Crafting the Perfect First Impression: 5 Tips to Designing a Killer Homepage for Your E-commerce Mobile App

The 21st century is driven by mobile commerce. According to Statista, the total number of smartphone users across the globe is a whopping 6.848 billion. Implying that 83.96 percent of people own smartphones. Thus, the time has never been better to invest in a successful, robust, and well-functioning eCommerce mobile application. They are a convenient, friendly, and intuitive way for users to interact with your products and services. 

Furthermore, the fact that 90% of users would prefer to utilize a mobile app rather than access the website on their phone is proof positive of how beneficial and generous their potential is. If a company or brand has a mobile app, 72% of customers feel loyal and are more likely to buy anything from it.  

So, it is quite clear and straight that eCommerce mobile apps are a gold mine, and a must-have in every business’s to-do list. But, is it enough to just have a mobile app for your eCommerce brand? The answer is a big NO! Having said that, let us learn about the importance of a premium eCommerce mobile app and how to build an excellent Home Page that attracts traction and conversion.

Importance of a Premium Quality eCommerce Mobile App

To begin with, it is crucial to remember that only a good-quality and high-performing mobile application will reap the right results. Poor-quality apps will be rejected by consumers, hurting the business’s brand and bottom line. Some of the reasons why a premium quality eCommerce mobile app is important are –

1. Better Customer Targeting

With an eCommerce mobile app, you are better able to target customers. The prospect of presenting offers and content tailored to the specific needs of the users also increases with mobile apps. Besides, you can use the custom content to promote products to customers who are at the last stage of the sales funnel.

2. Enhance Customer Loyalty

As we have already hinted in the beginning, an eCommerce application can vehemently boost your brand presence and bolster customer loyalty. If someone downloads your app, it stays on their screen 24/7, so you can keep them hooked. Besides, by providing a tailored experience, you can easily transform first-time buyers into loyal customers. Thus, both sales and customer retention increases by many miles. 

3. Hassle-free Shopping

The third benefit of having a premium eCommerce mobile app is convenience for your customers. A mobile app streamlines the buying journey, makes product search and payment easier, and so forth. Thus, the customer’s shopping experience is more seamless. On the contrary, as a brand, you are able to better communicate with your customers, and that too in real-time. Features like push notifications, alerts, reminders, etc, can also keep the target customers hooked and in the loop.

4. You Get Phenomenal Customer Insights

The fourth benefit of having a top-quality eCommerce mobile app is that you get a better and more in-depth understanding of your customers. Such invaluable customer data can also improve how the business interacts with customers and how they provide customer service. However, several brands are unaware of the significance that building an eCommerce app has in providing access to precious consumer data, such as purchasing habits, geographic location, interests, and more.

5. Competitive Advantage

The penultimate reason that makes eCommerce mobile apps indispensable in today’s day and age is that by simply having one, you get a competitive advantage. An app is a testament that you are willing to adapt to novel ways to communicate with your shoppers online. Thus, you can set yourself apart from the competition and attract new customers looking for a convenient way to shop.

6. Budget-friendly Marketing

Last but not least, we often forget that mobile apps are a cost-effective marketing tool, as they provide a direct way for a brand to communicate with its audience. With simple features like alerts, push notifications, newsletters, etc, you can promote new products to customers, create the right kind of buzz about sales, and attract excellent conversion without breaking your bank account on an expensive ad campaign.

Thus, the six reasons mentioned above are what make a good-quality eCommerce app so important. But, now the looming question is – what are the determiners of a good-quality mobile app? Well, let us find out!

The Determiners of a Good-quality eCommerce Mobile App

The main determiners of a premium eCommerce mobile app are –

1. Fast Loading Time and High Performance
2. Excellent User Interface (UI)
3. An incredibly helpful customer support
4. Mobile platform compatibility
5. Quick adaptation to users’ needs
6. A killer home page

Of course, all of the six pointers mentioned above are relevant, but for this blog, we will be discussing the importance of a home page for your eCommerce mobile app and how to design a killer homepage.

Significance of Home Page for an eCommerce Home Screen Page

If we personify mobile applications, then the Home Page or the Home Screen would be the face. Therefore, the Home Page is the first section that people will notice at first glance after downloading your app. And, as they say, the first impression is the last impression, they would make their basic judgements about the entire app based on the Home Page. Therefore, a well-designed and killer homepage is the doorway to success. And, truth be told, if you have aced the homepage of your eCommerce mobile app, half the battle is already won.

Furthermore, as 26 percent of mobile apps are just used once, making the best first impression becomes all the more pressing. And, that first impression is achieved with the help of an excellent Home Page. If you cannot please and cater to the critical eyes of your users on the homepage and offer a good user experience, then, your eCommerce mobile app has more or less failed. Thus, the significance of a Home Page is extremely pertinent.

Now, let us wrap up the article by addressing the elephant in the room – how to make the design a killer homepage!

Top 5 Tips to Design a Killer Home Page

A recent study reveals that design-based research premised on the principles of customer-centricity is extremely effective in developing mobile applications. Therefore, delving into the design elements of an eCommerce mobile app is crucial. Thus, the top 5 simple design tricks you can follow to make a killer, concise, and yet catchy Home Page are –

1. Chuck the Design Elements That Add No Value

Designing an over-the-top home page may seem tempting. However, studies from Google have always shown that ‘visually complex’ home pages are constantly rated as less beautiful than their simpler counterparts. Likewise, Google has also eradicated every design ‘jargon’ that does not contribute to the user’s experience. Google favors fewer color variations and plenty of white spaces to provide visitors with the opportunity to digest all sections of the page well. Thus, a busy homepage increases the cognitive load needed for users to process what is going on!

2. Paste the Unique Value Proposition Above the Field

An excellent proposition clarifies what you are about and provides customers with a reason to shop with you. To ensure that your shoppers are influenced to make the purchase, you must highlight your USP and make it apparent to visitors on the home page. It is an excellent practice to place the USP above ‘the fold,’ implying that visitors do not need to scroll down to see it.

3. Make the CTA Pop

The CTA is one of the most crucial elements of your home page design. It is the step that teleports your visitors to a landing page. It is essential to feature the CTA on the home page and placing it below the fold is quite futile. Some of the best practices you can follow to make your CTA pop are –

• Make the CTA big and place it above the fold
• Surround the CTA with plenty of white space
• Remove any competing graphics from nearby
• Contrast the color against the background

4. Opt for a Logical Navigational Structure

Remember that the goal of a shopper is not to simply arrive at your homepage. Instead, your eCommerce app’s homepage is the stepping stone between the process of exploring and buying. Thus, it is essential that the navigation of your platform’s homepage is logical, clear and simple. Therefore, broad categories like ‘Men’ and ‘Women,’ and then narrowed sub-categories like ‘cat-eye glasses,’ ‘aviators,’ etc, are beneficial. 

5. Place the Best Products Forward

Last but not least, many people stop at a homepage to browse through products. They might not be looking for anything in particular. Therefore, it is essential to recommend your best products on the homepage to stand out and stand a better chance of fueling your customers’ buying urge. Various elements like professional product photography, can help in the process.

Wrapping It Up

So, there we have it, a crisp overview of the top 5 tips to design a killer homepage for your eCommerce mobile design app!