Building a Shopify store? Did you know the average conversion rate across all devices is only 1.4%? That means out of 100 visitors, only one or two will buy. Such statistics highlight just how important design is. Even small design flaws can deter potential customers and mean missed sales.
Designing a Shopify store isn’t just about making things look pretty—it’s about creating a seamless, user-friendly experience that drives sales. With so many moving parts, it’s easy to make a few design mistakes along the way and some of those mistakes can cost you big time. But don’t worry—this why professional Shopify web design agencies exist to help you. In this post we’ll look at 5 common design mistakes that can hinder your Shopify store’s performance and how partnering with an agency can help you avoid them.
Table of Contents
1. Neglecting Mobile Optimisation
Let’s face it: most shoppers are browsing on their phones these days. In fact, mobile commerce is growing exponential, so if your Shopify store isn’t mobile optimised you’re losing out on a massive chunk of customers.
The Mistake: Many store owners assume their site will look fine on mobile without checking. Maybe they’ve chosen a theme that doesn’t translate well to mobile or they haven’t tested the layout on multiple devices. As a result, customers are greeted with slow loading pages, text that’s hard to read or buttons that don’t work.
How an Agency Can Help: A Shopify web design agency will make sure your store is fully mobile responsive, meaning it will look great and function perfectly on all devices, phone, tablet or desktop. Agencies also test the mobile functionality extensively from navigation to checkout to make sure your customers have a smooth experience no matter how they access your site. Check out the custom web design for shopify by ClickSlice. Check out the custom web design for shopify by ClickSlice.
2. Overcomplicating Navigation
When it comes to website navigation less is often more. A cluttered, complicated navigation can frustrate visitors and make it harder for them to find what they’re looking for. If your site isn’t easy to navigate customers may leave before they even get the chance to make a purchase.
The Mistake: Some store owners try to create overly detailed menus or categorise products in ways that make sense to them, not their customers. Too many options or nested menus can overwhelm visitors and increase the chance of them bouncing off your site.
How an Agency Can Help: A web design agency will know how to simplify navigation. They’ll work with you to reduce your menu structure and make your products easy to find. Whether it’s clear categories or a search bar they’ll help your visitors find what they’re looking for.
3. Bad Product Descriptions and Images
In an online store, images and product descriptions are your sales people. A blurry picture or a generic, boring product description will leave customers feeling uncertain to buy.
The Mistake: Many store owners use low quality images, generic stock photos or descriptions that don’t showcase the unique features of their products. Lack of attention to detail will hurt your credibility and make potential buyers question if the product is right for them.
How an Agency Can Help: An agency can make sure your product pages stand out by using high quality images that showcase your products in the best light. They might even help you with custom photo shoots or 360-degree images for a more immersive experience. Plus an agency will write engaging, persuasive product descriptions that highlight the benefits and features so customers feel more confident in their purchase. An agency can automate these tasks to almost 90% by integrating AI with your Shopify store.
4. Ignoring SEO Best Practices
No matter how great your Shopify store looks if no one can find it. SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is key to making sure your store appears in search results when potential customers are looking for products like yours.
The Mistake: Many store owners focus on design and forget about SEO, leaving areas like meta tags, page titles and image alt text untouched. This means poor visibility on search engines like Google and fewer people will find your store.
How an Agency Can Help: An agency knows how to design a Shopify store that’s SEO friendly from the start. They’ll optimise your titles, descriptions, product pages and URLs for best search rankings. Plus they’ll make sure your content is structured so search engines can crawl your site. This will drive more organic traffic to your store and increase your chances of getting new customers.
5. No Clear Call-to-Actions (CTAs)
Every page of your Shopify store should be guiding visitors to take action whether it’s adding a product to their cart, signing up for your newsletter or making a purchase. Clear well placed call-to-actions (CTAs) are crucial for turning visitors into customers.
The Mistake: Some store owners don’t include CTAs or use vague ones like “Click here” or “Learn more” which don’t give enough direction. Poorly placed or hard to spot CTAs can leave customers confused about what to do next.
How an Agency Can Help: A web design agency can make sure your CTAs are clear, compelling and in the right place throughout your store. Whether it’s a “Buy Now” button on product pages or a “Sign Up for 10% Off” pop up, an agency can help create CTAs that grab attention and encourage action. With expertly designed CTAs you can guide customers through their buyer journey and increase your conversions.
How Outsourcing Helps You Grow
Have you never thought about outsourcing until now? Most businesses avoid this type of arrangement, thinking it’s only for small or new businesses. But the truth is, every business can benefit from outsourcing. There are so many benefits to this approach that can help you transform your business and focus on growth. Let’s take a look.
Saves Money
The big advantage of outsourcing is that it’s a way to save you money. You’re paying for a service you need, not everything that comes with having it in-house. Think about the hiring and salary of an in-house team, plus ongoing training and technology. You skip all that and pay experts for the project. In the long run, this is more cost effective. You can focus on your finances and areas for growth.
You Gain Time
In-house teams take up a lot of your time. While you can offload tasks to others, you still have to oversee all the projects and your team will come to you for help. Know that you don’t have this problem with outsourcing. Instead, you gain time since you’re no longer dealing with that task anymore. You’ve still got experts working for you, but you don’t have to hold their hand
Focus on Other Tasks
There are so many things that go into growing a business. You need all the help you can get. With outsourcing, you’re taking some of that pressure off your shoulders and this allows you to focus on other tasks.
Conclusion
Designing a successful Shopify store involves more than just picking a theme and uploading products. Avoiding common mistakes like neglecting mobile optimisation, poor navigation, and weak CTAs can make a huge difference in your store’s performance. Working with a professional Shopify web design agency ensures that your store is optimised, user-friendly, and designed to convert visitors into loyal customers.
If you’re ready to take your Shopify store to the next level, consider reaching out to an experienced agency for expert guidance and support. They can help you avoid costly design mistakes and set your store up for long-term success.
