Website Best Practice (Navigation, PDPs, Checkout, Accessibility)

Your website is the shopfront of your D2C business. It is where first impressions are made and, more importantly, where sales are won or lost. Customers will judge you within seconds, often without even realising it. If your site feels slow, confusing, or incomplete, they will leave before giving you a chance.

Website best practice isn’t about flashy design trends. It is about making the customer journey as clear, fast, and trustworthy as possible. Four areas matter most: navigation, product detail pages (PDPs), checkout, and accessibility.

Navigation: Helping Customers Find What They Need

Navigation is often overlooked, but it is one of the most powerful tools you have. The goal is simple: customers should find what they are looking for in three clicks or fewer.

Your top menu should reflect how customers shop, not how your business is structured internally. Keep it lean with five to seven main categories. Avoid jargon or internal product codes that mean nothing outside your team. Clear, plain-English labels win every time.

Category pages should have filters that make sense to shoppers. For example, a clothing brand might use size, colour, and fit. An electronics brand might use compatibility, capacity, and price. Prioritise the filters customers will use most often. Breadcrumbs and a visible search bar add reassurance by showing people where they are and helping them backtrack easily.

Product Detail Pages: Building Confidence to Buy

Your product detail page is where buying decisions happen. The job of a PDP is to remove doubt. Every detail should answer a customer’s questions before they even think to ask them.

Strong PDPs open with high-quality images and, ideally, video. Multiple angles, lifestyle shots, and the ability to zoom are essential. Copy should begin with benefits in plain language — how the product makes life easier or better — followed by detailed specifications further down the page. Customers want both, but they need to be guided into the detail.

Other important features include clear availability and delivery promises, trust signals such as reviews and warranties, and related products or bundles to encourage upsells. The “Add to Basket” button should be prominent and sticky, so it is always within easy reach.

Checkout: Reducing Friction

Many businesses lose sales at checkout simply because the process feels long or frustrating. The best practice is to make checkout fast, simple, and transparent.

Offer guest checkout so customers don’t feel forced to create an account. Provide multiple payment options suited to your audience, including PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. Show delivery costs and times early in the process, not hidden at the final step. Use address lookup to speed up form filling, and add a progress indicator so customers know how close they are to finishing.

After payment, a clear confirmation page reassures the buyer and sets expectations for what happens next. A thank-you message with estimated delivery, tracking details, and contact options makes customers feel valued and informed.

Accessibility: Making Your Site Open to All

Accessibility isn’t just a compliance box to tick. It is about ensuring every potential customer can use your website comfortably. A site that excludes people with visual, auditory, or motor challenges risks losing sales and damaging reputation.

The basics are straightforward. Text should have enough contrast with background colours to be readable. Every image should have descriptive alt text. Forms should include clear labels and error messages that help people correct mistakes. Buttons and menus must work with a keyboard as well as a mouse.

Think of accessibility as part of your brand promise. An inclusive site signals that you care about every customer. It also improves overall usability for everyone — clear labels, legible fonts, and intuitive navigation benefit all users, not just those with specific needs.

Key Takeaway

A successful ecommerce website doesn’t need to be flashy. It needs to be clear, trustworthy, and inclusive. Strong navigation guides customers smoothly. Product detail pages remove doubts and persuade. Checkout flows reduce friction and encourage completion. Accessibility ensures no one is left behind.

If you focus on these fundamentals, you create a shopfront that builds trust, converts visitors, and supports long-term growth.