Powerful conversion, retention and loyalty optimisation – here are 9 types of interface tools and platforms to build remarkably user-friendly e-commerce products
Looking to boost conversion and customer retention in e-commerce?
It all comes down to your customer experience. At least 74% of customers make purchasing decisions based on experience alone; they’ll even happily pay up to 16% more for a better experience. And 97% of consumers agree that service quality is crucial for loyalty.
You could almost say that customer experience (CX) is the new battleground for business success, with nearly 88% of companies prioritising experience in every customer touch point.
How does this translate to the e-commerce world?
Well, we started by looking at user-friendly design in e-commerce products. Now it’s time to take it a step wider and look at the tools and platforms you need to build and continually improve upon a winning user-friendly e-commerce business.
27 Tools & Platforms for User-Friendly E-Commerce Offerings
1. Wireframing and Prototyping
Wireframing and prototyping are essential for visualising the structure and functionality of your interface in the early stages of e-commerce design (both products and new features/workflows), without investing too much time in development.
Wireframes provide a blueprint, while prototypes let you interact with designs, helping you spot usability issues early on.
How to do it:
- Start by creating simple wireframes using a tool like Figma or Sketch. Focus on basic layout elements like navigation, product display, and checkout flows.
- Convert wireframes into interactive prototypes using tools like Adobe XD. Share these with your team for feedback before moving into full development.
Tools to consider:
- Figma: Ideal for collaboration, Figma allows teams to work simultaneously on the same project, with real-time updates.
- Sketch: A popular tool among designers for creating intuitive wireframes and high-fidelity prototypes.
- Adobe XD: Offers a seamless design-to-prototype workflow, enabling you to share interactive prototypes with stakeholders easily.
See how to design an app, our tailor-made app design service and discover 10 principles for building more intuitive e-commerce applications.
2. User Testing
User testing is crucial for understanding how real users interact with your e-commerce site, helping uncover potential usability issues before they impact conversion rates. By testing prototypes with real users, you can gather feedback on navigation, ease of use, and pain points in the customer journey.
How to do it:
- Set up user tests by creating scenarios that mimic real shopping experiences, such as finding a product or completing a purchase.
- Use a platform like UserTesting or Maze to observe how users interact with your website. Take note of any areas where users struggle or abandon their journey.
- Analyse the feedback to refine your design before launch.
Tools to consider:
- UserTesting: Provides real-time user feedback through recorded sessions and comprehensive analysis.
- Maze: Integrates directly with design tools like Figma, enabling easy testing of prototypes and collecting user feedback.
- Lookback: Focuses on user interviews and usability testing, providing insights through live or recorded user sessions.
See all the best validation experiments to run on a project and the business benefits of a UX audit.
3. A/B Testing Tools
A/B testing allows you to test different versions of your e-commerce interface to determine which design or layout performs best. This method helps optimise key elements like product pages, CTAs, and navigation for maximum conversions.
How to do it:
- Identify the key elements you want to test, such as a call-to-action button or product page layout.
- Use A/B testing tools like Optimizely to create different versions of the page or element and measure user interactions.
- Review the results and implement the version that drives the highest engagement or conversion rates.
Tools to consider:
- Optimizely: A powerful platform for running A/B and multivariate tests to optimise website performance.
- Google Optimize: Integrates seamlessly with Google Analytics, making it easy to track and compare different versions of your website.
- VWO: Offers split testing and conversion rate optimisation to help you maximise user engagement and conversions.
Also, see our guide to a-b testing in digital banking and what it takes to build a successful mobile app in Africa.
4. Heatmaps and Behaviour Tracking
Heatmaps and behaviour tracking provide insights into where users are clicking, scrolling, and abandoning your site. These tools help you identify friction points and areas for improvement in your e-commerce interface.
How to do it:
- Set up heatmaps on critical pages like your homepage, product pages, and checkout using tools like Hotjar or Crazy Egg.
- Analyse session recordings to understand how users interact with each page. Look for patterns where users drop off or face difficulties.
- Make design adjustments to optimise the user journey based on data-driven insights.
Tools to consider:
- Hotjar: Provides heatmaps, session recordings, and feedback tools to help you understand user behaviour.
- Crazy Egg: Offers click-tracking and heatmaps to visually show user interactions and highlight problem areas.
- Mouseflow: Combines heatmaps and form analytics to track where users drop off during the checkout process or other key interactions.
Also, see how to use big data to anticipate user needs.
5. Mobile-First Testing Tools
With mobile e-commerce dominating, ensuring your interface works seamlessly across devices is critical. Mobile-first testing helps you verify that your e-commerce platform offers a consistent experience across smartphones and tablets.
How to do it:
- Create responsive designs that adapt to different screen sizes, and ensure key elements like navigation and product views are optimised for mobile.
- Use tools like BrowserStack or LambdaTest to test your designs across multiple devices and browsers to confirm compatibility and performance.
- Test real-world mobile interactions, such as swiping, scrolling, and tapping, to ensure smooth navigation.
Tools to consider:
- BrowserStack: Allows you to test your website on real devices across various platforms and browsers.
- LambdaTest: This lets you run automated and manual cross-browser tests on a wide range of mobile devices and browsers.
- TestComplete: Provides cross-browser testing to ensure consistent user experience across multiple devices.
See how to validate your mobile app ideas and everything you need to know before you start developing an app.
6. Accessibility Testing Tools
Ensuring everyone can access your e-commerce site, including those with disabilities, is both a legal requirement and a key factor in providing an inclusive user experience. Accessibility testing helps identify and fix areas of your site that may be inaccessible to people with disabilities, improving the overall usability for all users.
How to do it:
- Run an accessibility audit using tools like WAVE or axe to identify issues such as colour contrast, missing alt text, or incorrect heading structures.
- Implement ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) attributes to improve site compatibility with screen readers and assistive devices.
- Regularly review and update accessibility features to ensure compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
Tools to consider:
- WAVE: A free tool that helps detect accessibility issues and ensures compliance with web accessibility guidelines.
- axe: A powerful toolkit for accessibility testing, with browser extensions and development integrations.
- ARIA: A set of attributes that help improve the accessibility of web content for users with disabilities, especially those relying on screen readers.
See the 7 principles of user-friendly design in e-commerce.
7. Performance and Speed Testing Tools
Speed is a critical factor in e-commerce. Studies show that users are more likely to abandon slow-loading websites, leading to lower conversions. Performance testing tools help identify bottlenecks and improve load times, ensuring a smoother user experience and higher customer retention.
How to do it:
- Run a performance audit using tools like Google Lighthouse or GTmetrix to assess your website’s speed, accessibility, and best practices.
- Focus on optimising images, reducing server response times, and leveraging browser caching to improve load speed.
- Monitor site performance over time to identify new issues as your e-commerce platform evolves.
Tools to consider:
- Google Lighthouse: A free Chrome tool that audits website performance, accessibility, and SEO, with detailed recommendations for improvement.
- GTmetrix: Provides in-depth performance analysis, offering suggestions to optimise page load times.
- Pingdom: Offers detailed insights into website speed, uptime, and performance issues to help troubleshoot slow pages.
Learn about developing your user engagement strategy and how to increase app engagement.
8. Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) Platforms
Optimising your conversion rate means turning more visitors into paying customers. CRO platforms help analyse user behaviour, identify friction points, and suggest design or content improvements to drive higher conversions, leading to greater profitability.
How to do it:
- Use behavioural analytics to understand how users navigate your site and where they drop off during the purchasing process.
- Test different elements, such as page layouts, CTAs, and product descriptions, to see what drives the most conversions.
- Implement small changes and monitor their impact on conversion rates using platforms like VWO or Crazy Egg.
Tools to consider:
- VWO: A platform for A/B testing, split testing, and conversion rate optimisation, offering detailed insights into user behaviour.
- Crazy Egg: Combines heatmaps with conversion tracking to help you identify user drop-off points and optimise for conversions.
- Unbounce: A landing page builder that focuses on optimising conversion rates through targeted, user-friendly designs.
Get vital insights into your app conversion rate.
9. Collaboration and Feedback Tools
E-commerce interface design often involves input from various teams – designers, developers, marketers, and stakeholders. Collaboration tools streamline communication and feedback, ensuring everyone stays aligned and design decisions are implemented smoothly.
How to do it:
- Share designs and prototypes using collaboration platforms like InVision to collect feedback from team members and stakeholders in real-time.
- Use tools like Zeplin to ensure designers and developers are on the same page by providing organised handoffs of design specs and assets.
- Use integrated communication tools like Slack to keep conversations fluid and ensure that any design changes or feedback loops are addressed promptly.
Tools to consider:
- InVision: A collaboration platform that allows teams to share and comment on designs and prototypes in real time, improving the feedback loop.
- Zeplin: Provides a bridge between design and development by delivering clear, organised design specs and assets.
- Slack: An essential tool for cross-team communication, with integrations for popular design and development tools to ensure seamless collaboration.
See all about using cloud computing for collab scalability, dedicated customer feedback and experience platforms and how to do customer feedback analysis.
Need help optimising your e-commerce experience?
Our retail technology consultants can help you make informed decisions and move faster.
