I
Know Shopify is Scary, but it’s Good For You.
My name is Sam, and the websites I design won’t win you awards. But on average I increase conversion rates by 30%, and I don’t stop there.
LEARN FROM NIKE: STOP OVER-DESIGNING YOUR ECOMMERCE WEBSITE
GOOGLE WANTS TO EAT YOUR LUNCH.
Ecommerce web searches are changing
The person always chasing fads is always behind. Be ahead of the wave.
I KNOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO JUST BE A PORTFOLIO, BUT THINK OF IT AS A GUIDE TO WHY I DESIGN THE WAY I DO, AND NOT JUST WHAT THE DESIGN IS THE DECK IS YOUR ROADMAP
Hi! My name is Sam. I’m a web and software developer: but you already knew that bit. I was born in Florida, used to race motocross and do survival dogsledding. Now I have a toddler and a bad golfing habit.
I’m married, and my wife is a third-generation scientist at the university. I have two dogs, four very
demanding new grandparents constantly texting me for baby updates, and a best friend who lives just two blocks from my house. On any given weekend I am at the park with my kid, grilling out on my deck, or completing a 2 year mission to rank every baked good for sale at Plum Market.
The tiramisu sampler tray is winning.
Shopify is studying the future of ecommerce. Their Shop.app will be Amazon’s biggest competitor in 2-4 years. They are also listening to Google, and listening well.
Shopifydoesn’tpayme,so everythingI’mabouttosayI’m goingtosayfromthepositionof someonewhousestheproductin thesamewayyouhopeto:tomake sales.
Shopifywasmeasuringsiteloading speedandvisualstabilityforusers henmostWordpressandDrupal usershadnoideawhatthosewords eevenmeant.ItisSEO-forward, security-forward,andcustomerforward Theyspendmillionsof
dollarseveryyeartestingtheir baseforconversions,andongood daysIhitconversionratesof14%.
ItisfastertodeveloponShopify thaninFigmaorothersoftware, anditsAPI-forwardfunctionsare virtuallylimitless.EDI?No problem.Customworkflowpostpurchaseforproduction?EASY.
TransitioningfromWordpressto Shopifysavedme12hoursaweek inuselessdrudgeryinmy business
Itismarketplacefriendly.Wantone dashboardtoseeallyoursales, includingthosefromAmazon, Walmart,HomeDepot,andmore? It’lldothat.Wanttofast-create20 newGoogleadcampaignsinless than30minutestotal,andgetAIassistedoutcomeimprovement recommendationsforthose campaigns?Shopifywilldoit.
MovingabigbusinesstoShopifyis scary.Butit’sgoodforyou.I believethatsomuchI’llsignit
Both of these clients hired me because they were getting no sales. They’d hired firms - at eyewatering, 6-digit fees - who produced truly beautiful work.
You see those beautiful shops were confusing for customers to use. The designs above are my work, which replaced site designs which I will happily report were stunningly beautiful. At the end of the day, I measure my success in sales made and dollars generated. Most designers are in the design business - not the ecommerce business - and do not even test their own products for sales.
Shopifyallowsyoutodisplaycustomdataforyourproductsprogrammatically,and that’swhatwasaccomplishedbelow:eachrockethaditsownlaunchsystem,length, diameter,finmaterial,andmore...andthebuyersoftheseproductscareaboutthese things.
Butthosenewertothehobby,studentsthebrandwasdoingoutreachto,didn’t understandthesignificanceofeachdatapoint.Afteronly2weeksofcustomeroutreach,I addedmicro-iconstomakethisvisuallyappealingandhelpfulforbothcustomergroups.I knowyourproductswillhavesimilarnuances:restassured,wewilltrackthem.
Aboveallthings,youneedtomakethingseasyforyourcustomers.Easyforthemto understandtheactionstheyaretaking,andwhattheyaregetting.
Emphasize what information helps you make a sale For this generator company? Model numbers and use cases increased conversion rates 15%
I’mawebdeveloper,notadesign person.Idon’tpickcompanyfonts, colors,logos,ortone.ButIcantellyou whatfontsconvertbetter:seriffor olderdemographics,non-seriffor younger Bothpreferfontslargerthan mostwebsitesusethem
Ifyourbrandsareopentoflexibility andchange,alwaysshootforonly1or 2accentcolorsandnomore.I’musing black,white,andyellowinthisguideas primarycolorsbecausetheyarehighcontrastoptionsthathavehighvisual impact.Youpaidmoreattention,inthe sectionabove,tothelineswhereI changedthecolorofthetexttobe morehighcontrast.
Usewhatsciencehasalreadyprovento helpimprovebusinessresults.Itseems simple,buttherejustaren’talotof
webdeveloperswholiketopourover papersaboutcolorpsychologyand clickableareasizeandcustomer attentionretention.
Generallyspeaking,youdon’tneedto wastealotoftimeonyourownsplittestingorhuntingdownwhatbroad statisticswillworkforyourbusiness. Justlookatthelargestecommerce giants.HaveyounoticedthatAmazon lookslikeitwasdesignedin2005? Theystaythatwayforsales Theyhave madeexperimentswhichcostthe companyinthehundredsofmillions onPinterest-styleproductlistings,only forthemtorealizeithurtthemin conversions
TakealookatNike.Theirwebsiteis nowonlyhigh-contrastcolors,black andwhite,andsosimplemytoddler
canuseit.Thisisn’taccidental.The brand’sownwebsitehaddriftedsofar awayfromcommonusabilityinthe 2010sthatmostofthecompany’s profitcamefrommarketplacesand vendors.Whentheychangedtheir websitetothissimplerscheme,their profitssoared.
Andifyouwanttoknowwhat’sthe mostprofitablewaytodisplayyour productsandorganizeyourwebsitein yourownindustry,juststartbylooking atthosewebplatformsthatsellyour products,likeHomeDepot Study whatinformationtheyprioritize showingtocustomers
Companieswithmassivewebbudgets candoallyourheavyliftingforyou.
Ilovegivingwebsites“that feeling”.Youmightknow theone.Whereyouarrive onahomepageandknow exactlywhattoexpectofthe brand,theproduct,andthe experience.
I know, I know, it’s all brand identity. But it’s satisfying. And it works: your customers feel it as more trust in the brand, on their way to the cart.
I’ll stop making you read, I promise!
I’mSam,adeveloperofhigh-performing ecommercewebsites,marketplaces,landing pages.Adatanerd.Andalsoaregularnerd.
Mostdevelopersdon’tcareaboutthethingsIcareabout, thewayIcareaboutthem,becausethey’veneverhada reasonto.Mostdevelopersstartworkingat“jobshops”. Companieswhobuildwebsitesforlotsofclientsina waterwheelofbusinesswheretheproductyoudeliveris morelikeapaintingthanastore Mostoftheclientsofthese kindsofbusinessesdon’tunderstandhowmuchdesign impactstheirsales,ortheirunderstandingofthedelicacyof theseelementsisveryrudimentary
IlearnedtocarebecauseIbuiltmyownecommerce businesseswhileworking.Ilearnedbecausemyownwork impactedwhetherImade$140,000or$440,000inayear.
It’snotrocketscience,it’sregularscience.Youfinda variable,youtestthatvariable,youmoveforwardwithyour results.
Theoverwhelmingmajorityofmypastworkinvolvedlarge namesandNDAs.Mostinvolvedworkfarbeyondthefact ofthecustomer-facingwebsite,andincludedcustom platformadditionsandfunctions:everythingfrom incorporatingEDItocreatingnewdashboardsforsales teamstoeasierinterfacesforESLwarehouseworkersto packandshipordersmoreefficiently.
Attheendoftheday,Idon’twanttojustworryaboutthe customer-facingpartofawebsite,butthewholebusiness fromtoptobottom Agoodwebsitecandomorethanget sales
Itcanhelpaccountingteamsbyalertingthemtopotentially fraudulentcharges,itcanhelpproductionteamsby intelligentlybatchingtheirworkforthem.Itcanhelp marketingteamsbycreatingautomatedworkflowssothey canspendlesstimedesigningemailandtextingcampaigns.
Mygoal,witheverybuild,istocontributeaminimumof $1minadditionalsales,hoursorlaborsaved,dollarssaved withagencies,dollarssavedbycuttingoutexpensive technologypieces,within2yearsoflaunch.
Idon’tdothisworkforanysalaryanybusinesscouldpay me IdoitbecauseIloveit I’msureI’llbetheoldladyina nursinghomeonedaytalkingsomepooraide’searoffabout mobileconversionrates Andthatthoughtmakesmereally, reallyhappy