Shift4Shop eCommerce Blog | Web Design

Great product photography is a critical part of a successful online store. However, for many eCommerce merchants, this is an area in which it's easy to fall short. A lack of knowledge of proper techniques, underestimation of its importance, or a mere misunderstanding as to what makes a good product image makes product photography a weak point for many online stores.

Good product photography is not as simple as placing items on a table and just pointing and shooting a camera. Even a brand new[...]

When building a website, one of the primary elements that you’re going to have to take into consideration is website navigation. This will be a huge factor in your site’s user experience (UX). This is essentially the way that your customers are going to be experiencing your website, using subtle cues to make their visit more enjoyable and profitable to you. This includes various elements that will guide your customer on their buying journey, such as optimized navigation designs, search bars,[...]

Shift4Shop’s Unsplash integration makes it easy to quickly add free stock photos to your eCommerce website. Let’s take a look at how it works, and some strategies for choosing the best stock images!

The central component to any eCommerce operation is, naturally, the website. A website can make or break any business through a variety of variables such as design, run time, and overall functionality. If you’re using an eCommerce platform to build your online store, then you’ll likely have many ready-made templates available to use. However, that’s not the only option at your disposal.

The eCommerce industry is one of the fastest-growing industries these days. It is quickly becoming our way of doing business. Every stakeholder of this industry has an exclusive scope from it. As a result, they have a large base of clients who expect a well-developed user experience.

No matter how unique the products you offer on your online store are, your eCommerce store should follow the top industry practices. Otherwise, all your efforts could be in vain. For many online stores, even a[...]

Good web design is essential for eCommerce businesses looking to improve their online presence. In this article, we'll take a look at 23 ways that you can enhance your website's design to boost engagement and conversions.

When a business needs a website to support workflows, advertise their brand, or sell products, many entrepreneurs have only one question in their minds – how much will the website design cost? If you’re designing your own website with built-in templates and a page editor, then you may not need to pay for a third-party designer. However, if you’re looking to design a website outside of the capabilities of built-in tools, then a design team is your best option.

As a savvy marketer, you understand that visual elements are invaluable to your marketing campaign. With the ability to attract attention, they can get you more clicks and sales than any text ads would.

This is because consumers are visual learners. When compared with text, the information presented in the form of photos and videos is more likely to be retained longer.

It also increases the overall user experience of the website visitors and helps stimulate their instinctual desire to engage[...]

Building a website is a lot easier than it used to be. However, it's still a significant project. And just like any other type of project, you need a solid plan.

The layout of your website is the most crucial part of this plan. Colors, graphics, and other content can all be changed much more easily than the layout. Think of the layout as your site's skeleton. It determines the structure of each page, to be fleshed out later.

Is your online business experiencing low conversion rates, abandoned carts, and poor sales figures? Rather than putting more money into ads in an effort to generate leads, chances are that you could optimize your website’s performance by redesigning it with UX in mind.

What are the different types of pages you can find on a shopping website? The answer may be trickier than you would expect. You have the home page, naturally. You have your product pages, as well as the category pages that organize them. There are checkout pages, which guide customers into placing orders. There are also more informative sections like the About page, the Contact Us page, blog posts, terms and conditions, and more.

Here's an alarming statistic: a staggering 88 percent of online shoppers claim they won't revisit a website after a bad user experience, according to Amazon Web Services. However, there's this common misconception that providing visitors with a good user experience equates to having a visually appealing website.

If you are like most people, you most likely assumed having an aesthetically pleasing website would suffice. So, how come you're still not generating as many leads, and your site's[...]

All too often, websites are built on a series of assumptions, eCommerce platform limitations and best guesses. No matter how you arrived at your current website, it's likely there is at least one element that drives you crazy or that makes you less confident you're operating at 100% effectiveness. Dynamic heatmaps are a powerful tool to help illustrate what’s actually happening on your website.

Every business, no matter how small, needs a website. Even businesses that rely primarily on word-of-mouth marketing and local advertising require an online space of their own these days. Not only can a website provide important information your customers need, but they boost credibility. And, when done properly, websites can dramatically boost revenue for small businesses, attracting new customers hunting online for their services and goods.

Using sliders in web design is a largely divisive tool for UX design. There are a lot of parties on both sides who either hate or love sliders. But at the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide whether or not they are suitable for your needs.

For specific applications, sliders are a fantastic and interactive way to present information quickly and simply. They’re most useful when comparing content or showcasing portfolios. It’s also a great way to present updates for new products or features.

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With thousands of other websites as competition, many site owners are constantly looking for the next opportunity to stand out. It isn’t just a matter of showing off what they can do, but more a matter of making the sales they need to keep their site (and business) running. Heatmaps are an often-overlooked tool that can have a tremendously positive impact on your sales.

Has the lack of profit you are making on your online business left you scratching your head? Time to get a custom web design to help expand your business.

Growing your online presence is a top priority if you want to maximize your profit. In today's world, people spend more time peering into their phones and computers than on the outside world. If you're going to make more profit, you need a solid foundation for your business online.

You’ve spent hours perfecting the look and feel of your eCommerce shop. You’ve staged professional photos of your products. Everything is seemingly perfect and ready for launch. And yet, upon hanging the “open for business” sign, nothing seems to be happening — for days, weeks and yes, perhaps even months.

Could it be that the overall user experience (UX) just isn’t where it needs to be? Consumers are busy. They don’t want to waste time trying to hunt through your eCommerce shop, and they[...]

Selling online is complicated. You have a lot on your plate, and it's easy to fear that you've overlooked something. For one, you need customers to trust you, or else they'll turn away. This may have already been happening to you. In that case, you're probably wondering how to get customers to believe in your business.

It might just be that your website doesn't have enough content.

Your eCommerce website is not just an online store. Simply having product pages, categories, and a shopping cart[...]

The images you use on your website provide a number of benefits — for yourself as a business and, of course, for your customers. Not only are they an excellent way to break up text, creating a stronger flow in your copy and making it more digestible, but they also combine textual communication with visual communication, which improves the ability of your content to convey an idea. Not to mention, many people like being able to see a product before making a purchasing decision, which means that[...]