When it comes to designing an ecommerce website or webpage, two key elements come into play, design and functionality.  When it comes down to which one has priority, in the case of ecommerce, functionality always takes precedence.  Of course, design is important in implementing functionality, as the layout helps define the flow and readability of the page.  However, it is imperative the design does not overwhelm, distract, or confuse.  It basically comes down to fashion versus functionality.

In this battle of the two elements, it is important to understand the need for proper and effective functionality.  For example, when making a decision with your shoulder angel and shoulder devil, it may seem more fun and adventurous to follow the devil’s choice, but, in the long run, it is much more prosperous to follow the angel.  The angel (functionality) brings prosperity, which, in turn, leads to the fun.

Having clarified the importance of functionality, it is also just as important to not completely dismiss fashion.  Design is not the devil, despite its place in the previous analogy.  It is, in fact, a key part to any online construction.  Moreover, it is impossible for a website to stand without the proper design and layout.  The greatest issue I have seen in the application of ecommerce into a website is its synchronization with the designed environment of the website.  It is in this case that simplifying can become complicated, as it is important to apply elements of the overall design in the ecommerce sections of the site while backing off enough to allow ease of use and clear functionality.  The point being that ecommerce should flow with a site’s structure without sacrificing efficiency.

The answer in a nutshell is yes, ecommerce can be pretty, but it’s a subtle beauty that has the best effect.

Having had the pleasure of working retail and customer service in my youth, I have learned the ways of brainwashing and false conviction.  Each day is a lesson in twisting the tongue in such a way that convinces the customer to purchase the pen you took from their own pocket.  Even when encircled amongst the deceptive masses, I was always confused on the success of demeaning and patronizing terminology.

Despite its impressive record, deceptive and patronizing phrases do nothing but to distance the gap between business and customer.  When rhythm and rhyme attempts to complete the bridge across the crevasse, it finds itself only creating a longer bridge.  “Satisfying the customer’s needs” by convincing them of their needs may increase sales, but is far from effective business.

Personal and personable speech that is meaningful and compassionate builds character for a business and a relationship with the customer.  When a customer contacts or enters your establishment, they have an idea of what they need.  Of course, there are always things the customer is unaware of that may be an important addition, but scamming a customer into pointless extras simply by repetitive pressures only distances the customer and destroys any ties.

It all comes down to words, and the ones we choose to use.  A customer is not an object or a price tag, but a person, and more often than not, an intelligent person.  One knows when one is being thrown sugar-coated words, blank statements, and empty promises.  Even if they give in to aggressive demands, customers are not satisfied or content with a complete lack of connection.  When cohesive words are thrown into the mix, a relationship is fused between business and customer, and suddenly a symbiotic correlation brings prosperity to both parties.  Giving meaningful words, and meaning them, can create substantial gain without the bitter taste.

Many would consider poetry and music linked, perhaps even fused together.  A stanza of poetry portrays the beauty of a relationship in a similar, but more silent, fashion than in a verse of a song.  Throughout the history of poetry, the words have been often strengthened by powerful imagery.  Ever since music’s mass production on mediums like records to the modern compact disc, imagery has become an effective tool for bands in conveying their songs’ meanings.

While iTunes can boast a cheap and efficient way of gaining and retaining one’s favorite music with the cover art, there is something to be said about purchasing the CD of your favorite bands and studying the art of their lyrical booklets.  One of my favorite booklets I have witnessed recently was a collage of notepaper with the lyrics scratched out, erased, and rewritten.  You could see lyrics that may have possibly been considered in a humble, yet creative format, giving the reader (and listener) the impression of the songwriter’s emotions and motivations.

Often times the cover art and booklet style can emit the aura of the music, further deepening the connection between the listener and the writer.  If the words are the bones, the music the muscle, the imagery would be the skin.  You hear the lyrics, you feel the melody, and the imagery helps encompass the message completely.  Design can always help accentuate purpose and reason, and this case it gives reason for spending the money to own music the way it was meant to be experienced.

We’ve all seen them, in the grocery store.  You’re standing in the cereal aisle and you’re staring at dozens of different brands.  Then you see them, the generic brands that run along the floor of the aisle.  In simple plastic bags, they stand out next to the cardboard boxes that line the shelves.  The ironically similar names match their more expensive counterparts.  The significantly larger amount per package increases the value but comes at the price of less than spectacular flavor.

The same situation occurs with websites.  It had been brought to my attention the other day when browsing through websites, that there is a generic epidemic striking websites.  For every incredibly designed site there are ten that look exactly the same.  While the sheer number of websites out there could cause coincidental similarities, there are some where that possibility is highly unlikely.  Produced by the same company and sharing eerily the same traits, these websites follow the exact same format.  This, of course, comes with similar advantages and disadvantages, must like the cereal aisle example.

 The most obvious disadvantage comes from the lack of originality found in a generically designed site.  The bland layouts cause the site to be absorbed into the background of other sites built similarly or exactly like it.  The advantage comes in the value.  A site built from a simple concept and used repeatedly allows it to be mass-produced in a cheap way.  This gives value to a customer that otherwise has no means of having an online presence.  Despite the advantages and disadvantages, a generic website is generally not the way to go.  The point of creating an online presence is to stand out amongst your competitors.  You have to spend money to make money, and an effective website can significantly increase the money.