Top Budget-Friendly Design Tips For Building Your eCommerce Website

Building an eCommerce website is an exciting endeavor, whether to sell your old clothes as a side hustle or to start your own business. It’s also a lengthy process that can take time and cause headaches.

Additionally, there’s the cost of getting your site up and running, as well as persuading people to shop from it.

Designing your website is something you’ll want to get right the first time. So, it pays to spend a bit of time researching how you can create the most user-friendly site that is amicable to your wallet, too.

Delve into this article as we load you up with our top budget-friendly design tips for building your eCommerce website, from scattering reviews of former customers across the page to choosing smart SEO headings.

Top Budget-Friendly Design Tips

Share Your Site On Social Media

Use social media to get the word out about your new website, and for free. Consider the age and demographic of your target audience, as well as the social media platforms they’re most likely to use. Older generations tend to be more active on Facebook and YouTube, whilst you’ll find a Gen Z crowd on TikTok and Instagram. 

You’ll also need to adjust the content for each platform, so it’s worth doing some research to find out what works on each one. The good thing about social media marketing is that you can keep experimenting. Some campaigns may have more success than others.

On platforms like Instagram, you can create an ad post that lets users transition from scrolling to checkout in just a few clicks, bypassing the need to browse the website.

Keep in mind that people scrolling on social media are seeking entertainment, not dry, explicit ads. This approach to affordable eCommerce website design leverages platforms you’re already familiar with to maximize your reach without additional advertising costs. So keep your designs, reels, or posters bright, vibrant, and fun.

Use Real Client Testimonials

Another effective way to enhance your authority and expertise in the products or services you offer on your eCommerce website is by leveraging client reviews and testimonials. Include real quotes from previous customers throughout to make visitors to your site feel reassured at every step of your well-optimised sales funnel.

Web browsers are less likely to go to a specific ‘review’ section of your site unless it is for a more personalized or expensive purchase. Integrate positive customer reviews into the design of your web pages across the entire site. It doubles as free marketing and doesn’t cost you a thing. 

To further boost the credibility of these testimonials, include pictures of clients and partners you’ve worked with. Be sure to mention the names of brands they work for or represent, especially if these are high-profile or well-known clients.

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Prioritise Loading Speed

One tip that may not save you dollars in the short term, but will almost definitely lower maintenance costs, and potentially generate more consumer leads, is to prioritise your loading speed. This is important for two reasons.

The first is that web browsers are impatient. If your site takes more than a few seconds to load, visitors will likely click off and visit a competitor. That may be because it’s saturated with high-resolution images, or the coding is subpar.

The second point is that unoptimized websites are more vulnerable to cyberattacks. Cybercrime poses a significant risk to all eCommerce sites, with hackers often targeting smaller companies because they believe their coding is easier to penetrate. 

Protect your business, and save yourself the cost (and stress) of trying to recover valuable lost information, whilst simultaneously improving your users’ site experience. Implementing responsive eCommerce design tips ensures your site loads quickly across all devices. This is crucial for both mobile eCommerce design and desktop performance.

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Choose Free Or Affordable Themes & Templates

Many beginner-friendly sites, such as WordPress and Wix, can help you design your website from scratch, with free themes that are easy for even the most novice web designer to customize.

To get started, sort out your essentials, including clear checkout icons, eye-catching landing pages, and a standout company logo that will serve as the beacon of your site. You can create these hassle-free with templates on Adobe Express. 

Laying down the building blocks of your website so your site can be up and running straight away will help you start selling immediately. Some of these templates will offer detailed plans and website layouts, so all you have to do is fill in the gaps with the essential information. Then you can increase your funds before turning to the help of a professional for a sleeker, more optimised design.

Above all, ensure your checkout process is as simple as possible. Use secure payment gateways such as PayPal, Stripe, or Square that are free and easy to integrate, and which users will recognise as credible, legitimate payment pathways.

You don’t want to put all that work into your webpages, only for site visitors to leave their shopping baskets abandoned!

For those using WordPress, exploring budget WooCommerce themes and free WooCommerce design templates can significantly reduce your eCommerce website design cost. These options help maintain professional quality without requiring a large financial investment.

White Space Is Your Friend: Keep It

Resist the temptation to cover your website pages top to bottom with deals, special offers, and product descriptions. For the sake of creating a user-friendly website, white space can help maintain a chic, clean look to your design.

Suppose your customers feel rushed or pressured into shopping on your site. In that case, they’re more likely to click away, especially for higher-value purchases.

Instead, provide clear signposting to your blog, product pages, or current deals, and let them decide whether or not they want more information. Blank space doesn’t cost (or do) a thing, but it can have a large impact. 

Designing a website with adequate white space can also create a more pleasant browsing experience. Move away from the stressful, chaotic nature of endless pop-ups and flashing banners that distract from the quality of what you’re producing.

Users will spend longer on your site – and become more likely to turn into customers as a result. This is one of the most effective eCommerce UI design tips for creating a professional webshop design that converts visitors into buyers.

The Power of Visuals Through Pictures

A picture is worth a thousand words, so the saying goes, and it’s hard to think of a situation in which this could be more relevant. When designing your website, it is crucial that images take center stage and capture the most attention in your layout. Without a convincing snap to sell what you’re offering, your customers simply aren’t going to buy it. 

You can take pictures for free using a camera or a good-quality phone. Ensure the resolution meets your standards, and use various angles to allow potential customers to thoroughly scrutinize each item, so they know exactly what they’re getting. 

There are also plenty of free editing tools, so you can remove backgrounds, hide small scratches, and touch up human models. Just be careful to toe the line between painting your products in the best light and supplying misleading information about the color or quality of what you’re selling.

Following eCommerce product page design tips and eCommerce homepage design tips means investing time in creating high-quality product photography. Showcasing your items from multiple angles helps build trust and encourages higher customer engagement.

Follow SEO Best Practices

You might think that the words you put on your eCommerce website are just filler content. Well, you’d be mistaken. For products considered an investment, such as furniture, designer clothing, or personalized jewelry, buyers seek extensive details. They want to gather as much information as possible before spending their hard-earned money

But you also have the search engine results pages to keep you happy. SEO (search engine optimization) exists to do just that. Keywords relevant to search terms should be peppered throughout your web page content (though don’t overdo it, or Google will register your site as spam).

Use alt-text underneath pictures, and choose clear headings. That way, anyone who wants what you stock can type it in, and your site will come up higher in search result rankings. You could also consider starting a blog on your website to further drive traffic through showcasing your expertise .

For example, if you sell decorative materials such as paint and wallpaper, publish some interior design inspiration guides. This shows those checking out your website that you know your stuff, helping them feel they’re shopping from a trustworthy, high-quality source.

From building the foundations of your eCommerce website to finding creative avenues to market it, designing your site can be a fun opportunity to mark real progress in your business plans.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Word

To recap, we’ve suggested using social media, prioritizing loading speed and high-quality pictures, utilizing free web-design templates and white space, and following SEO best practices. This will help you create a budget-friendly eCommerce website that also gets you the conversion results you’re after.

So, follow our tips to make sure your website design process doesn’t cost a second mortgage. In no time at all, you’ll have a list of satisfied customers, and many more shopping your website merrily adding your items to their basket!