When starting an online shop from scratch one of the key elements you need to think carefully about is the design. It should be intuitive and user friendly so that visitors don't get lost. And at the same time it should be attractive enough to welcome visitors to continue navigating through your shop to find new products. The longer time they spend on your site the more probable they will purchase something. It's important for your future success to develop a great e-commerce design. This is why we put together the 10 most inspiring online shops for your business, according to our own criteria.

To put together an attractive e-commerce it's important you have good photos of your products. Over the past weeks we've given you tips for improving your product listings, talking about useful equipment, how to pick the right format and how to take great shots with your smartphone.

The 10 most inspiring online shops for your business

1. Bando →

This clothing brand has placed a great deal of effort to transmit the spirit of their collections through the colouring of their online shop. Even the cursor transforms into a strawberry while you navigate. As you hover the cursor over the images they change, making the site incredibly dynamic and fun to use. What's more, the grid design reminds us of Instagram, so this familiarity is very welcoming to new visitors.

2. Goop →

Now that we've seen super colourful attention-grabbing design, let's talk about something on the other spectrum, Goop. They went for a more somber look, you might even think it looks like a newspaper due to the choice of typography and colours. In fact, they disperse blog articles with a carousel of products.

3. The Lab Organics →

Minimalist designs are big now as you can see. Here's another from The Lab Organics with a very elegant design. It features a carousel that fills the entire top part of the page. The carefully selected product photos take centre stage, with emphasis on the call to action, different in each listing.

4. Nextbit Robin →

Having an e-commerce that's all about just one product doesn't mean you can't have an amazing and carefully curated design. A great example of this is Nextbit, a company founded by the creator of Android, which only has one smartphone model and a line of accessories for it. Nextbit, above all, features its product with a large photo that fills the site's header. It's linked to a secondary page that detail all the features of the smartphone.

5. Karen Millen →

This online shop decided to feature their collection on the homepage, from which you are taken to different landing pages with different products. What makes this site extra special is that they added a social element. They allow visitors to share their photos on the site through a hashtag they can use on Facebook and Instagram.

6. Kate Spade →

The previous examples we've looked at feature big product carousels, but in this case the latest products take centre stage. They include a large image that links to a landing page of products, constantly highlighting new additions to the shop. As we all know, the word "new" will never lose its power to attract sales.

7. Hardgraft →

Hardgraft is a great example of how to use your online shop's colour scheme and associate it with the products you're selling. This e-commerce sells leather products, so they went for a neutral tone for the background and a few distinct typographic elements. Together with the coherent photographic design, the result is visually gratifying.

8. Le coq sportif →

This sports e-commerce manages to unite the values of the brand through its design: french tradition in fashion and sport. Meanwhile, the section of shoes features a brand image of Richard Gasquet and in the Roland Garrós section on cycling the header features a countdown to the next Tour de France.

9. 22 Bicycles →

In a physical shop the shopper can pick up a bike and test drive it. In a digital shop it can be quite limited. To compensate for this deficit, 22 Bicycles created product listings that list extensive technical details for each bike. Each bike also features detailed photos that you can zoom in on and see great detail. This way the shopper has an experience comparable to what they'd have in a physical shop.

10. Death Wish Coffee →

This brand claims to sell the most potent coffee on the market. Their brand image is daring and dark like their coffee, so they transmit this vibe in their online shop. The product is the first thing you see when you reach the site. In fact, you can make your purchase from the header itself. You can also read some of the best reviews they've received about their coffee, something key to offer potential buyers when you have such a niche product.

I hope these examples give you ideas and inspire you for the design of your own online shop. Good design will encourage users to navigate and will boost the conversions of your leads to purchases.

'Til next time!