{"id":8914,"date":"2020-01-10T15:28:22","date_gmt":"2020-01-10T11:28:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cs-cart.com\/?p=8914"},"modified":"2025-07-08T15:15:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T11:15:39","slug":"ecommerce-ux-tips-google-actually-recommends-for-cro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/ecommerce-ux-tips-google-actually-recommends-for-cro\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Ecommerce UX tips Google actually recommends for CRO"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Google is famously reserved on giving advice for webmasters what to do to help them be more successful. The company prefers to take a non-interventionist attitude, and have a search engine that simply offers the best possible results to searchers\u2014without trying to overtly influence the sites themselves.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, the fact that the company released a number of \u2018<a aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thinkwithgoogle.com\/intl\/en-gb\/marketing-resources\/playbooks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">playbooks<\/a>\u2019 offering suggestions on improving ecommerce user experience (UX) came as quite a surprise. The playbooks covered best practices across a range of different industries including <a aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/mobile-marketing\/summary-of-googles-top-ux-guidelines\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">travel, finance, and real estate<\/a>\u2014but also crucially offered insight into the best tips surrounding ecommerce sites.\u00a0It\u2019s rare that sites like this get genuine information from Google about when they are looking for from a site, so it is important that webmasters and web designers take notice. Here we take a look at some of the major ecommerce <a aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/flauntdigital.com\/blog\/google-ux-playbook-for-retail\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UX tips from Google UX playbook for retail<\/a>, and how they are influencing CRO in the real world. Many of these practices are aimed at creating a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/7-best-practices-to-ensure-a-seamless-checkout-experience\/\" title=\"\">seamless checkout experience<\/a> that minimizes friction and maximizes conversions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Descriptive_CTAs\"><\/span><strong>Descriptive CTAs<\/strong> <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the key issues that Google highlights for ecommerce UX is the importance of prominent calls-to-action (CTAs), but the advice goes a little further. The key, as it turns out, is to have descriptive CTAs\u2014these are CTAs that actually tell you what you are going to find when you click on them. When customers understand where they are going with their next click, they are less likely to choose the wrong option, and then give up on the site altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"380\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ecommerce-us-1.jpg?resize=800%2C380&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Best Ecommerce UX tips Google actually recommends for CRO: photo 2 - CS-Cart Blog\" class=\"wp-image-8915\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ecommerce-us-1.jpg?resize=1024%2C486&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ecommerce-us-1.jpg?resize=300%2C142&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ecommerce-us-1.jpg?resize=768%2C364&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ecommerce-us-1.jpg?w=770&amp;ssl=1 770w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Take a look at luxury children\u2019s retailer <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.childsplayclothing.co.uk\/designers\/moncler\" target=\"_blank\">Childsplay Clothing<\/a> is using this to strong effect. The landing page has clearly defined clickable options: Baby, Girl, Boy, Hats &amp; Accessories. Along with this, these buttons are prominent and simple. Customers can easily click through onto the correct page to find the types of clothes that they are looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Remove_carousels_and_sliders_from_your_site\"><\/span><strong>Remove carousels and sliders from your site<\/strong> <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Landing pages with large image carousels and sliders were once considered to be a great strategy for UX in ecommerce. After all, these large banners offer a wonderful showcase for your major products with impressive images. But as it turns out, it\u2019s actually not a very good idea to have carousels on any part of your site. And for a good reason: they don\u2019t get clicked on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is evidence to suggest that just <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/erikrunyon.com\/2013\/07\/carousel-interaction-stats\/\" target=\"_blank\">1 percent<\/a> of visitors to a page will click on your slider or carousel content. And it gets worse: despite the fact that no-one clicks the images, the movement of the slider will draw the eye, meaning customers are being distracted by your carousel banners as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Allow_%E2%80%98checkout_as_guest_for_best_ecommerce_UX\"><\/span><strong>Allow \u2018checkout as guest\u2019<\/strong> for best ecommerce UX<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many reasons that it can be beneficial to get a buyer to register before completing their purchase. Not only does having an account make customer service easier, but it can also afford you opportunities for further marketing. But it seems that forcing users to create an account is actually a very bad ecommerce user experience from the perspective of getting them to convert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/baymard.com\/blog\/ecommerce-checkout-usability-report-and-benchmark\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">More than a third<\/a> of potential customers will abandon their purchase if they need to make an account in order to buy. So, while it may be beneficial to have customers with accounts, you can\u2019t be prioritising this over actually making the sale in the first place\u2014and over providing a seamless checkout experience.So, while it may be beneficial to have customers with accounts, you can\u2019t be prioritising this over actually making the sale in the first place. Allow your guests to checkout as guests if it is the option that they prefer, but also <a aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/econsultancy.com\/persuasive-checkout-best-practice-from-asos\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">take note from ASOS<\/a> who were able to halve their checkout abandonment rate simply by making changes to the content on the account signup page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"739\" height=\"547\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ecommerce-ux-2.png?resize=739%2C547&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Best Ecommerce UX tips Google actually recommends for CRO: photo 3 - CS-Cart Blog\" class=\"wp-image-8916\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ecommerce-ux-2.png?w=739&amp;ssl=1 739w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ecommerce-ux-2.png?resize=300%2C222&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 739px) 100vw, 739px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Add_site_search_and_make_sure_it_works_properly\"><\/span><strong>Add site search (and make sure it works properly)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Customers expect to be able to use the site search function on your website. But you can run into problems if you don\u2019t put enough thought into the functionality if your search feature. For example, your search should provide suggestions when a user starts typing into the bar\u2014this can make it easier for them to find what they are looking for.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, the search should auto-correct spelling errors, and, crucially, never return failed results. Present users with popular options if there is really nothing to show for their queries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, the <a href=\"https:\/\/searchanise.io\/\">CS-Cart eCommerce platform<\/a> supports a great smart search engine called <a aria-label=\"Searchanise (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/start.searchanise.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Searchanise<\/a>. It has all the mentioned above features and even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_thoughts%E2%80%A6\"><\/span><strong>Final thoughts\u2026<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Google\u2019s tips for UX in ecommerce are things that every website can easily introduce to their site, and so it is definitely worth trying. Of course, it is always recommended that you thoroughly A\/B test any changes to establish if they are doing positive things on your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"150\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/1910_oooo.plus_.png?resize=150%2C150&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Best Ecommerce UX tips Google actually recommends for CRO: photo 4 - CS-Cart Blog\" title=\"Best Ecommerce UX tips Google actually recommends for CRO: photo 4\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\"\/><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 25px; font-size: 14px;\"><b>Chester Avey has over a decade of experience in business growth management and cyber security. He enjoys sharing his knowledge with other like-minded professionals through his writing. Find out what else Chester has been up to on Twitter: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/chester15611376?lang=en-gb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Chester15611376<\/a>.<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Google is famously reserved on giving advice for webmasters what to do to help them be more successful. The company<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31003,"featured_media":8918,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,5],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/ux.jpg?fit=770%2C385&ssl=1","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8914"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31003"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8914"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19336,"href":"https:\/\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8914\/revisions\/19336"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cs-cart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}