5 e-commerce web design trends to keep an eye on in 2019.

Innovations in online store design are not seasonal fads. These innovations will stay with us for good, because behind them is an improved user experience of the visit. And more pleasing to the eye graphics and easier navigation mean better sales results. Shoper suggests which web design innovations are worth knowing and implementing.

We can easily find screenshots of Amazon's store from the 1990s on the web. It's really worth it! Many a person at the sight of them will strongly wonder how a site that looked like this could sell anything. From today's point of view, it seems littered with an excess of links and completely non-functional. In 2019, such a clumsy e-commerce site would not keep customers - they would quickly flee to competitors.

- The Internet adapts new solutions very quickly. A site designed a few years ago according to current web design trends may soon turn out to be antediluvian. Users easily become accustomed to more intuitive buttons and navigation more in line with the canon of user experience, which they will be familiar with from other sites, so it's worth looking at what innovations are being introduced elsewhere, especially in Western e-shops, suggests Dominik Cisoń, Customer Success Specialist of the Shoper platform.

Shopera experts have selected 5 web design solutions that have either adopted or are slowly adopting in the e-commerce industry. Their implementation in 2019 will be very welcome.

1. mobile first

This is the last call to make sure your e-commerce site is responsive. According to Gemius data, last year the phone became the most popular device with which we use the Internet in Poland. Websites already need to be adapted for viewing on a small screen. One way to make their navigation work on a smaller layout is to shrink it down to the size of the so-called hamburger menu, a drop-down icon that takes the form of three horizontal lines.

- Simply using a hamburger icon and using a responsive website in 2019 may no longer be enough. Smartphone users are increasingly moving away from the "computer" habit, launching a browser to type in the address of a page on the web. It's not very convenient on a phone, so on a daily basis they use services that they can launch with one tap of the start screen, says Dominik Cisoń of Shopera, "That's why a few weeks ago we introduced PWA (Progressive Web Apps) functionality. This is a new technology for creating web applications that load like regular web pages. It allows shoppers to easily "save" their favorite store on their phone and enter it in a second, just like a mobile app, the expert adds.

2. parallax scrolling

When a customer doesn't want to use the convenient menu and feels like just "looking around" the store, he usually starts scrolling through its home page. If he doesn't quickly find the products he is interested in, he will probably get bored with it quickly. However, you can introduce some dynamics into the scrolling process by dividing the page into modules. When we use parallax scrolling, some of them react to the use of the scroll button differently than others. At some point, the side menu freezes, and only the buttons with products in the central part of the screen move, or, on the contrary, this menu suddenly "rolls away" to the top and we are left with one special offer. This kind of effect is eagerly used on the websites of big brands and lifestyle sites, and e-shops are also slowly adopting it

3 Grid layout

The advantage of the "checkered" layout is the clear and simple division of content. The site consists of square or rectangular blocks, of similar size, separated from each other by a thick frame. Menus and other navigational modules neatly blend with links to product pages, which proves convenient not only for Internet users, but also for store developers who frequently update their offerings. The attractiveness of a checkered layout increases with the use of good quality graphics, so retailers opting for it should invest in a professional photo shoot of their products.

4. hover effect

Animated buttons already existed in the early days of web pages, but then they took the form of graphics (e.g. the same shape but different color) jumping into place of the original element when the mouse cursor was over it. Today's solutions are a bit more advanced. The graphic starts zooming slowly when the cursor is hovered over, or a simple animation turns the button into its negative. The user has the feeling of interacting with the page and feels encouraged to explore the content.

5. product video

Unlike in stationary retail, not every shopper visits an online store, seeing its main site at first. Many get there through a search engine or social media, landing immediately on product pages, but don't necessarily feel like reading about them. An increasingly popular solution is to design product pages in such a way that their essential element is a video module, where short videos demonstrating the main advantages of the product go. In Shopper stores, this is made possible by embedding video content posted in a special YouTube channel.

- It is worth taking advantage of the opportunities that video provides. It is sensational in holding the buyer's attention for longer. Our analysis shows that the average visit to an e-store lasts only 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Customers often open several pages at a time in their browser, jump between them, compare offers. Retailers should design their sites to make a good impression and be memorable in that short time, and the momentary visitor will return to the abandoned shopping cart with a credit card, suggests Dominik Cisoń of Shopera.