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Add To Cart Buttons: Top 10 Best Practices To Convert Sales!

Have an e-commerce website that’s not making sales? Well, there is one design element that can make your website profitable and change your customer’s overall shopping experience. It’s the Add-to-cart button. This infamous “add-to-cart” button not only improves your conversion rates but can also help you to turn casual website visitors into full-time buyers.


In 2023 the primary purpose of customer engagement is not just bringing customers to your website but also making a profit. The add-to-cart button can impact the customer’s purchase journey.


Let’s say you want the most suitable add-to-cart button for your website. How do you get started? Let’s find out!


What Are Add To Cart Buttons?

The small, clickable, and eye-catchy add-to-cart buttons allow customers to add desired products to their online shopping cart. The add-to-cart button is not any ordinary UX button but a strategically placed feature specially designed for eCommerce websites.


The purpose of the add-to-cart buttons is to provide a seamless and faster shopping experience to customers. Using the add-to-cart button, customers can shop for whatever they like. These add-to-cart buttons help in engaging both new and repeat customers.


Things to keep in mind while creating an add-to-cart button for your page:

  1. Select the add-to-cart button color wisely

  2. Use stylish style elements to make your button stand out

  3. Regular testing to track usability

  4. Opt for rounded buttons

  5. You can try a button hover effect


Add to cart button on the product list speeds things up for the user because he can compare product prices and add to the cart without additional actions.


How Can The Add To Cart Buttons Help With Conversion?

An efficient way for brands to sell their products online is to make it easy for customers to shop on mobile devices. Introducing the add-to-cart button provides a straightforward solution for brands wanting to convert sales quicker.


E-commerce website visitors lookout for the latest trending product in the market. As an online business, if you aim to convert visitors into full-time customers, the add-to-cart button is for you!


Let’s say a customer wants to purchase a pair of sunglasses on your website, so how does he do it? He does not have to look any further because the add-to-cart button is right where it should be! It is the best way to grab eyeballs and provide an easy-to-purchase approach. Now your customers are not left confused and can enjoy effortless website navigation.


There are several strategies that online businesses can use to optimize their add-to-cart rates. An enhanced UX and UI design for your website help create a unique customer experience, improve the ATC rate, and makes it convenient for people to purchase your products and services.


  • Place add-to-cart buttons not just on the top of the product page, but also at the bottom of the page and beside the product on a catalog page. This provides an effortless way for customers to add items to their carts.

  • Optimize your product detail pages, and include clear and engaging product descriptions with compelling photos, this will help provide customers with the information they need and drive them to purchase.

  • Regular monitoring of your add-to-cart conversion rate, or tracking the number of customers who click the add-to-cart button on each product, is required for optimizing your e-commerce website's conversion rate. It helps find the higher average order value (AOV) or in the case of a subscription business modal, a higher customer lifetime value (LTV).

  • The best way to calculate your add-to-cart conversion rate is to divide the total sessions for your e-commerce website, where a customer adds a product to their shopping cart by your website’s total number of sessions.

  • The best possible ATC conversion rate for your business can be determined by your industry type. First, start by establishing a baseline for your own business and monitoring for inconsistencies, this will help you in identifying abnormalities and scope for growth.


Now, let us understand what would happen if the add-to-cart buttons are missing from your e-commerce website:

  • Customers will find online shopping tedious and time-consuming

  • They may not make an actual purchase but spend their time window-shopping instead

  • They would frequently visit maybe one or two product pages and then exit to proceed to the payout page

  • In cases when visitors land on your page but exit quickly, the bounce rate increases, which may lead to poor user navigation and an overall unsatisfactory impression of your website.

  • Poor user experience can result in poor performance of your online website.


How Can Add-To-Cart Button Strengthen Your Branding?

Add-to-cart buttons can help reduce cart abandonment. Yes, that’s right! Placing the add-to-cart button right below the product name or the product pricing can do the job. Most importantly, provide a checkout option to your customers that don’t require signing up. Encourage your customers to save their details after their first purchase, for future convenience.


In the offline world, many retailers run re-targeting campaigns to engage shoppers who did not convert into their customers. If you want to be a smart online business marketer, combine your special offers, short-term discounts, and reminders with the add-to-cart button. By doing so, you are providing a streamlined checkout process and that can boost your sales.


What Are The Top 10 Most Converting Add-To-Cart Button Design Inspirations?

The most fundamental element influencing a website’s user experience is its design, which can make or break conversions. If you do not adhere to consumer needs or do not follow best practices to provide enhanced customer experience, you’re likely losing easy conversions on your product pages.


1. Choose The Add-To-Card Button Color Wisely

Your add-to-cart button should be designed differently from the rest of your website. Although this may sound counterintuitive, you should use colors that are in contrast with the rest of your website's color scheme. Contrasting fonts and text colors can make your add-to-cart button more appealing while increasing its size should also have a similar effect.


2. Use Style Elements To Leave A Lasting Impression

A great Add-to-Cart button size can make the button stunning, but it will look even more attractive if you design fonts & images keeping in mind what your website wants to convey. The bigger the button, the more your users will notice and be forced to click. After you select the perfect color and size, customize your Add to Cart button more carefully with irresistible & bold design elements.


You can try a 3-D look with the Add to Cart button. Go for a thin border and light shadow elements. You may also add an arrow after the text on the button. This will simplify the confusion of buyers that once clicked, they will go ahead in the process of closeout.


3. Place the add-to-cart button prominently

When you place the add-to-cart prominently, ready customers cannot miss the chance! It provides a convenient path to conversion for those who are ready to buy.


You’re not pounding on visitors with a sales pitch, so don’t worry, you won’t ruin their experience! Place your button where consumers will most certainly look, no matter what device they use. Maybe below the main image or near the price tag might work well!

4. Use a mini cart to showcase items already in the cart

Create a mini cart that shows already purchased product information along with eye-catching product pictures. This clever Add-to-Cart design improves customers’ shopping experience. When a customer puts a product into their shopping cart, the mini cart expands on the right side. It lets the user keep track of their items at a glance.


You can also include a Checkout button, which customers can use once they’re done. This makes it easy for customers to directly checkout. This Add-to-Cart design example is a great way to encourage impulse purchases.

5. Test Usability Regularly

It is important to keep in mind that every time you make changes to your Add to Cart button, you test it for its user-friendliness. Even when you do not make any changes, keep an eye out for unwanted bugs in your Add to Cart button. Remember to get feedback from end-users about your Add to Cart button and how it has changed the customer checkout journey.


6. Provide Automatic Button Changes for Out-Of-Stock Items

If you want to provide a modern user experience on your webshop, consider automatically changing the text of your add-to-cart button to "Out-of-stock" or “Sold out” as and when the product is sold out. You can also add a faded color to your add-to-cart button to depict the same. If you don't do that, it will be an unpleasant experience for the user who has gone through the product details only to find it out of stock later. This customization may not impact your immediate conversion rate but will prevent an unpleasant shopping experience that prevents buyers from returning. Providing a button hover effect can go a long way!


7. Clear The Clutter to Make it Appealing

An impressive add-to-cart button can certainly bring some attention, but it will only be attractive if there is enough white space around it. It is intelligent to give your add-to-cart button a little space to breathe. If your page has too much text and remains cluttered it will turn your visitors away.


8. Experiment with your Add-to-Cart Button Text

Besides testing the conversion rates using different button styles, try experimenting with text elements as well. Yes “Add to Cart '' works, but sometimes “Buy now” works. It is important to experiment and get a deeper understanding with the help of analytics and finally implement the right text.


9. Switch to rounded corners

It is a no-brainer that user interface (UI) components with rounded corners attract consumers more than those with sharp corners. This is essentially why you should avoid sharp edges to your add-to-cart buttons.


For example, let’s take top e-commerce giants like Amazon & Walmart always have a slightly curved Add to Cart button. It’s about making your pages more user-friendly.


10. Be Mobile Friendly

Mobile shopping isn’t going anywhere! Don’t miss out on customers just because they’re scrolling down your page. Make your online shopping cart mobile-friendly and anchor it at the bottom of your mobile site when customers scroll. The customer can always see the “add to cart” button and click it whenever they’re ready to commit.


Whether it is the power of contrast, tracking conversion metrics, or implementing the best practices above, you can do many things to ensure your add-to-cart button stands out.


If you show users the cart’s total cost, shipping details, and payment options, users will find your website easy to use. Showcasing similar products that match what the customer already has in their cart can make them ask for more! Always remember to highlight what payment gateways your website accepts, you can include display symbols to make sure customers find your payment processes secure and trustworthy.


Conclusion

A crucial aspect of conversion rate optimization is to design a seamless transition from product browsing to adding items to the shopping cart, to their actual checkout. Make your add-to-cart button attractive and useful.


Customers clicking on your button is the easy part, but purchasing the items they’ve added and not abandoning the checkout process is the real challenge. You can stop them from doing so by providing discount codes to redeem in the cart they’re about to abandon. Ask customers to sign up for your subscription and enjoy the benefits like no shipping costs on product delivery, discount on product recommendations to other customers, and much more.

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