E-Commerce February 16, 2026

E-Commerce Website Design: 12 Features That Actually Drive Sales

70.22% of online shopping carts are abandoned on average (Baymard Institute, 50 studies), and extra costs such as shipping, tax and fees drive 40% of checkout exits. These 12 features fix the biggest causes. Stores we build start at £3,995 ($4,995), fixed price.

hirethecreatives Last updated October 2026

Twelve features do most of the work: guest checkout, several payment methods, visible trust signals, real product photography, search that works, reviews, cart persistence, abandoned cart emails, a mobile-first layout, related products, shipping costs stated up front, and fast pages. Products with reviews convert about 270% better than those without, and unexpected extra costs are the most common reason shoppers abandon a checkout, ahead of forced account creation.

Why do shoppers abandon their carts?

70.22% of carts are abandoned on average, across 50 studies collected by Baymard Institute. Leaving aside people who were just browsing, US shoppers who abandoned gave these reasons most often: extra costs too high (40%), delivery too slow (20%), not trusting the site with card details (19%), being made to create an account (18%) and a checkout that was too long or complicated (17%). Every one of those is fixable without redesigning the store.

How much does an e-commerce website cost?

Our online stores start at £3,995 in the UK, or $4,995 in the US, with payments, integrations and a full SEO setup included and the price fixed before work begins. All 12 features below are part of the build, not add-ons. For the full breakdown of platform fees, card rates and running costs, see how much an ecommerce website costs in the UK.

Most e-commerce sites focus on looking good. That matters, but the features that actually drive sales are often invisible to the business owner. Here are the 12 that make the biggest difference to your bottom line.

1. Guest Checkout

Being made to create an account is one of the top reasons shoppers abandon a checkout, given by 18% of them in Baymard Institute’s research. Let people buy first, then offer to save their details for next time.

2. Multiple Payment Options

Card payments via Stripe, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal should be the minimum. Each payment method you add removes a reason not to buy.

3. Trust Badges and Security Indicators

SSL padlock, payment processor logos, money-back guarantee badges, and “secure checkout” messaging reduce purchase anxiety.

4. High-Quality Product Photography

Customers can’t touch your products. Multiple angles, zoom capability, and lifestyle images showing the product in use dramatically increase conversion rates.

5. Search That Actually Works

If your store has more than 20 products, search functionality isn’t optional. Implement fuzzy matching, auto-suggestions, and filters by category, price, and attributes.

6. Product Reviews and Ratings

Products with reviews convert 270% better than those without. Enable reviews, respond to negative ones professionally, and showcase your best ones prominently.

7. Smart Cart Persistence

If someone adds items to their cart and leaves, the cart should still be there when they return. Cart persistence across sessions recovers a significant percentage of abandoned purchases.

8. Abandoned Cart Recovery Emails

Automated email sequences sent 1 hour, 24 hours, and 72 hours after cart abandonment recover 5-15% of lost sales on average.

9. Mobile-First Design

Over 70% of e-commerce browsing happens on mobile. If your checkout process isn’t smooth on a phone, you’re losing the majority of your potential sales.

10. Related Products and Upsells

“Customers also bought” and “You might also like” sections increase average order value by 10-30%.

11. Clear Shipping Information

Extra costs that are too high, such as shipping, tax and fees, are the biggest single reason shoppers abandon a checkout, given by 40% of them in Baymard Institute’s research. Show shipping costs as early as possible, ideally on the product page.

12. Fast Page Load Speed

Every additional second of load time reduces e-commerce conversion by 7%. Optimise images, use a CDN, and minimise JavaScript.

Building an online store? We build high-converting e-commerce sites with all of these features. Get a quote.

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Frequently asked questions

What features increase e-commerce conversion the most?

35.26% is the average conversion gain Baymard Institute estimates a large online store could get from better checkout design alone, so checkout features come first: guest checkout, total costs shown early, several payment methods and a checkout that works properly on a phone. Reviews and fast pages come next.

What is the average cart abandonment rate?

70.22%, the average across 50 studies collected by Baymard Institute. Some of that is people browsing or comparing prices, so the realistic target is the share caused by checkout problems you can fix.

Why do customers abandon their carts?

40% of US shoppers who abandoned a checkout for a reason other than browsing blamed extra costs such as shipping, tax and fees, according to Baymard Institute. Next came slow delivery (20%), not trusting the site with card details (19%), forced account creation (18%) and a long or complicated checkout (17%).

Is guest checkout really necessary?

Yes. 18% of shoppers who abandon a checkout do so because the site wanted them to create an account, in Baymard Institute's research. Let people buy first, then offer to save their details.

Do I need product reviews on a small store?

Yes, arguably more than a large store does, because you have less brand recognition doing that job for you. Products with reviews convert about 270% better than those without. Ask after delivery, reply to negative ones in public and do not filter them.

How much does an e-commerce website cost to build?

£3,995 in the UK, or $4,995 in the US, is where our online stores start, with payments, integrations and a full SEO setup included. The price is fixed before work begins and depends mainly on how much the store has to connect to.