Ecommerce design and UX
As a leading ecommerce design agency, we believe that website design and development go hand-in-hand with unlocking ecommerce potential. At Unified, our in-house design team excel at finding the sweet spot between innovative website design, user experience, and ROI through increased conversions. We offer a variety of design services that covers the full spectrum of web design, from user interface design to product photography.
We are Unified: your ecommerce design agency...
We believe that an ecommerce site cannot truly reach its potential unless intelligent, creative design is paired with an intuitive, consumer focused experience.
As an experienced ecommerce design agency, our team at Unified are experts at locating the sweet spot where user-focused design meets CRO. We effectively balance the needs of the business, the customer journey and the brand aesthetic.
We believe that ecommerce websites can only truly live up to their potential when paired with intelligent, thoughtful design and intuitive customer experiences. Our creative team excel at locating that sweet spot where design and CRO meet.
Our design services cover every requirement you might need. And we’re able to make recommendations based upon your ecommerce website design requirements.
information architecture involves organising and presenting the various elements of a website or mobile app, with the aim of enhancing your audience’s comprehension. Context plays a crucial role in this process. We consider factors like where, when, why, and how users interact with your ecommerce site and other digital channels. We align the content structure with your customer’s needs, goals, behaviors, and expectations. Our goal with any proposed information architecture is to create a seamless and friction-free experience. Understanding your customer’s identity, the value they seek in your products and content, and their usage patterns are essential in crafting effective information architecture.
A re-design can be a huge investment for an ecommerce brand, and businesses need to have the confidence that there will be a return in this investment in relation to increased online revenue and conversions. This is where wireframing and prototyping come into play. Ahead of committing to a large re-design project, our team will mock-up wireframes and prototypes which help you to establish how the new designs could elevate your brand, as well as give you indications as to where and when you will see uplifts in clicks and conversions onsite.
We care about the little details, and our UI designers are deeply methodical about implementing designs for our ecommerce clients. Our designs are mobile-first; we focus on the small screens and expand outwards. We design using a component-based system in Figma for easy roll-out and iteration. We create a UI kit and style guide for all our clients, which we use to design the pages of their ecommerce sites; to give complete flexibility, working hand-in-hand with our in-house development experts to ensure that what you sign off on is delivered in pixel-perfect form.
We want to design user experiences that excite and, most importantly, convert. Our designers create beautiful ecommerce journeys underpinned by high-performing, scalable code. The Unified process ensures that we build ecommerce websites that are both engaging and effective. Our UX designers start by creating user personas and user journeys with your customers in mind. From there, we design content maps to see what lives where, and only then do we start to wireframe, prototype and test.
Working alongside your team, our designers will ensure your brand looks sharp, contemporary and in-tune with everything your customers already know and love. Art direction and editorial design is crucial for your visual identity.
Your story is unique, and so is your audience. It's our job to help give your brand a face with beautiful design. Our experts will look at your current brand positioning and competitors to create a brand strategy and single proposition, whether a logo, branding guidelines or a tone of voice.
We have the expertise in-house to take a holistic look at all your existing content. Our audit and interviews will help identify what is and isn’t working. From there, we can work with you to produce winning content across all of your channels, from email campaigns to editorial photography.
Information Architecture (IA)
Information Architecture is the organisation and presentation of a website or mobile app in a way that makes it easy to understand, creating an easy-to-follow customer journey.
This is involves considering where, when, why and how users are interacting with your site and other digital channels. This knowledge is paired with your customer’s needs, goals, behaviours and expectations, creating a holistic, seamless experience that aligns best practice with your specific requirements and optimises the online visitor experience.
Understanding your customer’s identity, the value they seek in your products and content, and their usage patterns are essential in crafting effective information architecture.
Wireframing and Prototyping
You wouldn’t build a car without blueprints, or make a cake without a recipe, and that’s where wireframing and prototyping comes into play in the website design agency process.
Prior to the design and build stage, our team will mock up wireframes and prototypes to help you establish how and where new designs could elevate your brand, as well as identifying key onsite activity where you’ll see uplifts in clicks and conversions.
Visual Design (UI)
Most ecommerce journeys start with a mobile device, and so does our design. Focusing on the smaller-screen before expanding out, our designs are created on a component-based system in Figma. This allows easy roll-out and ongoing iteration, ensuring your online presence is pixel-perfect on every screen.
Every client receives a UI and style kit, which are used to design every page on their ecommerce site. This offers complete flexibility and allows our in-house development experts to ensure that what you sign-off, is what is delivered.
User Experience (UX) Design
Your ecommerce website design should be exciting and effective, enticing the user to learn more, while painstakingly guiding them down an effortless, beautiful journey to purchase.
Our ecommerce UX design begins with the consumer. We create user personas and journeys with your customers in mind. From there, we design content maps to see what lives where, and only then do we start to wireframe, prototype and test.
From exquisite design to the high-performing, scalable code underneath: The Unified process ensures that we build ecommerce websites that are both engaging and effective.
Art Direction
Working alongside your team, our designers will ensure your brand looks sharp, contemporary and in-tune with everything your customers already know and love. Our comprehensive approach to art direction begins with visual concept development, guiding the overall look and feel of your ecommerce site.
We take charge of photography and video direction, ensuring all imagery aligns perfectly with your brand aesthetics. To ensure consistency detailed guidelines are created and provided for product imagery and to curate product styling for maximum visual appeal.
Beyond the digital landscape, we create lifestyle imagery that showcases your products in real-world settings, making them more relatable to your customers. As part of our commitment to your ongoing success, we continually refine visual strategies based on emerging trends and customer feedback, keeping your brand fresh and relevant in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
Visual Identity
Your story is unique, and so is your audience. It's our job to help give your brand a face with appealing design. Our visual identity team will assess your current brand positioning and competitors, creating a brand strategy and single proposition: whether a logo, branding guidelines or a tone of voice.
Our comprehensive approach includes the creation of detailed brand guidelines, documenting all visual identity elements to ensure consistency across your brand's presence, including logos, typography and colour palette.
For established brands, we offer visual identity refresh services to modernise and maintain relevance. We also offer cross-platform branding strategies, ensuring your brand maintains consistency and integrity whether it's seen on a website, social media, or in print.
Site Audits
Our team will perform a site audit and interview to identify what is and isn't working. From there, we can work with you to produce winning content across all your channels, from email campaigns to editorial photography.
Our in-depth content strategy includes crafting compelling product descriptions that convert browsers into buyers. We also excel in blog and article writing, producing SEO-optimised content that establishes your brand's authority in your industry and improves your search engine rankings. We’re also adept at persuasive email marketing content designed to boost engagement and drive conversions.
This holistic approach ensures that every piece of content, whether textual or visual, works cohesively to strengthen your brand's message and appeal to your target audience however you connect with them.
Our experience as a UX & design agency...
We collaborate with premium ecommerce and B2B brands to elevate their digital presence through cutting-edge design and user experience. Here’s one of our standout success stories:
Case Study: Transforming UX for a Luxury Design Brand
Unified partnered with Tom Dixon, a globally renowned luxury furniture and lighting brand, to reimagine their digital experience across both D2C and B2B channels. Leveraging our expertise in UX and design, we created a cohesive style guide and delivered a visually stunning, user-friendly interface that embodied the brand's ethos.
From redesigning product detail pages to implementing custom B2B features, Unified seamlessly blended functionality with aesthetic appeal. The result? A 130% increase in revenue, a 74% boost in ECR, and a platform that offers customers, whether individuals or businesses, a truly elevated shopping experience.
UX and Design FAQs
Ecommerce website design focused Information Architecture covers a range of services. This includes:
Content Inventory & Analysis: Auditing existing content to identify gaps and organisation strategies.
Sitemap Creation: Develop sitemaps outlining the structure for easy content access.
Wireframing: Design low-fidelity wireframes to visualize content layout.
Navigation Design: Create intuitive navigation systems aligned with user expectations.
Taxonomy Development: Define clear categorization for content accessibility.
Content Strategy Alignment: Align Information Architecture with the content strategy to support brand messaging.
Ongoing Optimization: Monitoring user behaviour for any data-driven adjustments.
High-Fidelity Wireframes: We develop detailed wireframes with design elements, showcasing enough information to help you get a taste of the evolution.
Interactive Prototyping: Proactively engaging with the customer journey is a big help in catching issues. We build prototypes to simulate user experience.
User Flow Diagrams: Map user journeys to align with business objectives.
Feedback & Iteration: Collect stakeholder feedback for refining designs.
Ongoing Refinement: Update designs based on evolving project requirements.
Custom UI Design: We develop tailored ecommerce interfaces that reflect your brand identity.
Responsive Design: We design to ensure optimal user experience across devices.
Product Page Design: Our intuitive design process highlights products with effective page layouts.
Checkout Process Design: We remove any barrier to purchase by streamlining the checkout for user-friendliness.
Interactive Elements: Along the customer journey we integrate features that enhance the shopping experience. (e.g…?)
User Flow Design: Design intuitive user flows guiding customers through processes.
Design System Development: Create a cohesive design system for consistency.
Integration with Ecommerce Platforms: Ensure seamless integration with platforms.
User Research & Analysis: Who are your customers? We begin the process by conducting research to understand the target audience.
Usability Testing: We then run usability tests to identify existing onsite pain points.
Wireframing & Prototyping: We utilise the above data to develop designs visualizing the new user journey.
Information Architecture: Structure content for easy navigation.
Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO): Maximise conversions by optimising touchpoints.
Mobile UX Design: Ensure a seamless experience across devices.
Personalization: Implement personalised design elements for engagement.
Interaction Design: Create intuitive interactions for an enjoyable shopping experience.
Accessibility Compliance: Ensure compliance with accessibility standards.
Post-Launch UX Audits: Monitor user experience post-launch.
Visual Concept Development: Guide the look and feel of the ecommerce site.
Photography & Video Direction: Ensure imagery aligns with brand aesthetics.
Guidelines: Provide detailed guidelines for consistent product imagery.
Styling & Composition: Curate product styling for visual appeal.
Lifestyle Imagery: Create images showcasing products in real-world settings.
Art Direction for Social Media: Ensure consistent visual identity across platforms.
Ongoing Visual Strategy: Refine visual strategies based on trends and feedback.
Logo Design and Development: Create or modernise logos reflecting brand essence.
Colour Palette Development: Develop a color palette resonating with the audience.
Typography Selection: Choose fonts enhancing readability and style.
Brand Guidelines Creation: Document visual identity elements for consistency.
Iconography & Graphic Elements: Design icons complementing brand identity.
Imagery & Photography Direction: Define the tone of brand imagery.
Brand Messaging Integration: Ensure visual identity aligns with messaging.
Visual Identity Refresh: Modernise existing identities for relevance.
Cross-Platform Branding: Ensure consistency across various platforms.
Product Descriptions: Craft compelling descriptions to convert browsers into buyers.
Blog & Article Writing: Produce SEO-optimised content establishing brand authority.
Visual Content Creation: Create engaging visual content for user experience.
Email Marketing Content: Develop persuasive content boosting engagement.
Content Audits & Optimisation: Review and optimise existing content for effectiveness.
