on the effect that they have on the eye, and the viewing experience, rather than whether they fit your palette.
