Creative e-commerce websites to inspire you 🛍️

If you are looking for inspiration for your new e-commerce website, you have come to the right place. Because it can be hard to pin down exactly the right page for your business, Indigit has put together some examples of websites that are creative and, more importantly, sell their products.

The most popular platforms, such as WooCommerce or Magento, can of course power your online store. But there are personal touches and distinctive brand details you should not leave out when you show your brand to the world.

Often, building a website from scratch may be exactly what your business needs.

The market is changing, and today it is not unusual to see online shops that use screen transitions between sections without compromising navigation.

Take Maradji, a French company selling leather goods, costume jewellery, bags and accessories, or Keus Store, where horizontal navigation creates a unique experience for users and lets them see the available products in more detail.

Big brands such as Gucci Dècor are also completely rethinking how they present products to the public. The details feel incredibly genuine and are combined with large images, even without horizontal scrolling.

Have you ever imagined buying seafood or fish online? That may be where we are heading, given the rapid growth of online shopping. Within just two years, more than 60% of transactions are expected to be digital.

Speaking of that very market, let's look at the Sea Harvest website. Yes, the homepage really does look like the front page of a 19th-century newspaper, and the brand makes heavy use of illustrations to sell food. For the consumer, though, it is also expressing its personality.

Studio Job is another good example of an online shopping experience, with touches of brutalism and maximalism and plenty of visuals, animations and micro-interactions. And of course, there is humour too, to hold the shopper's attention even more.

These two examples go even further by expressing a very specific voice and tone for each brand. That language, which shows the brand's identity, is what lets it get closer to customers and build empathy. As a result, shoppers feel a stronger urge to buy.

Femme & Fierce is another unusual example of an online shop: full of micro-interactions, organic animations and subtle details, the website manages to make potential buyers smile, through all of this and its friendly, conversational language.

Back to unconventional pages in web design terms, there is the interface of the luxury brand Balenciaga. Highly simplified and with an unusual navigation menu, the website is a delight for shoppers.

New horizons for the user experience

As we have seen, the current and future possibilities of online shopping websites are exciting. This is not only true from a creative point of view, but also because voice and image search, voice-guided assistants, highly futuristic design and artificial intelligence are all evolving.

Image search really is a trend, and it is especially relevant for e-commerce websites that let shoppers look for similar products. AliExpress, for example, has used this tool since 2016, and Snapchat, Pinterest Lens and Google Lens are also pioneers in this area.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning also give sellers a better understanding of consumers' buying habits. The aim is to personalise their experiences more and more and to improve search results and recommendations, making them ever more relevant and accessible.

There is no doubt that these emerging technologies will change the experience brands offer online customers for good. If you are thinking of creating your own online store, talk to Indigit: we specialise in building websites from scratch or on e-commerce platforms.