Common Pitfalls in Your Website's UX and CRO

Research shows that users who have a great experience with your brand are likely to become great customers. Yet, even armed with that knowledge, many e-commerce businesses incorporate the same user experience pitfalls into their website design.

User experience (UX) and conversion rate optimization (CRO) are powerful sales tools that enable you to generate important metrics and increase conversion rates, which ultimately lead to increased sales and revenue. 

Optimizing UX will help grow new business and build customer loyalty. However, if there are hurdles in the purchasing process or your website isn’t designed with the users’ needs in mind, you will lose brand engagement, your conversion rates will drop, and many of your customers will look to your competitors for a better buying experience.

Let’s look at some of the most common ways businesses inadvertently add roadblocks to the buyer’s journey and how implementing UX and CRO best practices will streamline the buying process, improve conversion rates, and increase revenue.

8 Common User Experience Pitfalls to Avoid in Your E-Commerce Website Design

If any of the following issues sound familiar, it’s a good time to reassess your UX and CRO strategy.

Missing the Mark on Messaging

If you don’t capture a visitor’s attention fast and convince them that they are in the right place, that user is likely to move on to your competitor. You know, the one with the UX-optimized website.

Be sure your messaging is clear and focused by immediately identifying your brand, letting visitors know what products you offer, and delivering a concise value proposition that focuses on a consumer benefit such as affordability, quality, or exclusivity.

Underestimating the Value of Qualitative Data

Tracking metrics such as visitor count, click-through rate, and length of session will give you essential quantitative data that can be leveraged for UX optimization. But don’t discount the value of collecting qualitative data from real users. 

Collecting feedback from users will help you better understand what they like and dislike about your website’s content and design and how it compares to your competitors’ sites.

When used in conjunction with your quantitative data, this qualitative insight will provide deeper context for why customers behave a certain way, which resources contribute to the most conversions, and what is driving customers to leave your site before purchasing.

Damaging User Trust

You’re asking customers to share a lot of personal information when they make a purchase, so building—and maintaining—trust is essential. 

Establish trust with your customers by avoiding these “red flags” and undesirable elements on your e-commerce site:

• Lack of security authentication
• Mobile “unfriendly” design
• Excessive banners, pop-ups, and ads
• Inaccurate or misleading advertising
• Poorly written copy and low-quality images
• No social media presence

Making Customer Service Pages an Afterthought

Although product pages are the primary focus of any e-commerce website, customers may need additional information, such as your return policy, shipping and delivery information, and who to contact if they have a problem.

Missing or poorly designed customer service pages can give the impression that your business doesn’t care about simplifying the customer experience (or that you have something to hide).

Make it easy for users to find the answers they are looking for with: 

• A comprehensive FAQ page
• Links to shipping information and customer service on every page.
• Chatbots for real-time assistance
• Easy-to-locate contact information
• Fast access to spec sheets, user manuals, and installation instructions
• Prominent social media links

Adding Extra Friction to Your Site Navigation

Overly complex site navigation is a deal killer for many consumers. If a potential customer can’t easily find what they are looking for on your site, they are likely to move on to your competitor. 

Including these elements in your design will help make your website navigation clear and easy to follow:

• Prominent internal search bar 
• Logical menu structure
• Defined product categories
• Filters
• Breadcrumbs

Posting Too Few or Low-Quality Product Images

Because customers can’t physically examine your products, they must base purchasing decisions on the images on your website. 

Providing too few or poor-quality images of your products will frustrate customers and erode trust in your brand. Fortunately, it’s possible to capture high-quality product images even on a budget.

Ignoring Opportunities to Personalize the Buyer Experience

Despite data privacy concerns, many consumers want—and even expect—brands to personalize their shopping experience. 

You can help guide customers to the products they are most likely to buy using e-commerce quizzes to identify relevant offers or customized gift guides showcasing products that are similar to prior purchases.  

Relying Solely on Your Internal Team

Your in-house team knows your brand better than anyone—which is why enlisting help from an outside CRO/UX specialist makes sense. 

When you focus on the same webpages and products every day, it’s easy to fall into creating content that is repetitive or filled with jargon and industry-speak. Partnering with an agency that can provide UX and CRO experts to augment your in-house talent is a great way to get a fresh perspective, take a new approach to feedback and analysis, and fill skills and resource gaps without the expense of a full-time hire.

The Value of Prioritizing UX and CRO for E-Commerce Websites

Taking the time to evaluate and optimize your UX and CRO efforts based on these user experience pitfalls can have a huge impact on customer satisfaction, engagement, and loyalty, which will, in turn, drive sales growth and increase revenue for your business.

If you're looking for ways to improve your user experience and boost your website's conversion rates, take advantage of our Shopify UX Audit Template. It's an excellent tool that can help you pinpoint specific areas for improvement, such as website navigation, design, accessibility, forms, and more.