Redesigning our store: What should we look out for in e-commerce design examples?

We did something similar last year and blew 6,000 dollars putting a massive slider and a video on the homepage. Page load times jumped from 2 seconds to 5 seconds and our conversion rate tanked. As soon as we simplified it back to a static product grid, sales bounced right back.

Don't be fooled by award-winning design sites. Most of those are built specifically for contests, with zero real inventory management or logistics mess behind them. If you care about what actually ends up in the cash register, the most boring, straightforward designs usually work best.

When sending sites you like to the agency, don't just dump full-page screenshots. Break it down into functional notes like "the filters on this site are super practical" or "the cart drawer here is very clean." Trying to copy an entire page always ends in disaster.

even having the add to cart button stick to the bottom of the screen on mobile makes a huge difference in sales. go for readability over fancy fonts imo clean and easy on the eyes always sells better.

When analyzing competitors, there are three concrete things you should focus on: 1) Product price and stock status being crystal clear at first glance on category pages, 2) Delivery times and return info being clearly visible on product pages, 3) Distracting navigation menus being completely removed from the checkout page.

What percentage of the 45.000 visitors on your current site come from mobile devices? Have you used heatmaps to track where users get stuck the most or where they abandon their carts? You need to nail down these metrics before jumping into a redesign.

In e-commerce, design isn't an art project; it's a tool to reduce friction between the product and the customer's wallet. When a visitor lands on the site, they shouldn't be thinking "what a gorgeous theme"—they should be adding the item to their cart and completing checkout without even realizing it. Every visual element that adds friction is a lost sale.

Back when we were selling ceramics, we added a 360-degree spin view to our product pages. It looked super modern but on mobile, customers kept accidentally spinning the product while trying to scroll down the page and getting stuck. The moment we removed that feature and just put up three clear photos, the customer complaints stopped completely.

Let me summarize what's been said so far. The answer varies greatly by industry; there is no one-size-fits-all rule.

Just because everyone does it doesnt mean its right. honestly correct me if Im wrong.

Following.

I've been down this road, let me tell you. Most time waste accumulates in tasks waiting for approval.

Proven by experience.

We got stuck at the same point for a while. Taking notes for two weeks yields better results than a six-month estimate.

Just leaving this note, it might be useful.

Thanks for writing this, that's the right way. Taking notes for two weeks yields better results than a six-month estimate.

Proven by experience.

this thread is archived.

Thanks for posting. When making decisions, write down the worst-case scenario too, not just the best.

If you don't write this down from the start, it leads to arguments later. Hope this helps.

Quick summary for newcomers: When you try to change everything at once, nothing settles.

That's all, sorry if I went on too long.

Three different views emerged, they all complement each other. Every "we'll look at it later" in a meeting means unbilled work.

Good luck with that.

I have a question dont want to go off-topic though. I mean any unwritten clause becomes a point of disagreement later, as both sides remember it differently.

Just leaving this note it might be useful.