Shop until you yawn

When you think of online store design people generally have the traditional format used by so many in mind. One of the possibly most neglected area of the internet in terms of design is the online store. We all know and follow the same process through these generally dreary yet functional web stores. Perhaps the lack of design comes from function over ruling any form in online shops. Almost every website has a purpose, with online shops there is a traditional flow of interactivity. I am sure we all know the traditional flow of an online store:

1. View product.
2. Select product.
3. Repeat until completed shopping.
4. Go to checkout.
5. Check what products have in web based basket.
6. Select shipping method.
7. Select payment method.
8. Get confirmation of payment received.
9. Make a cup of coffee and hit send and receive button until get shipping email.

It’s the same old routine on the same old yawn inducing predictable designs. Some of those same old design features include:

• Header (with or without advertising) with logo.
• Top level navigation drilling into categories.
• Site wide search for products.
• Thumbnails lined up all in rows and columns to show products.
• User sign in or sign up.
• Link to support and contact information.
• Terms, conditions, FAQ and legal jargon.
• An about the company page often with a nice shot of your glorious company warehouse and offices.

Are you still awake cos I think I might be dropping off myself here…..

he thing is though, that despite this set form and the predictable nature of an online store, these should all be reasons for a successful design and innovation not a cure for insomnia. If you are talking about user interactivity with a website, when it comes to actually having a format where users are already trained in how to use them, this should be a gift to the designer. The hard bit is done and you aren’t herding random clicking sheep down the direction you want. On mass the users are already trained in the functionality, the key is to create an experience that plays on this and doesn’t just dull your brain into submission.

In light of the fact I am saying this, I am not proclaiming that you should re-invent the wheel and throw out all conventions. These conventional behaviors performed on web stores only turns customers off when you attempt to wipe the board clean and reinvent the behaviors. I can recall so many online stores that have passed into the web wastelands due to trying to be clever and ignoring the basic functions that an online store has to perform. It is about working within those constraints not working against them.

I talked a while ago about how minimalism to me was one of the higher skilled design formats in my opinion because of the constraints and allowing the content to speak for itself. With an online store the rules of minimalist design are also easy to apply. No, I am not saying that all stores should be a minimalist dream. It is the simple principles that can be applied. There is one purpose of an online store and that is to sell the product, nothing more and nothing less. Any other function revolves around this, from creating a user community to any other tactic to bring the money in. Perhaps, because of the business and money orientated blatantness of web shops, a lot of designers see them as not worth bothering with. It seems that along with this and their heavy development reliance, a lot of designers will find they never even design an online store beyond a pre-made shop solution. Maybe, this is the problem. The showcases are not full of online shops they are mainly full of personal or company portfolios and blogs. The web store is a neglected beast confined to whacking a banner on and a nice basket icon and calling complete.

Web standards and basic accessibility also seem to be neglected more often than not when it comes to designing. When the designers do take the bullet more often and not they seem to opt for a choice of flash to do the store and create nothing more than a flashy non-functioning on anything that Internet Explorer store. No, I am not saying don’t use flash on a shop or a website at all – let’s leave the flash is evil argument along with the tables are evil one for other times. The choice of flash for me for an online store is fine if it is required, this is the one point I would suggest is not proven in the majority of instances. Another contentious and point of annoyance is the table crazy grids too many web shops seem to have an attack of. Yes, you want to display products in rows and columns – but is it written in some web store bible that "thou shalt whack in little box table cells"?

99% of all online stores either annoy or just plainly bore. The ones that annoy are attempting to be clever and failing by just leaving you cold and wanting to throw something unless you can just ******* check your products out. Content is king with these websites – maybe that should be products are king. I just want to see better design with regards to the majority of dinosaurs or boredom. I don’t deny there are oasis of good amongst the desert of online shopping. Sometimes, these just don’t feel enough and you get a bit thirsty. The experience of buying online needn’t end up with hair loss or insomnia being cured, it could be so more and is on the whole so less.