If you’re looking to make a website for your new apparel online store, you need a layout that fits with your brand, concept and products. While you can hire a web designer to make a website that is fully customized to your business, it can get quite expensive. Thankfully, there are many predesigned web design layouts that you can fit into your business. These templates are a simple solution to a complex problem. Here are 3 different templates and 5 different real life examples that you can use.
1. Ultimo Magento Theme
For some eCommerce site owners, how their product is presented is everything. Ultimo is the go-to Magneto theme for site owners that want to provide a clean navigation and presentation so that their product listings shine. The theme has a 12-column grid system, an unlimited color customization setup, and has a built in customizable responsive layout. This is a good theme to go with if you’re using Magento and plan on marketing your eCommerce to mobile users.
Source: https://themeforest.net/item/ultimo-fluid-responsive-magento-theme/3231798
2. Journal OpenCart Template
Journal is an eCommerce template with over 2000 editable options. That means webmasters can really control the look and feel of their entire store instead of being tied down to the limitation of a template. This template works well for eCommerce stores that puts a lot of emphasis on embedding content into their site design as the sidebars and complex navigation options allow you to work in multiple elements into your layout.
Source: https://themeforest.net/item/journal-advanced-opencart-theme/4260361
3. YourStore Shopify Theme
If you’re working with Shopify and plan to set up multiple online stores, then YourStore may be the best choice for you. It comes with 22 different layouts spanning many different themes from furniture, lingerie, cosmetics, baby clothes, jewelry, to gadgets. Most of the layouts are clean, well designed and straightforward. It’s also easy to customize and is one of the more popular themes with over 850 customers and hundreds of positive reviews.
Source: https://themeforest.net/item/yourstore-shopify-theme/15812829
4. Blog Style Format that Mixes In Content
One of the best ways to reach potential customers is by educating them. However, very few apparel online stores are even attempting this. J Crew pulls this off by designing their site like a blog and embedding content in with their product listings on their main page. The content provides shopping and style advice while providing listings of recommended products. It flows so well that it makes you wonder why more apparel and eCommerce stores aren’t doing following in their footsteps.
Source: https://www.jcrew.com/
5. Large Image Menus that Link to Category Pages
Who says eCommerce stores need to be complex? Spyder simplifies their store by breaking their navigation into three image links. The main one link points to what’s current such as their spring break line, brand stories, and fitness products. The other two below simply point to men’s and women’s products. The big benefit of doing this is that it doesn’t inundate the user with choices and makes it easy for the user to take action.
Source: http://www.spyder.com/
6. Navigation Menu Driven and Product Focused Design
Hardgraft does away with the top of the fold navigation. Instead, it provides the user with complete navigation options on the left hand side of the menu. The products on the other hand are the prime focus and are given a lot of space to stand out. When users mouse over the products, they’re presented with text that describes each product and is given quick preview options to browse images of the product. The layout is very simple but very complex at the same time.
Source: https://hardgraft.us/
7. Hero Image for eCommerce
Hero images are popular and have been used for quite some time now. But very few eCommerce and particularly apparel sites have used it. It doesn’t seem like it would work but Reebok pulls it off very well. They go with a hero image that provides links to their showcase product. This is balanced by large top of the fold navigational menus that can get their visitors to where they want to be. Reebok probably has thousands of products in their online store, so it makes complete sense why less is more in their situation.
Source: http://www.reebok.com/us/
8. Card Based Designs
Pinterest popularized the card based design where the content boxes were not lined up perfectly and varied depending on content length. Many apparel sites have been using this design because it helps products stand out more and adds a unique shopping experience. This design seems to work best when there is a limited number of products listed per category page. Too many product listings make it so that it’s hard to find what you’re looking for.
Source: https://dribbble.com/shots/2073637-Magazine-Template/attachments/371946
Those are some of the best examples of simple web design layouts you can use for your apparel online store. The layout doesn’t have to be complex as you think. It’s all about finding something that works for your brand, market and products.
Originally posted on March 21, 2017 @ 11:46 pm