Here, beauty brands have to follow a few central design best practices. The competition in the beauty space, especially when it comes to beauty ecommerce websites, is fierce. Standing out is crucial to make sure they attract, convince, and convert their audience.
The general purpose of all of these beauty websites is simple: attract your audience’s eye, then guide them to the product page to make sure they convert. To get there, anything from the homepage to the about us page and even the footer has to work perfectly in concert.
Fortunately, you’re not on your own.
In the past few years, we’ve helped brands like Gleamin, Alodia Haircare, Briogeo, and CoverFX make a name for themselves online. Now, we’re bringing that expertise to you.
The below beauty website examples are handpicked by our team for a variety of reasons. They stand out for reasons that range from colors to navigation. Together, they serve as an inspiration for any beauty brands’ ecommerce website to begin standing out.
1. Glossier
At first glance, Glossier’s website is simple, aesthetically pleasing, and easy to navigate. Large images showcase the product on its own and on a model, while pink colors perfectly match the brand. A clean, natural look is a perfect match for this industry.
With Glossier, navigation is not reduced to the main menu. Holding your cursor over a category brings up the top options within that category, previewing exactly what the user is looking for. Bundling products makes for a more straightforward online shopping experience.
In short, simplicity is key. The fact that the branding is consistent and strong throughout only helps to make this a site that fully leans into its brand and maximizes its potential.
2. Avene
This skincare site leans fully into its brand. It wins by approaching the online experience from the user’s perspective, allowing for shopping experiences based on skin concern and even a naturally flowing skincare regimen quiz.
Of course, advanced users can still opt for a more traditional online shopping experience to find their preferred skin care category or product collection.
We’ve emphasized the importance of category pages in the past, and Avene fully leans into them. Every product shows a list of benefits, available on-demand through a drop-down menu. And if you’re not quite ready to shop yet, the site’s “Skintelligence” blog is ready to educate you and provide add-on value while showcasing their expertise in the skin care industry.
3. 100% Pure
Talk about a top beauty site that shines through aesthetics.
The appearance is as the brand name suggests: bright colors, but without being too flashy, catch the eye without being annoying. Meanwhile, menus with background pictures of the actual products add a fun touch to the navigation without compromising readability.
The shopping experience is still front and center here. An under $25 section appeals to budget shoppers, while a chat feature helps with anything from making a decision to potential check-out issues.
Once you get to the product pages, you find in-depth videos and information on how to apply the product, keeping the focus on education. But 100% Pure is not afraid to lean into its brand, either; a philanthropy site helps to communicate that when you shop here, you help to make a difference.
4. Winky Lux
Now here’s a homepage to be proud of. It follows a bunch of our ecommerce homepage best practices, from a rotating and engaging hero image all the way down to the bright colors and navigational ease through category pages featured right on the home screen.
It doesn’t stop there, of course. Throughout the site, subtle animations are just enough to keep audience interest without becoming distracted. They make sure that the products pop and always stay that center of the experience.
Winky Lux shines in its shopping experience, too. The checkout page design (again following our best practices) is clean and straightforward. Before you get there, it’s easy to add items to a wishlist before making a buying decision, and even seeing what products pair well with others on the individual product pages.
The best Beauty websites have beautifully branded homepages, much like the one for Winky Lux! They are organized with a clean design making find key information a breeze. Check out our article for more tips on how you can create an amazing ecommerce homepage.
5. Rare Beauty
One of the main drawbacks of shopping for beauty products online is not being able to see what they look like on your skin through a website. Rare Beauty circumvents that, through an innovative shade finder tool and filters from finish to coverage that are indispensable in finding the right product for each person.
These tools integrate naturally within the larger site, which is clean and almost feels delicate — a perfect match for a beauty brand. Featuring customers who have tagged the brand on social media is a great touch to bring in peer recognition, showing the product in action and in the real world.