These articles are based on observations and test findings from our usability research on homepage, category and navigation design.
The Current State of Homepage and Category Navigation UX: 76% of Sites Have Mediocre-to-Poor Performance (12 Common Pitfalls)
Our latest Homepage & Category Navigation UX benchmark reveals that the desktop performance for 76% of leading US and European sites is still “poor”. Here are 12 UX pitfalls to avoid.
Featured10 UX Best Practices for E-Commerce Sales and Promotions
Mobile App UX Trends: The Current State of Mobile App UX (10 Common Pitfalls & Best Practices)
2024 E-Commerce Product Finding: Expanded and Updated Research Findings
The Current State of Homepage and Category Navigation UX: 76% of Sites Have Mediocre-to-Poor Performance (12 Common Pitfalls)
Mobile UX Trends: The Current State of Mobile UX (15 Common Pitfalls & Best Practices)
The Current State of Homepage UX – 8 Common Pitfalls & Best Practices
Our latest Homepage UX benchmark reveals that even given the generally decent performance of e-commerce sites, there’s still room for improvements. Here are 8 common Homepage UX pitfalls & best practices.
FeaturedConsider Providing “Intermediary Category Pages” (13% Don’t)
New 2023 Homepage & Category UX Benchmark with 3,000+ Performance Scores and 2,500+ Best Practice Examples
Provide a Hover Delay of 300–500 MS for Hover-Based Drop-Down Menus (60% Don’t)
Make Product Categories the Top-Level Navigation Items on Mobile Sites (33% Don’t)
Overcategorization of the Product Catalog Can Lead to Abandonment (Yet 75% Get It Wrong)
9 UX Requirements for a User-Friendly Homepage Carousel Design (If You Need One)
Homepage carousels are now only used by 28% of e-commerce sites. Our testing shows that a carousel can perform OK with users, but most carousels don’t. We’ve also found a vastly simpler alternative that performs as well.
FeaturedConsider Having a “Sales” or “Deals” Filter-Based Category (32% Don’t or Have Implementation Issues)
Have a “View All” Option in the Main Navigation at Each Level of the Mobile Product Catalog (Only 24% Get It Right)
DTC UX: Avoid Intermediary Category Pages
Make It Clear Where Hit Areas in Visual Elements Lead: 33% of Sites Don’t
Direct-to-Consumer UX Benchmark: 5 Common DTC Pitfalls
250+ New Examples Added from Large-Scale Testing on European Sites
Always Provide the Full Scope for Links on Mobile Homepages (58% Don’t)
The Current State of Homepage UX – 8 Common Pitfalls & Best Practices
Direct-to-Consumer Research: 5 Effective Ways for DTC Sites to Tell Their ‘Brand’ & ‘Product’ Stories
New Research Study on “Digital Subscriptions” (SaaS) UX
6 Important Aspects of Well-Performing Mobile Product Page Breadcrumbs
Inspirational Images Should Link to All Depicted Products (9% of Sites Don’t)
4 Design Patterns That Violate “Back” Button UX Expectations – 59% of Sites Get It Wrong
Highlight the User’s Current Scope in the Main Navigation (66% of Sites Don’t)
Footer Links Should be Divided into Distinct Semantic Sections (13% of Sites Don’t Use These Footer Best Practices)
9 UX Requirements for a User-Friendly Homepage Carousel Design (If You Need One)
Have Direct Links to ‘Return Policy’ and ‘Shipping Info’ in the Footer (20% don’t)
7 Navigational Implementations that Make Kohl’s Best-in-Class
The Current State of Homepage & Category UX (Performance Is Up 39% Since 2013)
Responsive Upscaling: 11 Ideas for Large-Screen E-Commerce Design
6 Guidelines for Truncation Design
Avoid Inline Scroll Areas (26% Get it Wrong)
Avoid These 5 Types of E-Commerce Graphics
Sub-Sub-Category Links: a Vital Feature in E-Commerce Navigation (52% Get it Wrong)
Homepage Usability: Can Users Infer the Breadth of Your Product Catalog?
Featured Products Should Also Link to Their Categories (43% Get it Wrong)
Inspirational Images Should Link to All Depicted Products
E-Commerce Sites Need 2 Types of Breadcrumbs (68% Get it Wrong)
External Article: 7 Guidelines For Better Navigation And Categories
E-Commerce Navigation: Show Sibling Categories for Easy Scope Adjustment (47% Get it Wrong)
Homepage & Category Usability: Exploring the Customer’s Product Finding Experience
Home Page Strategy: Category vs. Product
E-Commerce Home Page Focus
251 top sites ranked by UX performance.
18,000+ annotated designs for systematic inspiration.
Code samples, demos, and key stats for usability.
Add UX Best Practice Cards to your Figma projects.