My experience of working with web designers has taught me that the best websites are a product of innovative thought. Copying from a great-looking website will not earn you any rewards. Borrowed ideas are of no use unless implemented in the right manner. So, learn from others, but apply your own resources. Focus on your own offerings; highlight on your uniqueness in terms of product features and your ability to read the user’s mind.

Here, I have brought to light the top five things on a killer website.

• Watch out for White Space:

White space is something, which we all want to leave out. But ironically, that is what most users want to see. In other words, a string of words put against a beautiful design, and plenty of white space around, steals the show. Having white space on the webpage creates a sense of visual comfort and breathing space for the users. A classic example of effective white space utilization is Google. It allows us to start searching on a blank slate, unlike other search engines, which are cluttered with content all over.

Therefore, it is imperative to strategically utilize white space throughout your site to highlight the key elements of each page and make the content more appealing. Squarespace and Medium other examples of websites which utilize white space intelligently.

• Responsive Design:

The idea behind responsive designs is to create a single version of a website that auto-adjusts to display properly on all devices. Responsive content and design can be viewed from any screen, including handheld devices, smartphones, e-readers, and computers. Simple stuff like a well-positioned search tool, a visibly large slider tool, makes a lot of difference. Your website may promote a well-known fashion accessories brand, or you may be working on a website for an online education hub. The display may be smaller, as on a mobile phone, but the content should be readable. Test your designs time and again, to check for visual appeal and correctness, before they go live.

• Content that Conquers:

I have seen websites that win with fewer words. The content should be crisp, candid, and meaningful. The user may be looking for study tables. Your website content should be informative and precise. The user wants to know about the product, the available variations, and similar products. No need to brag about your company or how good your resources are. You may, of course, other similar products, and remember to choose the tags, carefully.

• Easy Navigation:

When was the last time you were late for an office function and was expecting the cab driver to take the shortest route ever? And how, he took the longest route, despite your repeated requests. Yes, the same happens to users when they land on an e-commerce site. Having filtering options or advanced searches is good. But, what if you have a website with fewer images and texts, allowing you to navigate better? Have a few prominent tabs that take you to the specific pages.

Aim at capturing the user’s attention in 3 seconds. Take a look at the Pixel Solutionz website. You will love the brilliant designs, easy navigability, and delightful graphics.

• Listen to them Talking:
Despite having a terrific design, and optimal functionality speed, most websites fail because they overlook what the users are saying. Your website is not just a series of pictures or a never-ending barrage of texts. Take note of what the users are saying. Create a comments section, have a ready feedback form, and a discussion forum, where the users can post their views and share opinions.

If you are running an e-commerce website, it is advisable to cite a few well-known quotations from positive customer reviews. You may also include a few special deals, coupon codes or promotion. These things inspire users to take the next step and purchase your product.

Care to share some thoughts? I would love to know your views on web designs.

1. Machine-learning: Quite often we go to the local grocery and ask for a pack of cigarettes or a favorite brand of cheese. Most shopkeepers remember the preferred brands of their loyal customers. They are quite likely to offer us a money saver pack or promise to inform us if it is not available then. Now, the same happens in online shopping and goes beyond it. Well, it is not just remembering the customer’s last bought item or sending a reminder mail for Christmas special discount. It is called deep-delving analysis of consumer behavior and helps the marketer add value to his business. Shopify has even studied abandoned cart emails and re-phrased e-mails to sound more personal and appealing. They have also seen a significant rise of 12% increase in conversion. Several e-retailers are coming up with virtual assistants with a personal touch or personalized e-mails that address specific customer needs. You will most likely find app notifications informing you of fresh stocks or attractive discounts on your favorite brands.

2. Voice Search: Imagine the joy of finding your favorite video over voice search by simply uttering the first few words in any language or finding a sunset point, while you are driving through a dream destination. The convenience of searching and ease of implementation, along with the focus on localized traffic contributed largely to the growing popularity of voice search. Voice search accounts for more than 20% of searches through Google, over mobile. The convenience and comfort of voice searches over voice-activated devices such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home are becoming increasingly popular across the world. Research also states that voice search makes comparing brands easier. According to Rachel Jacobs, head of content at Pixc, over 40% of millennials have used voice search before making an online purchase. With Google Assistant and Alexa becoming your shopping buddies, you can search, select, buy, order, re-order or even cancel anytime. Voice searches also make it easier for marketers to understand customer persona, and their individual preferences, identify region-wise needs, and assess customer feedback when they re-order an item or prefer particular brands. Marketers should focus more on long-tail keywords and everyday syntax, and structured writing for more success stories in voice search.

3. Blockchain and Cryptocurrency: Online shoppers are well aware of the benefits of using Bitcoins for online purchases. Advanced transactional security and virtually zero risks of payment fraud are two of the best reasons for extensive usage of cryptocurrencies. Major players like Microsoft, Etsy, Shopify, and Stripe are supporting Bitcoin, another reason for making it one of the hottest e-commerce trends of 2018 and beyond. Blockchain, which is fast gaining acceptance among global brands like Alibaba and Amazon, manages transactions and currencies without the intervention of banks. Though the ball has just started rolling, blockchain will soon be used for tasks like order fulfillment, security, and instant order tracking in the years to come.

4. Chatbots: Chatbots are not a very recent phenomenon. It has been there since the early days of online shopping, but there has been a remarkable makeover in the last few years. Chatbots are no more dumb chat windows where customers post their queries to get an automated reply (something like we are happy to help you. Our representative will get back to you shortly). Today you see chatbots where customers can interact with virtual assistants to inquire about a product, check its availability status, ask for a return policy, and even re-order their commonly used products. Apart from being a direct selling window, chatbots also go a long way in cross-selling and upselling, much like a friendly shop. In addition, chatbots are a great way to answer customer service inquiries and have the ability to function 24 hours a day.

5. Mobile Commerce: The digital marketplace has always been a personal space, but with the advent of mobile apps, the personalized shopping experience has redefined itself. It is like finding the immortality potion and using it of one’s free will. E-retailers are coming up with mobile and tab-friendly apps that make browsing and ordering much easier. Customers can also make payments with the easy mobile wallet options and optimized checkout. Add to this, the option of saving your searches, preferred brands, and products. So far m-commerce was mostly limited to lifestyle and entertainment segments. Now, other popular segments like education are also entering the fray. BYJU for example has been a pathbreaker in the field of online tutorials, which was so far limited to downloading notes or question papers. e-commerce trends are at times changing at the pace of a consumer’s mood change. While major changes like automation, augmented reality, virtual reality, and machine learning is shaping the technological landscape, at large, we must also take into account the influence on social commerce.

While the need for personal apps is on the rise, community-led commerce is seeing new heights, through recommendations and feedback forums. The consumer, undoubtedly the queen, is making her demands obvious, which the marketers need to understand. Understanding the customer, through newer ways social innovation lies at the core of all change. When the needs are defined, the means to attain them may just need to be worked out. Pixel Solutionz will keep you posted more…

What’s Visual Search in e-commerce?

Visual search or photo search in e-commerce is not something new, nor is it completely unheard of. It existed back in 2009 when Zappos had photo-searching enabled search functionality on its site.

The recent trend is more about knowing the consumer, as a person, rather than as a customer segment (with well-defined demographics). So, what makes it special? Why is photo-search such an in-thing in e-commerce now? Well, the answers are many. But as all roads lead to Rome, so the bottom-line is customer satisfaction through personalization of preferences.
Photo search in e-commerce is able to read an image for explicit details such as color, shape, size, and proportions. This is way ahead of keyword-matched search, in which results are dependent upon the user’s ability to define a product or service through appropriate keywords.
Also, with keyword search, keywords must exist in both the query and the product description or the page’s metadata, and a match depends on product copy describing the product in the same or similar way. Sounds complex, right?

This is where visual search wins over, keyword searching.

Photo Search in e-commerce: Playing it Wise

The e-commerce market is expanding fast and influences up to 56% of in-house sales. While digital commerce continues to re-invent itself, matching the changing consumer preferences, we may take a look at what the online retailers up to. Major global players like Amazon, eBay, Pinterest have already implemented offering visual searches. Zalando and ASOS, two big retailers in Europe are also offering visual searches to their shoppers.
Target’s In a Snap image-recognition app, which is compatible with the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, the application lets users shop for Target items from online magazine sites and even printed ads, minus the hassle of scanning barcodes, looking up links or searching store shelves for the perfect product.

According to 2017 report by PCWorld, by 2020, nearly 6.1 billion people in the world will own a Smartphone, making way for more digital shoppers. The report also forecasted that 80% of all search queries are going to be either through images or speech.

Visual searches are here to stay. The coming years will see more brands and retailers will turn to visual search as an effective e-commerce tool. Photo-shopping apps will soon become visual search engines for online shoppers of tomorrow giving a stiff competition to Google or Bing.

I am keen to hear if you have implemented any type of image search into your e-commerce platform or if you have thought of implementing photo search functionalities in your website.

Leave a comment below to let me know!