Essential Website Design Tips for eCommerce: How to Build a Store That Converts

The difference between a website that impresses and one that sells comes down to design — how you structure, style, and streamline your customer’s journey. Drawing from Shopify’s “Essential Website Design Tips for Ecommerce Stores”, here are tried-and-tested principles to help your site drive trust, engagement, and conversions.

1. Accessibility: Designing for All Users

The challenge
Many websites fail to accommodate people with disabilities or varying cognitive preferences. Overcrowded layouts, rapid animations, or missing alt text for images can alienate segments of your audience.

How to overcome it

  • Always add meaningful alt text to images (Shopify supports this)

  • Avoid overly aggressive animations or transitions

  • Use contrast and readable fonts, and design form inputs and error messages with clarity for all users

  • Consider running an accessibility audit or using tools to test per W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) standards


2. Color Palette: Legibility and Brand Cohesion

The challenge
Your brand colors might be bold or on-trend, but they can backfire if text is hard to read or if the palette becomes inconsistent.

How to overcome it

  • Pick high-contrast color combinations (e.g. dark text on off-white backgrounds) for readability

  • Stick to a limited palette—your brand colors + neutrals + an accent tone

  • Make sure the palette is consistent across product pages, navigation, and marketing elements


3. Imagery & Video: Bringing Your Brand to Life

The challenge
Weak or inconsistent visuals dilute brand identity. Heavy videos or image files can also slow down pages.

How to overcome it

  • Use a consistent aesthetic or visual style for product images (e.g. same background, lighting)

  • For lifestyle imagery or video, align visuals with your brand story

  • Where video might hamper performance (especially on slow connections), provide fallback images or thumbnails


4. Functionality & Speed: The Invisible Force Behind Engagement

The challenge
Designs that look beautiful but lag or break elements (especially on mobile) create friction.

How to overcome it

  • Prioritize responsive design — mobile commerce now accounts for more than half of eCommerce sales

  • Test your site under weak network conditions

  • Lazy load non-critical elements, disable autoplay videos on mobile, and use asynchronous loading where possible


5. Navigation: Guiding Users Smoothly

The challenge
Visitors can’t find what they want—or they have to dig too much.

How to overcome it

  • Use intuitive, predictable placements (logo, cart, menu)

  • Aim to reduce the number of clicks to critical pages (product pages, checkout)

  • Use clear labels, bread crumbs, and search functionality where appropriate


6. Typography: Readability Meets Character

The challenge
Typefaces that look great in a designer file may fall flat in real-world use—too small, too ornate, or inconsistent.

How to overcome it

  • Stick to 1–2 core typefaces, plus a third for accents if needed

  • Use font weights and sizes to create hierarchy (headlines, body text, CTAs)

  • Avoid long lines of text; keep paragraphs concise and break them up with images or whitespace


Bonus Tips (from Shopify + refined ideas)

  • Balance the expected with the unexpected: While you want to lean on familiar conventions for usability, small unique touches (micro-animations, surprise color pops) can make your brand memorable.

  • Avoid pure white backgrounds: Slightly off-white or tinted neutrals reduce eye strain, especially on backlit devices.

  • Design for worst-case browsing experience: Always consider users with slow connectivity or older devices. If a design element doesn’t hold up under those conditions, it might be too fragile.


How DeanSwanepoel.com Can Help

At DeanSwanepoel.com, we specialise in Shopify store design, UX optimisation, and performance tuning. If you'd like to transform your site into a high-conversion, beautifully designed experience, we’d love to help. 


Final Thoughts

Website design is more than aesthetics—it's communication, trust, and guided action. A site that’s visually compelling but functionally flawed will frustrate users; one that’s efficient but bland won’t convert. By combining both with the principles above, your online store can be memorable and reliable.

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