eCommerce is all about user interface and user experience. Making subtle but small changes in eCommerce UI design can convert many potential clients to paying customers. The application of Fitts’ Law to UI design for ecommerce can make the purchase system easier for them. From adding the item to the cart to placing the order, it makes the process easier for the customer with efficiency.
Fitts’ law states that the amount of time taken by a person to move a pointer to a target is a function of the distance to the target divided by the size of the target. This can be translated as the objects are easier to interact with if they are easier to interact with. This law was first given by psychologist Paul Fitts, creating a mathematical model of human behavior. Along with that, he also worked to quantify the human nervous system and its ability.
Applying Fitts’ Law to the User Interface design principle for eCommerce is something that will elevate your design precision and execution. Since this law depends on the speed, accuracy, and trade-off, the longer the time taken to complete the task, the more precise its execution is. On a user interface design, the further away a target is, aka Call to Action (CTA), is from the reach of the user, the larger the CTA action button has to be. This increases the precision level and makes the execution quicker than anticipated.
It is not about increasing the size of the CTA button, but it is more about reducing the time taken by the customer to reach the CTA. Technically, Fitts’ law is about the larger component, but when indulging it with ecommerce UI design, it becomes more about reducing the time taken by the customer to reach the action button. Along with that, since Fitts’ Law depends on psychology, it allows the user to browse an eCommerce store more efficiently and gives the customer more conversion rate.
Why Fitts’ Law and eCommerce UI Design Is a Perfect Fit?
According to Fitts’ Law, the time taken is more if the distance is more, now applying that to eCommerce UI design, if the CTA button is further away from the user’s reach, the time taken will be more precise. This also affected the user experience since users find it hard to reach the CTA button placed on the screen.
Fitts’ law also gives rise to a concept of the prime pixel, which is the location of a user’s cursor at any given moment. If you are including Fitts’ Law into your eCommerce UI design, then your job is to make the Call-to-Action button reachable for the user. Apart from that, it should be placed in such a way that it should shorten the distance despite being affected by the prime pixel since you would never know when the cursor will be at the given moment of time. However, there are several tricks and techniques that can be used to control the fixed components of an eCommerce site. Depending on the user’s prime pixel, these tricks and techniques help in an effective conversion rate.
Design for Efficient Product Discovery
Every successful eCommerce platform has something in common, which is product discovery. It is extremely easy to find products on an eCommerce site. Fitts law interface design can help in improving product discovery. Think of it this way, you are on an eCommerce platform and want to buy something, and then you found the perfect product for you as well. After clicking on the page, the page takes a few seconds to load. In those couple of seconds, you as a customer will scan the page and predict where the CTA button will be.
Now, since you scan the page, most of the customers do it too. Work in predictable patterns depending on scanning behavior. The cursor movement can be predicted. This makes the process of designing eCommerce UI design much easier and precise for the designers. Schedule Your 30 Minutes FREE Consultation call to get detailed information.
Planning and placing the search bar in an area where the customer is expected to expect can be extremely reliable and help in increasing conversion rate by reducing the distance.
Optimizing eCommerce Menus
Fitts’ Law interface design is not just applicable for the landing page or for the CTA pages only. Applying Fitts’ law to the menu of an eCommerce website can allow the customer to explore efficiently and find the products that they like almost instantly. The application of Fitts’ law can decrease the distance more efficiently and the whole menu system can be optimized almost instantly with such fancy drop-down menus. In those drop-down menus adding too much content in those can make things difficult. Adding good and appropriate information can help in enhancing the cursor so that it makes it easier to select the item. Applying Fitts’ law can help in enhancing the architecture and product photos and increase the conversion rate by shortening the distance.
Increase The Surface Area Of Call-to-Action Buttons
Applying Fitts’ law in the UI is all about the Call-to-Action enhancement. To trigger the purchase Call-to-Action button is the key. According to Fitts’ Law, enlarging the cursor is not the solution but twisting the law approaching it in a different way is the key. So, reduce the distance between the cursor and the Call-to-Action button.
Along with that button, what matters is the design of the button. Make the buttons obvious, applying accessible contrast and appropriate placement of such components in such a way that would not make a wrong decision. Along with that, boosting users’ decision-making is the key, and the best design with best practices should be clear and instructive.
Also considering placing the CTA button along the edge of the screen can maximize the use of magic pixels. Areas of the screen where a user can navigate quickly and imprecisely, allowing the users to make the right decision.
Make Some Actions Harder Than Others
Depending on the nature of the component, you might consider making the reachability of the buttons harder than usual. For instance, CTAs like order, buy now, etc., should be easy to reach; however, buttons like the notification button or add-on buttons can be placed smaller and at harder to reach distance because it slows down the interaction time. Apart from that, according to fitts law user interface, it requires more precision to make such moves. This will bring the user’s attention to you and ensure that unwanted purchasing is avoided. This method also ensures that the user gets a pleasant user experience.
Fitts’ Law for Mobile Phones
eCommerce platforms boosted themselves with mobile phones. Applying Fitts’ law for UI design for eCommerce on mobile phone sites or applications can give not only more audience but also the conversion rate. Here are a few things that should be considered while applying Fitts’ Law for eCommerce Ui design.
Fingers Are Cursors
Mobile devices are versatile and flexible. Here the main component is the cursors. Since the users’ fingers are the cursor, engaging them with the interface can make things much more reliable. Fitts’ law user interface design should be based on the placement of the fingers.
Along with that, consider that most of the mobile users use one hand to use their mobile. Design it precisely, which should include the placement of the thumb, as most of the users use the thumb to operate their phone. Since the thumb, despite being the most flexible body part, restricts the movement over the screen. So, planning the CTAs at the bottom can be extremely useful and make the design much easier.
Keep In Mind The Intention
For the application of Fitts’ law in the user interface, it is extremely important that you have a proper intention while designing the interface. Keeping the intention and the goal in mind, design the user interface. Meaning the landing page should give the user what they want. Apart from that, how this can help you accomplish your goal should also be considered.
Apart from that, Fitts’ law is not something that will surely work. It is just a study of human behavior on which we are designing the whole interface to enhance the user experience on the eCommerce platform. However, it is worth considering other methods because it makes things much easier for the user. Since the user is satisfied with the service, it automatically increases the interaction and conversation rate.
Why Choose UIUX Studio
UIUX studio is specialized in UI and UX designs and has helped the users in building compatible designs with efficiency. Along with that, we include User Interface Design Principles for E-commerce because we know its importance and make it worthy for our clients. We have offered services to various clients across industries. In our recent venture with a fashion eCommerce application, we applied Fitts’ law user interface design to enhance their user interface. This has helped them in boosting their revenue and making their user experience on the eCommerce platform much sophisticated, simplified and target-oriented.
