Sunday 26 February 2017

Common Design Mistakes That Hamper User Experience in Prestashop


When it comes to online selling, the user experience is something that can make all the difference. It measures the visual appeal as well as functional ease that the website offers to the user. The propensity of a visitor to stay on the site and convert the visit into sale actually defines the success of the website. For this reason, user experience becomes one of the key parameters that are to be considered while building an online store.

Prestashop is one of the most popular shopping cart software, which is used to create a feature-rich, high-performance, and robust e-commerce store. It offers an array of features such as customization, flexibility, responsiveness, and high standard templates. All these features empower a developer to create a store that offers an unmatched user experience. However, there are some common store design mistakes that can hamper the user experience on a Prestashop based website. Let's check out some of them:

Complicated Forms With Too Many Fields 

Filling in forms and fields is one of the key activities that users need to do on an e-commerce store. Having complicated forms with too many fields can make things frustrating for the visitors and they may end up leaving without conversion. The solution is to create one column lists which are easier to read and fill. Alternatively, developers can group the similar elements together based on the information type. For instance, there should be separate columns for personal details, payment information, delivery options, and more.

Limited Navigation Options 

With online selling, the core of user experience lies in the navigation process. The business will never flourish if the users are not readily able to find the products they are looking for. The developer should concentrate on providing comprehensive navigation options such as top menu, sub menus, navigation for individual and related products, contact information, help, and any other information the user may need. Product filters can enhance the user experience to a greater extent.

Not Keeping The Basic Help In View

Another store design mistake that is commonly made during Prestashop website development is that the basic help is not available in the plain view. The entire concept of online selling is based on reducing the time frame of the transaction. The longer the user takes to finish up, the lesser are the chances of conversion. Basic help guidelines come handy to ensure a user-friendly experience.

Improper Placement Of Labels

The user experience greatly depends on the readability of product information as well as forms and questionnaires on the online store. Improper placement of labels can create confusion and influence the user decision to stay on the site. The labels should preferably be placed at the top of the form. Also, there should be a clear demarcation between the labels and the information given underneath. Using capital case is to be avoided. The font sizes and styles should be chosen to provide good readability.

Not Highlighting the CTA Button

Online selling is all about enticing the user to complete the sale before leaving the website. The CTA or call-to-action is a key parameter used for this purpose. Designers usually forget to highlight the CTA button, which causes the seller to lose
potential customers. Highlighting the CTA buttons with eye-catching colors or larger fonts improves visibility and hence, engages customers.

Having A Cluttered Online Store

A clean, uncluttered appearance can improve the user experience to a great extent. Having unnecessary information and form fields on the online store, on the other hand, makes it unappealing and cumbersome. Users are sure to get irritated if asked to fill useless details. Having to go through a tedious checkout process is one of the biggest reasons causing poor conversion rates. Minimalism is the word, but this doesn't mean that there should be the lack of information.

Hiring a reputed Prestashop development company is a good way to ensure that your website provides an excellent user experience. They can build a good-looking and user-friendly online store that takes your business on a route to success.

User experience is one of the key parameters of success of a Prestashop online store. A smooth and seamless user experience ensures higher conversion rates and hence, better business for the online seller. There are some common mistakes that can hamper the UX and result in users leaving the website without completing the transaction. Prestashop Developer can, however, take care of some small things and resolve these problems.