You’ve likely heard the phrase: “Good artists borrow, great artists steal.” But this popular quote has a long lineage, often misattributed to Steve Jobs or Picasso, it traces back through Igor Stravinsky and ultimately to T.S. Eliot, who put it more precisely:
“The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different than that from which it is torn.”
The takeaway? Being inspired by someone else and turning it into something all your own is not only okay, it’s the goal.
What Is a Good Ecommerce Site?
Starting an ecommerce store is a combination of tactical and artistic decisions. From selecting the right platform and a suitable store template to tweaking the design through add-ons, plugins, and functionality, the options are endless.
You will be perfecting things like your typography, homepage layout, navigation, product imagery, the checkout process, your call-to-action buttons, and much more. Here’s what makes a store stand out:
1. Beautifully Designed
Imagine walking into a physical store that’s cluttered, dusty, and uninviting. You’d probably turn around and leave, and that applies to digital storefronts too.
An ecommerce website’s design shapes first impressions. A great design should:
- Reflect your brand’s identity through typography and color schemes.
- Use whitespace effectively for readability.
- Feature prominent, well-designed CTA buttons.
- Follow conversion optimization best practices.
- Be SEO-optimized and easy to share socially.
- Offer a seamless, mobile-friendly user experience.
2. Fast. Fast. Fast.
Speed is non-negotiable in ecommerce. According to Google, a delay of just two seconds in page loading time can spike bounce rates by 32%.
Page speed directly influences purchasing decisions. To ensure optimal load times:
- Choose a dependable ecommerce platform.
- Use a CDN for content-heavy sites.
- Compress images and videos.
Every second counts when it comes to performance.
3. Many Products to Choose From
Customers often compare every online store to Amazon, consciously or not. While you may not match Amazon’s inventory, a varied and well-organized product range is key.
To keep users engaged:
- Structure categories, tags, and filters for intuitive browsing.
- Enable search by filters like size, color, material.
- Present products with clean visuals and professional photography.
4. Mobile-Friendly
With mobile devices generating over half of all web traffic, a mobile-optimized site isn’t optional, it’s essential.
Ensure your ecommerce store:
- Has a responsive layout that accommodates touch interactions.
- Displays clear, zoomable product images.
- Minimizes checkout fields for mobile users.
- Includes large, tappable buttons for actions like “Add to Cart.”
5. User-Generated Reviews
Reviews build trust and drive conversions. Research from the Spiegel Research Center shows that even just five reviews can significantly impact sales.
Incorporate a customer review section and prompt buyers to leave feedback – it adds social proof and boosts confidence in your products.
21 Examples of Ecommerce Stores We Love
Now that we’ve covered what makes an ecommerce website effective, let’s explore real-world examples. These 21 stores are prime illustrations of creativity, functionality, and branding done right.
1. Solo Stove
Source: Solo Stove
Solo Stove, which deals in outdoor cooking equipment and fire pits, is extremely community-oriented. Its website has pictures of groups of people enjoying the outdoors together — again emphasizing the brand’s idea of making memories around the campfire.
2. LARQ
Source: LARQ
Founded on the need to lower plastic waste, LARQ’s self-cleaning bottles work towards sustainability. The site includes an interactive calculator that informs consumers how much money and the planet they can save by making the switch to LARQ bottles.
3. Burrow
Source: Burrow
Frustrated with furniture shopping, Burrow’s founders created a modular furniture brand focused on convenience. Their homepage animation showcases how their products adapt to different spaces, clearly explaining their value proposition.
4. Skullcandy
Source: Skullcandy
Skullcandy’s brash website design, experiential brand story, and behind-the-scenes material express something other than earphones. Their branding is consistent, trendy, and sensitive to the lifestyle that they support: energetic, colorful, and social.
5. Bon Bon Bon
Source: Bon Bon Bon
Bon Bon Bon offers handcrafted bonbons made using traditional French methods, local ingredients, and a generous dose of creativity.
Their premium pricing, $35 for a 10-piece box, doesn’t deter their audience. Why? Because they’ve built a brand that appeals to customers who value craftsmanship and uniqueness over discounts.
Their website radiates their quirky, fun personality with vintage visuals, playful typography, and a sea of bonbon photos that showcase their artistry and passion. It’s an ideal example of using design to convey a brand’s spirit.
6. Body Bliss
Source: Body Bliss
They are a natural skincare company focused on sustainability and ethical ingredients.
Their simple “About” page conveys a powerful brand statement in only two images, a CEO’s personal note and a description of the brand’s logo. Though simple, it states their values of purity, purpose, and passion well.
7. Black Diamond Equipment
Source: Black Diamond Equipment
A favorite among outdoor sports equipment, Black Diamond Equipment retails from climbing equipment to snowboarding clothing.
Their home page greets with a compelling video of snowboarder John Jackson descending Mount Adams. It doesn’t merely promote the product, it promotes a lifestyle. It’s an effective means of illustrating customers what adventure is possible with their brand.
8. Tommie Copper
Source: Tommie Copper
Tommie Copper is in the business of compression clothing for recovery from injuries and exercise.
Their highlight? A very accommodating 60-day, no-hassle return policy. It instills trust and gives buyers confidence in the brand’s belief in the quality of its product, a strong conversion driver.
9. Natori
Source: Natori
A luxury fashion brand with a heritage in wholesale and more than a decade of direct-to-consumer ecommerce history.
Natori remains at the cutting edge of retail technology, trying out VR and AI. Their homepage features elegantly posed images that reaffirm their high-end status and ageless chic.
10. Hyphen Sleep
Source: Hyphen Sleep
Hyphen Sleep combines science and style by selling data-driven mattresses built with custom materials and tested extensively.
Their branding leans youthful and vibrant – clean white space, bright accents, and photos of energetic, modern lifestyles set them apart in the sleep product industry.
11. Autograph Foliages
Source: Autograph Foliages
This family-run brand offers artificial greenery, from lifelike trees to faux flowers.
The website uses a calming color palette with earthy greens that complement their product imagery. It’s a subtle yet effective way to align design with the nature-focused theme of the brand.
12. Berlin Packaging
Source: Berlin Packaging
Berlin Packaging, founded in 1938, is an old family company dedicated to B2B packaging solutions.
Although catering to a corporate clientele, their website appears fresh and professional, not old-fashioned. Effective use of white space maintains the simplicity of the design, conveying credibility and clarity.
13. Anchor and Crew
Source: Anchor and Crew
This British brand retails ethically made jewelry and accessories that draw inspiration from adventure and seafaring life.
They boldly feature their open supply chain and handcrafted production processes. Their website design and content appeal to those who cherish authenticity, craftsmanship, and eco-friendly sourcing.
14. Beer Cartel
Source: Beer Cartel
Beer Cartel distributes craft beers and accessories with a no-frills attitude.
Their minimal, clean design reflects the casual nature of beer culture. It’s accessible, easy to use, and perfect for their laid-back, beer-drinking demographic.
15. Di Bruno Bros
Source: Di Bruno Bros
Di Bruno Bros. has been a gourmet food name, and one of the original pioneers of ecommerce in the industry, for more than 75 years.
Its website is an aesthetic feast, rich, high-end food photography pulling customers in and tempting them to taste the item at once.
16. Marucci Sports
Source: Marucci Sports
Marucci Sports caters to serious baseball and fastpitch players with pro-quality gear.
The “Commitment to Players” section is key – it tells customers that this company was built by former pros who understand the game. That message builds instant credibility and trust.
17. Barron Designs
Source: Barron Designs
Barron Designs has expertise in faux panels, faux columns, and real and faux wood beams. The company is dedicated to providing creative, budget-friendly, and high-quality ornamental building materials.
The live chat feature is a highlight of the website. Visitors select their preferred images from a carefully curated set, and based on the images selected, they are provided with tailored style suggestions, a highly interactive, entertaining, and effective method to engage users with the appropriate products.
18. Tyler’s
Source: Tyler’s
Tyler’s sells sportswear and lifestyle apparel. Their homepage is filled with dynamic, high-energy imagery that promotes fitness and outdoor activity, inspiring visitors to embrace an active lifestyle, and look good doing it.
19. Molton Brown
Source: Molton Brown
Molton Brown sells luxury bath, body, and fragrance gift sets. Their website is as sophisticated as their brand, with refined layouts and refined product photography that captures the atmosphere of an upscale boutique.
20. Scentos
Source: Scentos
Scentos produces fragrant craft materials with playful, character-driven designs. Their dedication to sustainability, from manufacturing to delivery, distinguishes them from others. The bright design of the site mirrors their whimsical, innovative product line as well as their environmentally friendly approach.
21. Saddleback Leather Company
Source: Saddleback Leather Company
Saddleback Leather sells premium leather goods such as wallets, backpacks, and bags. Their homepage navigation is unique, using image thumbnails paired with page titles to create an intuitive and visually rich browsing experience that also reinforces their rugged brand identity.
Wrapping Up
So, what’s the formula for a top-notch ecommerce website?
- Prioritize usability: A fast, responsive, mobile-friendly site is essential.
- Learn from the best: Look at what successful ecommerce brands are doing and adapt what makes sense for your own business.
- Leverage expert advice: Stay current with ecommerce trends and implement proven strategies.
By focusing on these fundamentals, your online store can stand out and thrive.
Best Ecommerce Store Examples FAQs
- What makes an ecommerce store great?
A great store combines clean, intuitive design, fast performance, mobile optimization, an adequate product range, and strong social proof like customer reviews.
- What are common issues with ecommerce stores?
Slow-loading pages are a major issue. They hurt SEO rankings and frustrate users, often leading to lost sales.
- Is Amazon an ecommerce store?
Yes, Amazon started as an online bookstore and evolved into one of the largest ecommerce platforms, also offering marketplace and ad services.
- What are examples of great ecommerce stores?
Examples include LARQ, Skullcandy, and Solo Stove – all offering engaging design, strong branding, and user-focused features.
- Are ecommerce stores difficult to make?
It depends on your platform and business needs. Many offer drag-and-drop builders, but advanced customizations may require developer support.
- Can you integrate an ecommerce store into social media platforms?
Yes, most platforms allow you to sync product catalogs with social media to enable shopping directly from Instagram, Facebook, and others.
- What is an example of an online boutique?
Anchor & Crew is a great boutique example offering unique, ethically sourced accessories with distinctive branding.
- Can you sell sports equipment online?
Absolutely. Marucci Sports does this successfully with a user-friendly store focused on quality and credibility.
- Can you sell beer online?
Yes, depending on your region’s legal restrictions. For example, Beer Cartel ships craft beer across Australia.
- Can you sell ice cream online?
Surprisingly, yes. Many gourmet brands now deliver frozen treats with insulated packaging and express shipping.
