Why do eCommerce sites look the same?

[webfort]

Hi,

I posted this question here before :-
[webmasterworld.com...] you can check this thread to see why I am asking this question.

Is there any standard or shall i say law of the jungle why eCommerce sites are all designed the same, or have the same design principle.

I need to show to my boss the advantages of having a new site against the old framed site which holds a over 9000 products and is not database driven.

Thanks

[Essex_boy]

There a lot OS commerce based sites out there and that tends to make it look like all things are the same.

Another theme is the Amazon style site, people my self included think well that must work for them I do a similar thing.

At the end of the day all sites are going to have common threads to them.

[Green_Grass]

Easy for end user ( Buyer ) to accept them? They are so used to 'similar ' sites that they buy with confidence.

A radical new design and concept can take a long time to gain acceptance ... I am going thru. this process myself..

[nickster]

Many people on the Internet aren't very experienced, so by showing them a site consistent with what they know (Amazon for example), they're going to know how to use your site. Also, making sales is also about building trust with your customers - again, if they recognise how your site works, they will trust you more than if your site looks dated and hard to use.

A database driven site would mean that (using an administration tool based on the database) anyone can update products on your site. They wouldn't have to understand HTML and know where all the files are. This massively reduces your maintenance costs and makes it much cheaper and easier to keep your site up to date.
Having a database also allows you to easily search products and arrange them into categories.

[webtress]

9000 products and is not database driven

wow that must make maintenance a nightmare. The time saved in updating should convince your boss. If you have the products in a spreadsheet it can be saved as a .csv file and imported into the database cutting down on input time and that should help convince the boss.

[lorax]

>> law of the jungle why eCommerce sites are all designed the same

Not a written law but there are very good reasons for certain ecommerce layouts. Usability and conversion are the most important. That being said, it's not uncommon to find a site that has the same general 3 column layout but is impossible to use.

[excell]

"Why do eCommerce sites look the same?"

Mostly because they are using templates that have confined spaces available for elements that can be tricky to customise / change. It is possible to develop workable layout spaces for ecommerce that are aesthetically pleasing and that retain usability and functionality - but it is hard to find design and coding folks that can speak in the same space to get the job done well without costing a fortune.

[sniffer]

yeah, its often the skeleton template that drives the site and not the other way around. By redesigning the pre-packaged template you make use of the functionality and discard the (often terrible) layout; you're winning both ways

[CoffeeAromas]

I'm new here and I use a Ecommerce site which I wish it had a better look but my? is I've been trying to get my site submitted to Google and i have a RSS feed for my site map but when i check on progress its stating that my robots.txt is not valid. Is this due to the use of a template? I've placed it where it should be put and i've added everything that they said should be added. I'm at a loss. If anyone knows what can be done please let me know.
thanks

[webtress]

CoffeeAromas - sent you a sticky check your mail - back to topic, ecommercetemplates offer a generic template that allows for you to use your own design the code is separate of the design. Most shopping carts have the code and design so tightly interweaved it's a nightmare trying to work with them. The hosted solutions only provide 2 or 3 layouts so the majority of site end up looking like each other.

[amanS]

Although the browse/search and other design areas can be different, the checkout pages of an ecommerce sites tend to look the same. One reason is that customers that shop elsewhere on the web know what to expect when they come to your site. Also the information most ecommerce sites need customers to enter (shipping info, billing info, etc) are about the same.
However, I feel customers should experience of buying something online to be closer to buying from a physical store. Forcing a customer to fill out pages of unnecessary registration information isn’t something they would expect in a brick and mortar store.

[imstillatwork]

I think it is the same reason all the grocerty stores work / look the same.

It works, and people are used to it.

You walk in the front, the items are allways on shelves / racks, and you walk to a checkout register to pay.

Some stores make this entire process so simple you don't even notice, some stores you have to do a quick look around for the produce department, etc.. all in all though, they are the same.

[Barb]

imstillatwork brought up a good analogy with the grocery stores....

Also, in the case of OsCommerce (since I use it), I've noticed that many of the people coming to the forum there looking for help and advice have little or no design knowledge, nor website building knowledge. So they do not know how to manipulate the stylesheet. They don't know they can get creative with how the checkout procedure is setup. They don't know that while you can have the basic layout, it's what you use for colors, banners, etc that can make your site stand out.

Sometimes, being overally artsy-fartsy with your site design can lead to your site not being user-friendly (and perhaps non- search engine friendly also).

Now, on the otherhand, I have seen many Osc sites that, unless you are pretty experienced in such things, you couldn't tell it was Osc. If you go to their forum, they do have a section where people can post their site for reviews and suggestions - you can go there and find some sites as examples for your boss.

In addition, all the backend perks (previously mentioned), adds to the beauty of changing over to a cart such as Osc. Now there are other carts just as good and perhaps better than Osc, but it's up to you to determine which fits your needs best.

[lorax]

> have little or no design knowledge, nor website building knowledge

LOL - Ya. There are plenty of tools floating around. Just because it's easy to get your hands on a F16 or a Piper Cub doesn't mean you know how to fly!