Good user experience is good e-commerce

Third article in our series: Top 6 e‑commerce problems – The user experience

E‑commerce projects don’t fall apart because of a single technical detail, but because they have to reconcile your business model, your systems, and your customers’ often very high expectations.

Inadequate UX: when your customers get lost along the way

An online store isn’t just a nice visual. It’s a journey. Good UX (user experience) guides your customers from the very first click all the way to order confirmation. Bad UX, on the other hand, loses them somewhere in the middle.

We often underestimate the impact of poor UX: confusing menus, forms that are too long, unclear information, forgotten accessibility… and sales that quietly vanish in the background.

How to spot a UX problem

The signs don’t lie:

• Lots of traffic, not many sales
• Carts frequently abandoned at the payment stage
• Customers always asking the same questions (“How do I buy?” “Where are the shipping fees?”)
• Feedback like “Your site is complicated” or “I couldn’t finish my order”

And sometimes, you don’t see anything at all… because customers just leave without saying a word.

Common obstacles in the purchase journey

Here are some classic pitfalls Ciao often helps to fix:

• A menu that follows your org chart instead of your customers’ logic
• Product pages that are incomplete (not enough photos, details, or info about shipping and returns)
• A cart and checkout form that ask for too much information, too early
• A poor mobile experience, even though a big part of your traffic comes from phones
• Insufficient digital accessibility: low contrast, no keyboard navigation, text that’s too small, etc.

Every point of friction is a chance to lose a sale… and a customer.

What Ciao does to create UX that actually converts

We combine design, usability, and business understanding:

• Workshops with your teams to understand your key customer types, their needs, and their contexts (B2B vs. B2C, job site vs. office, etc.)
• Mapping of critical journeys: discovering, comparing, buying, tracking an order, returning a product
• Prototyping simple interfaces and testing them before development
• Applying accessibility best practices: contrast, keyboard navigation, text alternatives, screen reader compatibility, and more
• Ongoing measurement of conversion rates and friction points so we can keep improving over time

With Ciao, UX isn’t just a coat of paint. It’s the backbone of your store. We build an experience that respects your brand—but above all, respects your customers. Read about how we supported Piscines Soucy here.

Other articles in this series

Keep reading: behind every online store, the same major challenges are hiding in plain sight:

• complex logistics to orchestrate between warehouses, locations, and carriers;

• international growth that disrupts pricing, currencies, taxes, and regulations;

• an inadequate user experience (UX) that drives customers away before payment;

• payment issues that cause orders to fail at the very last step;

• technical and technological overload that slows your team down;

• and marketing/acquisition that’s sometimes missing altogether, leaving your store with no traffic.

Ciao, a product and strategic partner

To build a high‑performing e‑commerce platform, we help you take a holistic look at your business, your operations, your systems, and your goals.

That’s exactly where Ciao comes in:

• Combining strategic expertise (business model, customer journeys).
• Technical know‑how (Shopify, Drupal, Addio Commerce).
• And long‑term support (maintenance, evolution, ongoing assistance).

An e‑commerce project will never be perfect or challenge‑free. But with the right partner, problems become topics to address—not brick walls.

And that’s the foundation of an online channel that’s solid, profitable, and aligned with what you truly want to accomplish.

• Have a project in mind? We’d love to talk about it with you.
• Not quite ready to start? We have a guide to help you think it through!