101 best eCommerce websites

Effective web design has always played a key role in successful online sales. Not every website needs to be beautiful. In fact, some of them can be outdated, but if the design follows several essential principles, and understands what type of customer it is targeting, then these eCommerce websites can be very successful.

A good eCommerce website should represent who you are and what you do at first glance. According to some studies, it takes 0.5 seconds for shoppers to decide if they’ll stay on a site or not, so your window to impress them is short.

We’ve compiled a list of retailers that consistently beat their yearly ecommerce targets by following four principles of good ecommerce website design:

Top 4 eCommerce shop design principles:

1. Build trust – it is as simple as providing clear pricing, contact information, Terms and Conditions, Return and Shipping policies and certifications if you have any.
2. Design ‘responsively’ – if your website is not responsive and can’t be viewed properly on a mobile device these days, you’re losing out. That’s not an assumption. According to the comScore platform, nearly 70% of digital media time is spent on mobile devices, so optimising your website for tablets and mobile phones is necessary.
3. Clear Navigation – Good navigation is the key to a successful purchase. Even when using mega menus, ensure items are divided into categories that are clear to understand. Consider implementing breadcrumbs as shoppers tend to lose patience if they need to go back and forth through the menu instead of just moving one step back to browse a category they’re already in.
4. Visual appeal – again, the website does not have to be beautiful. Imagine eCommerce for a hardware store with a trending purple and pink gradient background. Whatever design trend you decide on, make sure to use products photographed on a white background, which is a gold standard of ecommerce photography.

So with those principles in mind, here’s a list of 101 ecommerce websites that we think do a great job in selling their products online.

Top 101 eCommerce websites that know how to effectively sell online

TOP 3 Ecommerce Features:

• Clean picture of the newest product line on the main slider
• “Shop by category” sub-menu located underneath the slider
• Bellroy web store reflects the warm and highly aestethic design of their products

BELLROY Shopping Experience

The top interactive section shows how the skinny wallet will fill up in comparison to a different wallet. As users move a slider back and forth along a line, both of the wallets fill up with cards and cash, visually displaying the very problem Bellroy’s skinny wallet solves. We are then presented with a video and product close-ups that explain why Bellroy wallet is better, and finally, the visitor can purchase the product itself.

The website feels warm and welcoming, while quality product descriptions and UX add to the overall excellent shopping experience.

Explo Runs Masks

Considered Carry Goods: Protective masks

EXPLO RUNS Shopping Experience

The Explo Runs shopping experience is smooth end easy thanks to the sticky menu that remains on top even after scroll to enable quick access to navigation and product. The content of the website is not overloaded with too much text. There is a proper balance between written content, images, video and blurbs that overall makes it a very positive experience to browse the website.

The use of Instagram feed at the bottom of the page taps into modern browsing experience expectations of the buyers who want to see the product on many different photos. This is yet another example of thought-through design to convert website visitors into buyers.

TOP 3 Ecommerce Features:

• Effective use of negative space
• “Sold out” badges at the top of the page creating urgency
• Masonry galery used to showcase restaurants interior to emphasise luxury feel for the brand

SAGER + WILDE Shopping Experience

The Sager and Wilde website uses a combination of negative space and professional photography to create a luxury feel for the brand. White space and elegant font are used to compliment wine images. Your attention is focused on the product itself, with nothing distracting you from selecting your favourite bottle. “Sold out” badges create urgency and use the fear of missing out to persuade the visitor to buy.

Tayna Batteries

Considered Carry Goods: Car Batteries, Leisure Batteries, Motorcycle Batteries

Tayna Shopping Experience

The Tayna Batteries website’s main focus is on their ideal customer. It is designed not to waste time converting someone who probably won’t purchase. The landing page does not need to impress the visitor with Instagram-like photography. In fact, batteries are tools to be used that do not need esthetic glam, so the website design seems like an integral part of Tayna’s marketing strategy.

The large and diverse product portfolio is effectively displayed in Mega Menu, enabling easy navigation on every device.

Room to grow Furniture

Considered Carry Goods: Children’s beds, Mattresses, Kids Furniture

TOP 3 Ecommerce Features:

• Brand trust emphasised with multiple references to Tust Pilot reviews
• Sales and promotion banners visible on every page
• Appealing colour scheme

Room to Grow Shopping Experience

Room to Grow sells beds and furniture for children, and their strategy is clearly based on building trust in their product. Trust Pilot score and excellent reviews are visible upon landing on the home page, then within the body, and again in the footer.

And since parents are often looking for discounts, multiple yet not in your face sales and promotion banners encourage visitors to make the purchase.

The Colour scheme has a child-oriented theme yet understands that the parent, who is the target audience, may not necessarily appreciate vibrant colours usually associated with kids’ products. A perfect balance that connects buyer’s intent with product’s nature.

La Fauxmagerie Cheeses

Considered Carry Goods: Plant-based Cheeses, Preserves, Breads, and Accoutrements

La Fauxmagerie Shopping Experience

“A picture is worth a thousand words”, and La Fauxmagerie understands how to utilise photography for maximum visual impact. We can’t imagine who would not get hungry just by looking at the beautiful products sold in their shop.

In addition, images are matched with short yet effective descriptions. If anyone is looking for more details, they can find a list of ingredients, nutrients, and storage advice below each product.

Each time when reviewing a product, the visitor can see a list of additional products that go well with what they are interested in, which is an excellent upselling strategy.

Loft Interiors Furniture

Considered Carry Goods: Student furniture, landlord furniture, Interior Design Accessories

TOP 3 Ecommerce Features:

• Modern Ikea-like design
• Use of Symmetry and Asymmetry in Layout Design
• Vertical navigation bar on product pages to filter categories, types, colours, price and more

Loft Interiors Shopping Experience

Upon landing on the Loft Interiors‘ homepage, we can see the website designers understand that colour schemes have more of an effect on the website’s persuasiveness than most businesses would like to admit.

The use of a pastel colour palette is very intentional in line with current interior design trends. Light greens and pastel yellows paired with soft pinks on white background harmonize well to represent the brand seamlessly.

Apart from the main horizontal menu at the top of every page, the buyer can navigate each product page using sidebar navigation to filter products by multiple features and product types.