A fashion website is typically an online shop for fashion brands, allowing customers to purchase apparel and have it sent to their doorsteps. Therefore, a fashion website needs to be organized with clearly defined categories with good quality images to show off the items. There should also be detailed information on shipping, returns, and delivery.
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Zarla checks that sites meet basic web standards for mobile and desktop. We also use Google's PageSpeed Insights, and WAVE, a service that evaluates accessibility for individuals with disabilities. PageSpeed scores and accessibility are important factors for search engine rankings. PageSpeed scores may not match user experience and can vary substantially.
Boise, Idaho, U.S.
Banana ink is an Idaho-inspired brand partnered with local businesses to produce their apparel range. The site is cleanly organized with clear categories, customer reviews, and store information. I really got a feel for this outdoor brand through the clever use of image marketing and the niche products they offer.
The formatting of the customer reviews was great, with images next to the reviews showing me what the customer was talking about and enticing me to go view the actual product. I would have preferred clear pricing to having the pricing only appear when hovering over an item.
The site is clean, with no ads cluttering the space and clear product categories. I also appreciated the limited scope of this outdoor brand, which meant I didn't have to scroll through hundreds of pages to find something I liked. The images show good quality and highlight the outdoor niche.
The site is only semi-compliant with assistive technologies and WAVE reported a number of errors across the main pages, including missing alternative text, empty links, and contrast errors. The site's social media links are almost lost at the bottom of the page, and pricing is only clear when hovering over an item.
Strangely, the hero banner on the desktop site does not show the full image, which means a lot of the models wearing the clothing get cut off. I also saw this on the category pages, where those hero images appeared zoomed in too far. While my real-world tests ran smoothly and quickly, PageSpeed Insights noted slower loading times on the home page, awarding it a performance score of 57/100.
The mobile site is perfectly optimized for smaller screens, with the hero images showing to their best advantage. While some of the hero banners on the category pages are zoomed in, the placing is not as awkward as on the desktop site.
I appreciated that the pricing was clearly placed on the mobile site, in contrast to needing to hover over an item on the desktop site, but I did notice it took a while to load images in my real-world tests. This finding was also noted on PageSpeed Insights, which awarded the home page of the mobile site 40/100 for performance.
https://www.irisfashion.co.uk/
London, England, U.K.
Iris is led by an all-female team and provides the women of England with romantic clothing collections. Iris not only has its own range, but the site emphasizes other brands that can be bought on the site. An interesting addition to the site is the "Iris Edits" page, where the site editors select their favorite fashion items to streamline the shopping experience.
I liked that the "Sale" page was highlighted in bright red in the menu bar, but I found it strange that only some pages featured a hero banner. Further, the white text over the hero images lacked contrast and was often difficult to read.
The site is neatly categorized and the login and cart icons are well-placed for clear visibility. There are some good search filter options, and I liked that the sale page was highlighted in red in the menu bar. Having a section on returns that includes step-by-step instructions was also a great addition.
WAVE consistently reported a handful of broken ARIA links and missing alternative text errors on the various pages, contributing to the site being only semi-compliant with assistive technologies. The social media links should be more prominent, and when using hero banners, they should be on all pages or none.
With the two images sharing the hero banner and the top banner divided in two as well, the desktop site almost has the appearance of two pages squashed together. This impression doesn't carry through to the rest of the site, which I found nicely organized with plenty of white space.
On the home page, the images slid up as I scrolled, which I'm not really a fan of as it can be disorienting. While PageSpeed Insights noted slightly slow loading times on the home page, it awarded the desktop site's home page 80/100 for performance.
While the mobile site is nicely optimized for the smaller screen, some of the text on the home page's hero image does get cut off. Also on the home page, the item images slide up as you scroll down, but in some of my real-world tests, I had to scroll quite far before the images slid up. This left me with blank space on more than half my screen.
I also experienced slow loading times on the images, a finding that was reflected on PageSpeed Insights, which awarded the mobile site's home page 30/100 for performance.
https://www.troubleandfox.co.nz/
Nelson, South Island, New Zealand
Trouble & Fox is a family-owned business in New Zealand that features an eclectic mix of apparel, accessories, and gifts in both a brick-and-mortar store and online. The site stands out in that, instead of a hero image, the home page features a patterned block and a sale ad with very poor contrast, both of which take you to the sale page. However, this connection is not clear.
The site menu is very detailed, with all the categories appearing here and none on the actual pages. I liked that there was a sizing guide in the footer menu, and the site also provides shipping and return information.
The site features clear and consistent branding. The purchasing, shipping, and returns policies are clearly outlined in detail, and the sizing guide is a great addition. I liked the fact that each product had the option to contact the company to enquire about the product.
The site is only semi-compliant with assistive technologies and WAVE reported a number of errors on the home page, including missing alternative text and contrast errors, while the sale pages returned a large number of contrast errors. The site is not as well organized as some competitors, with all the categories appearing in the site menu.
The hero banner takes up a lot of space on the desktop site and is fairly pointless, in my opinion, as it's difficult to read. The menu is a little overwhelming with all the categories visible at once and in a small font that impacts legibility. However, my real-world tests showed a good performance with quick loading times. PageSpeed Insights awarded the desktop site's home page a performance score of 74/100.
I preferred the menu layout on the mobile site, with the categories collapsed so I could more easily look for the section I wanted to expand. In my real-world tests, the mobile site did load a bit slower than the desktop site, but I didn't have to wait too long. However, PageSpeed Insights noted very slow loading times on the home page, awarding the mobile site 54/100 for performance.
Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
GOOD Clothing, or simply GOOD, is based in Cape Town and sells women's clothing that is both comfortable and flattering. At the time of writing, the site is heavily advertising the end-of-winter sale as well as a new Orange Leo range.
Looking at the menu, I was pleased to see the shipping, returns, and sizing guides all immediately available and a "Shop By Size" category was a great addition! However, I was left wondering about the addition of "Knitwear" and how that would work in the summer months.
The site boasts well-defined categories with an easy-to-navigate menu. The images are high quality and enticing, with detailed descriptions for each item. The option of creating an account gives customers the opportunity to track their orders.
According to accessScan, the site is not compliant with assistive technologies and WAVE reported a number of errors on the various pages, mostly empty links. The desktop images are large, taking up a lot of space. If they were smaller, we'd be able to see more items at once.
The hero image makes a strong impact on the desktop site, catching the eye and drawing customers into exploring the site. While I enjoyed the use of space on the desktop site, I found that the images were a bit too large, leading to an excessive amount of scrolling.
The desktop site could have been streamlined with slightly smaller images. While my real-world tests ran smoothly and proved to have a good user experience, PageSpeed Insights reported slightly slower loading times and awarded the desktop site's home page 58/100 for performance.
While the hero image loses some impact on the smaller screen, the mobile site is beautifully optimized. Images are smaller, so I could see at least four full items at a time (without having to scroll to see the whole image, as on the desktop site), which meant less scrolling was needed on the mobile site. However, PageSpeed Insights didn't agree with my pleasant experiences, giving the mobile site's home page a performance score of 42/100, and citing slow loading speeds and large content.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
STYLEARTIST is a personal styling and shopping service that helps Canadian women save time at the mall or scrolling online. The site not only provides online shopping services through neat categories but also offers a style blog with tips from a stylist and the opportunity to book a personal or group styling appointment.
The site features a great salmon color palette that really emphasizes their focus on fashion and women in a traditional way. The additional footer menu provides more business-focused options, and I was excited to see both a personal stylist or shopper experience and a "Sip & Shop" option for Toronto-based customers to book a shopping party at the brick-and-mortar store.
According to accessScan, the site is compatible with assistive technologies and so is accessible to all. The site caters to busy women and offers styling tips in its blog and the option to book a personal shopper. There is also detailed information on shipping, returns, and refunds.
WAVE reported a large number of errors on the various pages, including empty links, broken ARIA references, and contrast errors. The site lacks product reviews and there is possibly a back-to-top button hidden behind the Chat bubble feature, but I can only see the edge of it.
The desktop site offers a smooth browsing experience with all the shopping categories available in the top menu. However, this does lead to an overly complicated menu. I loved the sale sign, which reminded me of a retro lingerie boutique's sign done in the purplish color palette that the desktop site boasts. While PageSpeed Insights noted slightly slower loading times, it awarded the desktop site's home page an excellent performance score of 94/100.
The mobile site features a more pinkish tone to the color palette compared to the desktop site, and the hamburger menu offers expandable categories to help with navigation. I also liked that the language and currency options were immediately available in the menu, rather than in the footer as on the desktop site. While my real-world tests ran smoothly, PageSpeed Insights reported slow loading times on the home page, with a performance score of 45/100.
We've curated a list of existing fashion websites for you to browse. Use our reviews, with pros and cons, to help you fashion your own website.
If you have little to no web design experience, a template is a great option. Many website builders offer different templates that can be customized and then hosted on the platform when completed.
If you're looking for inspiration for your web design, take a look at famous international brands such as Zara, Dior, or Gucci. However, you should also look at smaller, local businesses, as your new startup will be closer to that style while you build your brand. Our favorites include STYLEARTIST and Banana ink.
Spend some time navigating competitors' websites and taking notes about things that work and that could be improved. If you don't have the budget to hire a professional web designer, this list could help you create and customize an amazing fashion website with AI.
Read our review of five existing fashion websites for some great examples. STYLEARTIST is a particularly trendy example, as it offers a blog with up-to-date styling tips.
