8 Ways a UX Redesign Boosts Online Sales for E-commerce Websites

Driving traffic to your ecommerce website is only half the battle. The real challenge lies in converting that traffic into paying customers. One of the most effective ways to improve conversion rates and boost online sales is through a user experience or UX redesign. When done correctly, UX improvements enhance the way users interact with your website, reduce friction, and guide users toward making a purchase.

This article explores specific UX strategies proven to enhance the shopping experience and increase online sales.

8 Ways a UX Redesign Helps Sales

1. Simplified Navigation and Site Architecture

User-friendly navigation is foundational to a positive e-commerce experience. If customers can’t easily find what they’re looking for, they’ll leave—often for a competitor who offers a smoother path to purchase. In a digital storefront, intuitive navigation functions much like a well-organized retail layout: it guides users effortlessly from entry to checkout, reducing confusion and improving product discovery.

A simplified navigation structure ensures that users can browse your product catalog logically and efficiently, regardless of how large or complex your inventory might be. The goal is to minimize the number of clicks it takes for a customer to reach a product page and ensure they never feel “lost” while browsing.

Best Practices for Navigation Design

• Clear, Descriptive Menu Labels
  Use straightforward language that reflects how your customers think about your products. Avoid internal jargon or overly clever naming conventions. For example, “Shoes” is more effective than “Footwear Essentials” when users are scanning quickly.
• Logical Categorization of Products
  Group related items into logical hierarchies. Each category should feel intuitive, and subcategories should not be so deep that users must click through multiple layers to reach a product. Think of it as creating a digital version of a well-organized department store.
• Sticky Navigation Bars
  Keeping the main navigation bar fixed at the top of the page helps users access key areas of the site no matter where they are. This is especially helpful on longer pages, mobile views, or while scrolling through large product grids.
• Searchable Mega Menus for Larger Catalogs
  Mega menus allow users to see multiple subcategories and featured items at a glance. When enhanced with search capabilities or visual elements (e.g., category images or featured products), they can dramatically improve product findability and reduce time spent navigating.
• Breadcrumb Navigation
  Breadcrumbs act as a secondary navigation aid, helping users understand where they are within the site hierarchy. They also provide a quick way to backtrack without relying on the browser’s back button. This is particularly helpful on deep product pages or within layered filtering systems.
• Consistent Header and Footer Navigation
  Placing key links (e.g., cart, account, customer service, shipping info) in predictable places builds trust and reduces friction. The footer should offer redundant access to high-importance areas, including site search, contact options, and policy pages.

2. Optimized Mobile Experience

With over 60% of e-commerce traffic now originating from mobile devices, mobile optimization is not just a best practice—it’s a business imperative. Consumers expect seamless, intuitive shopping experiences on their phones, and even minor UX friction can lead to lost sales. A mobile-first design approach means building the experience from the ground up with smartphones and tablets in mind, rather than adapting desktop designs as an afterthought.

Effective mobile optimization requires attention to every aspect of the user journey.

Key mobile UX strategies

• Responsive design that fluidly adapts to various screen sizes, orientations, and device types, ensuring consistency without sacrificing usability.
• Large, tappable buttons and intuitive gestures that cater to fingers instead of cursors, reducing misclicks and frustration.
• Fast-loading pages—ideally under three seconds—since mobile users tend to abandon slow sites quickly. Google reports that 53% of users leave a site if it takes longer than three seconds to load, emphasizing the importance of website speed for engagement and retention.
• Thumb-friendly layouts that place critical actions—like “Add to Cart” or “Checkout”—within the natural reach zone of a user’s thumb, enabling one-handed navigation.
• Streamlined mobile checkouts that minimize form fields and leverage tools like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal for frictionless transactions.

Beyond user satisfaction, mobile optimization directly impacts performance metrics. Google’s mobile-first indexing means that your mobile experience now influences your search rankings, making it a vital component of your SEO strategy. Additionally, a smooth, responsive mobile experience increases conversion rates by reducing cart abandonment and increasing customer trust.

3. Streamlined Checkout Process

The checkout phase is the most pivotal moment in the customer journey—and also one of the most susceptible to friction. Even when a customer has decided to buy, a poorly designed or overly complicated checkout can cause hesitation, frustration, and ultimately, cart abandonment.

In fact, according to research by the Baymard Institute, nearly 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned before the purchase is completed. A significant portion of those abandonments are directly linked to issues within the checkout process, such as unexpected costs, account creation requirements, or too many form fields.

To reduce friction and maximize conversions, businesses should take a thoughtful, user-first approach to checkout design.

Key strategies to streamline the experience

• Enable Guest Checkout: Forcing users to create an account before purchasing is a major deterrent, especially for first-time buyers. Allowing guest checkout removes this barrier and lets users complete their purchase quickly and easily. You can always offer the option to create an account after the purchase is complete.
• Minimize Form Fields and Use Smart Autofill Tools: The more fields a user has to fill out, the more likely they are to abandon the process. Only request essential information, and leverage autofill or address lookup tools to speed up entry and reduce errors.
• Include a Progress Indicator: A multi-step checkout can feel endless without visual cues. A progress bar or step indicator helps users understand where they are in the process and how many steps remain. This simple addition can ease anxiety and encourage completion.
• Clearly Display Shipping Costs, Delivery Times, and Return Policies: Unexpected charges or unclear terms are top reasons for cart abandonment. Be transparent about all costs upfront, provide accurate delivery timelines, and make your return policy easy to find and understand.
• Integrate Trusted Payment Options and Security Badges: Offer a range of secure, widely recognized payment methods—such as credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, and others—so users can choose the one they trust most. Prominently display SSL certificates and security badges to reassure shoppers that their data is safe.
• Optimize for Mobile: A checkout process that works well on desktop but is clunky on mobile will lose a significant number of buyers. Ensure your checkout is fully responsive, with touch-friendly controls and mobile payment integrations (like Google Pay or Apple Pay).
• Save Cart for Later: Sometimes, users get distracted or need more time to make a decision. Let them save their cart or automatically preserve it when they return, so they can pick up right where they left off.

4. High-Quality Product Pages

Product pages serve as the digital equivalent of a store shelf, but with even greater influence. In a physical store, customers can touch, feel, and try items. Online, they rely entirely on the product page to understand what they’re buying. That makes product page UX a critical factor in both conversion rates and customer satisfaction.

A well-crafted product page doesn’t just inform—it builds trust, anticipates questions, and creates a frictionless path to purchase.

Key UX elements of high-converting product pages

• Multiple high-resolution images with zoom functionality and alternate angles: These help replicate the in-store experience and give shoppers a full sense of the product’s look and quality.
• 360-degree product views or interactive AR features: Especially valuable for high-consideration items like furniture or electronics, these immersive tools allow users to explore products from every angle or even visualize them in their own space.
• Clear, concise, and benefits-focused product descriptions: Instead of simply listing features, high-performing pages explain how the product solves a problem or improves the buyer’s life.
• Detailed specifications, size guides, and customer FAQs: Reducing uncertainty is key to improving conversion rates. Clear sizing information, technical specs, and answers to common questions help buyers feel confident before adding an item to their cart.
• Prominent and persistent “Add to Cart” and “Buy Now” buttons: Calls-to-action should be easy to find, easy to click, and optimized for both desktop and mobile users. Sticky CTAs that stay visible as the user scrolls can also improve conversions.
• Social proof such as ratings, reviews, and testimonials: Shoppers trust other shoppers. Displaying authentic customer feedback—especially with visuals like user-generated photos—can significantly influence decision-making and decrease cart abandonment.

Additionally, incorporating trust signals like return policies, shipping details, low-stock alerts, and secure checkout icons can further reinforce confidence.

Investing in rich media, thoughtful UX design, and persuasive copy can dramatically increase buyer trust, reduce bounce and return rates, and elevate overall customer satisfaction—particularly in visually dependent or high-touch categories like fashion, electronics, and home goods.

5. Personalized User Experiences

Personalization is no longer a luxury—it’s an expectation. Modern consumers want to feel recognized and valued, and personalization delivers by tailoring the shopping experience to the individual user. Leveraging real-time data, purchase history, and behavioral signals, businesses can create seamless, relevant interactions that drive both engagement and conversions.

Effective personalization tactics

• Tailored Product Recommendations: By analyzing browsing patterns, purchase history, and items frequently viewed together, AI-driven recommendation engines suggest products that are most likely to appeal to a given user. These suggestions can appear on product pages, in the cart, or via follow-up emails.
• Customized Banners and Homepage Content: Instead of displaying the same homepage to every visitor, dynamic content tools allow retailers to highlight products, promotions, or categories aligned with the user’s interests, demographics, or past behavior.
• Behavioral Retargeting: Personalized ads and emails based on previous website activity can re-engage users who didn’t convert during their initial visit. Whether it’s an abandoned cart email with the exact product the user left behind or display ads showing similar items, these reminders help pull users back into the conversion funnel.
• Location-Based Offers and Shipping Options: By identifying a user’s geographic location, eCommerce platforms can showcase region-specific promotions, currency, and estimated delivery times, which improves trust and purchase likelihood.

AI-powered personalization engines make all of this scalable. They analyze massive datasets in real-time, learning user preferences and optimizing experiences accordingly. The result is not just higher conversion rates but deeper customer loyalty. According to a McKinsey study, effective personalization can boost conversion rates by 10–15% and generate substantial improvements in customer retention and satisfaction.

6. Improved Site Search and Filtering

For users who arrive at your site with a specific product in mind, an effective search function is critical. These high-intent shoppers expect to find what they’re looking for quickly and easily. A robust, intelligent site search can drastically reduce friction, accelerate time-to-purchase, and significantly enhance the overall user experience.

Strategies for improving search and filtering

• Predictive Search with Auto-Suggestions: As users begin typing, predictive algorithms can offer suggestions based on popular queries, recent searches, and trending products. This not only saves time but also helps guide users who may be unsure of exact product names.
• Natural Language Processing (NLP): Enabling users to search using everyday language—for example, “red running shoes under $100” or “summer dress size 8”—creates a more intuitive experience. NLP interprets user intent more accurately than keyword-based systems, leading to better results.
• Error Tolerance and Fuzzy Matching: Spelling mistakes and typos shouldn’t be conversion killers. Advanced search engines incorporate error correction to understand that “nikes snikers” probably means “Nike sneakers,” ensuring users still find what they’re looking for.
• Advanced Filtering Options: Filters should be dynamic and tailored to the category the user is browsing. For example, a shopper looking for shoes should be able to refine results by size, color, brand, material, heel height, or even foot width. Granular filtering empowers users to narrow down choices quickly and confidently.
• Save and Compare Functionality: Allowing users to bookmark search results or compare products side-by-side keeps them engaged, especially for high-consideration purchases. This encourages deeper browsing and helps facilitate decision-making.

Search users are often further along the buying journey than casual browsers. According to industry data, users who engage with search convert at 2 to 3 times the rate of those who don’t. Investing in a fast, intelligent, and user-friendly search and filtering experience can dramatically increase conversions, reduce bounce rates, and drive customer satisfaction.

7. Social Proof and Reviews Integration

Trust is a major factor in online purchasing decisions. Integrating social proof into the shopping experience helps users feel more confident about buying.

Forms of social proof that boost UX

• Customer reviews and star ratings
• User-generated content, such as photos and videos
• Real-time indicators like “5 people are viewing this item”
• Testimonials from influencers or experts
• Verified purchase badges

Displaying authentic customer feedback creates transparency and reduces hesitation. BrightLocal reports that 91% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

8. UX Testing and Continuous Optimization

User experience (UX) design isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it initiative—it’s a living, evolving process. The most successful eCommerce brands understand that consumer behavior, technology, and expectations are always changing. That’s why they treat UX as a continuous optimization cycle rather than a one-time project. Ongoing testing, monitoring, and refinement are essential to maintaining a high-performing site that converts.

Key practices for continuous UX improvement:

• A/B Testing: Running controlled experiments—comparing two versions of a page element, such as a CTA button color, product page layout, or checkout copy—helps determine what actually drives better results. A/B testing removes guesswork and enables data-backed decisions that improve conversion rates incrementally.
• Heatmaps and Click Tracking: Visual behavior analytics tools like heatmaps reveal where users click, scroll, and hover. This helps identify which elements draw attention—and which are ignored—so designers can optimize placement, design, and hierarchy accordingly.
• Funnel Analytics: Monitoring user flow through the purchase funnel pinpoints where users are dropping off. Whether it’s product discovery, cart, or checkout, identifying friction points allows for targeted improvements that reduce abandonment and increase conversion.
• User Feedback and Interviews: Quantitative data tells you what users are doing, but qualitative feedback reveals why. Collecting insights through on-site surveys, post-purchase forms, or structured interviews provides deeper context for usability issues and opportunities.
• Performance Audits for Mobile and Desktop: With the majority of eCommerce traffic now coming from mobile devices, it’s critical to regularly assess performance across screen sizes. This includes load times, responsiveness, accessibility, and ease of navigation. A slow or clunky experience on mobile can directly impact bounce rates and sales.

A data-driven, iterative approach to UX enables brands to continually refine their digital experience. Small adjustments—when guided by real user behavior—can add up to substantial performance gains. Over time, this mindset of constant improvement not only boosts revenue but also strengthens brand loyalty by consistently delivering a user-friendly, frictionless shopping journey.

User experience is one of the most powerful levers for increasing e-commerce sales. From intuitive navigation and fast mobile browsing to personalized recommendations and seamless checkout, every element of your online store should be designed to meet your customer’s needs and expectations.

If your site hasn’t undergone a UX redesign or audit recently, you may be leaving significant revenue on the table. Now is the time to invest in these proven UX strategies and create a shopping experience that converts visitors into loyal customers.

Need Help with a UX Redesign? 

At New Target, we understand that a seamless user experience (UX) is pivotal to e-commerce success. Our team specializes in data-driven UX redesigns that not only enhance user satisfaction but also drive measurable growth. By focusing on intuitive navigation, responsive design, and personalized content, we create online shopping environments that engage customers and boost conversion rates.

Leveraging platforms like WooCommerce and integrating with systems such as Salesforce, we ensure your e-commerce site is both powerful and user-friendly. Partner with us to optimize your online store’s UX and see a tangible increase in your online sales.