Ecommerce Website: First Impressions Reading Your Ecommerce Aura

Updated June 16, 2008

When it comes to designing an ecommerce website, storefront 'usability' is one critical issue you should be loath to neglect. Beyond essentials like fast download times and intuitive navigation, an effective ecommerce website must boast equally intuitive catalog and order-interface systems, with the least number of obstacles. How you interface with your customers is critical, and terms like 'usability', 'architecture' and 'flow' suddenly take on increased significance. Even your text and marketing content must be conceived in terms of design, in terms of global impact, in terms of 'cognitive usability'.

In other words, designing a website today demands more care and attention to detail than it used to. Increased competition has raised the stakes and the expectations of Internet shoppers are much higher. Though innovations like Flash have given webmasters more design options to juggle, the ultimate design objective remains the same - to guide site visitors on a fluid path from marketing point A to closing point Z.

To achieve this end, ecommerce web design must be considered holistically. An effective website is one in which various technical and design features work interactively and synergistically to generate customer interest, build trust, and facilitate convenient, unimpeded transaction. Here, design aesthetics (layout, style, image, branding) web content (marketing copy, product specifications, policies), and site technology (web-based applications), should come together to create a seamless online shopping experience.

No piece in this ecommerce puzzle can be neglected, or your end goal will be placed in jeopardy. An ecommerce website is not a finished, fixed thing; nor is it static monument to your business. Rather, it is a process, an interconnected series of events, from A to Z.

Nevertheless, point A, the moment a visitor enters your site, is perhaps the most vital - and the first link in the chain needs to be the strongest. Here, designing for flow and usability means understanding what happens first, at the level of immediate visitor perception. What does the eye lock onto first - text or graphics? Where does the eye begin - at the top left, as with print media, or in the center? And is there a total - or gestalt - impression being made?

It may come as a shock to some, but most studies indicate that text is the first thing that Internet users (consciously) latch onto when they arrive at a website, and then comes art, graphics, and images. Not surprisingly, distinct headings and captions draw attention first - and those positioned near the center of the page wield more visual authority. Text-oriented sites, though less flashy, arguably have stronger ecommerce magnetism (if content is substantial, well-crafted, and effectively formatted).

To maximize immediate website impact, content should be 'chunked' and scaffolded into an easily digestible scheme. Text presentation itself should have a strong design component oriented toward the methodical 'informating' of site visitors. Clear headings, tight paragraphing, highlighted benefits, bulleted central ideas, and strategic linking are all ways to make content 'flow'. Information should be comprehensive, and never overwhelming.

However, there is a yet more fundamental level of perception that takes place even before your visitors begin unpacking site content, appraising graphics and layout, or scanning the index of your navigation bar: the digital first impression.

This level of impression is more global and less tangible than a critical website analysis - and can't be measured by eye-tracking studies: it's the very moment when an online shopper evaluates your level of professionalism and your ecommerce credibility. It's when a potential customer reads, so to speak, your ecommerce aura.

Aura is indeed a fitting term. The more we interact with the Internet, the more we seek out underlying indicators of not just website usability, but of latent website quality. We look for signs of investment and care, for traces of efficiency, stability, and history. A website homepage is a shallow mirror that reflects the wider soul, drive, and integrity of your e-business. Here, details and design minutia play a significant role in creating a larger gestalt impression of your site. Elements like symmetry, balance, or the mere suggestion of design precision will impact your visitors positively.

In the same way, inadequate web design, shoddy solutions, or poor usability can betray you - and it only takes a millisecond after a visitor reaches your page for an irrevocable negative impression to be made.

A first impression can be a capricious thing indeed, and a feeble ecommerce aura can deflect potential visitors from your site in droves. Internet users have only one measure by which to judge your online business: the mere superficial appearance of your webpage. Much of how a customer judges your site is determined at an intuitive level. Once a negative impact is made, no amount of content can overrule that initial signature.

A unique identity and online brand are vital. Here, template-driven or 'homemade' looking sites can make powerful impressions - but only in the worst ways. Everyone has an uncle who just happens to be a web design 'expert' who will build you a website for free. Unfortunately, 'quaint' is not a virtue when it comes to commercial web design - and widely available template solutions signal shallow or 'generic' ecommerce. Similarly, inarticulate content or overbearing copy can send the message that both intentionality and integrity may be lacking in your e-business.

Instead, ecommerce web design must be viewed holistically as a process that balances design, technology, and content in an interdependent alliance. No element is more or less important than the other in achieving an ecommerce objective. And no element can be neglected. At the same time, without a powerful first impression (and a strong ecommerce aura) your customers won't bother to delve into your site - or take the time to see who you really are.