Top 5 Terrible UX Mistakes That Repel eCommerce Customers

Design trends change, but the underlying logic behind the user-friendly websites that sell effectively always stays the same. We all want easy navigation, great visual experience, and quick access to the product listings and info we need. But what exactly needs to be fixed first?

1) IrResponsiveness

Desktop website cramped into a mobile browser is a painful experience, and the longer you miss out on creating a responsive version of your store, the more you lose customers.

Responsive mobile website vs not responsive

The percent of people who buy online using phones grows exponentially every year. And if you look at the mobile eCommerce statistics, 49% of mobile users have made a mobile purchase in the last six months. You simply cannot ignore the extreme power of a well-thought mobile UX.

2) Unbalanced Content

Nobody likes being pushed to purchase, we know this well. Usually, we try to make sure that each piece of our advertising assets looks balanced, right? But what happens when the user encounters all of them on one page?

You’ll get something like this:

Cluttered web design example – #1 shopping destination in China, a cluttered perfection that can make any westerner crazy.


Unless you run your business in Asia, try to avoid information overload. Instead of optimizing each element, try looking at your UX as a whole. Maybe, your mobile version will do much better without that auto-playing video on the homepage at all. - a good example of a modern clean eCommerce website – a good example of a modern eCommerce website with a balanced design approach.


Think how you can communicate your message (what you offer and why it matters) in the most direct yet simple way. And don’t forget to let your content flow and breathe – use purposeful storytelling!

3) Broken Product Search

Product search that searches for a text and cannot filter through the product features is a broken search. Today, detailed product filtering is the standard eCommerce feature and every online store should have it.


Nordstrom's detail product filtering system

Nordstrom, for example, has one of the most detailed product filtering systems.


How easy is it for your users to find a specific product, size or style? You will win a lot more credibility and sales with a detailed product filtering. It’s incredibly useful for users, plus you get to show all of the richness of the choice you provide at one glance.

Even if you have a smaller store, a deep categorization will still help your product listing look more impressive.

4) Annoying Pop-ups

Nailing an effective pop-up is the complete opposite of what most stores do. A huge in-your-face pop-up that ‘greets you’ the very moment you enter a page is annoying, not ‘engaging’.


Cute+Broke features a pop-up done right - a nice, unintrusive compliment to the overall excellent UX design

Cute+Broke features a pop-up done right – a nice, unintrusive compliment to the overall excellent UX design.


A good pop-up is a like a gentleman, approaching not to distract but to help you, and is easy to refuse (close) if you’re not interested. Also, when your visitor is in a hurry like we all usually are while using our phones, it’s usually better to avoid pop-ups entirely.

5) Problematic Checkout

Although there’s nothing worse than a buggy checkout, an overly-complex payment process may be just as repelling to customers. Problems at this stage make up a real black hole for the eCommerce revenue.

If a user has to get through 5 pages of forms before finishing a purchase, there’ something is wrong with your store. Or, with the payment gateway you are using. Look for ways to integrate all of the checkout steps into a single streamlined interface.


Reasons for abandonments during checkout - Statistics by Baymard Institute


Baymard Institute discovered that by fixing the checkout design alone a large e-commerce store can gain a 35.26% conversion rate increase. Avoid any unnecessary stumbling blocks on the way to purchase, enable guest checkouts, and you’ll instantly see how your abandonment rate drops.

More than a 5-step checklist

It goes without saying that a complete UX optimization is not as simple. That’s why we have a whole team of designers and engineers that create and refine interfaces. And they can help you too! Find out more about our expertise in the Projects section, and let’s improve your business together.