I hate it when I walk into a store and, within two seconds, a salesperson is already standing next to me. Not because I don’t want help. I’m just not there yet. First, I want to look around. I want to see what’s there and figure out whether I’m interested at all. But the opposite isn’t great either. There comes a point when I do have a question, and suddenly there’s no one around to ask.

Somewhere in between is the moment when help actually feels helpful. I think online stores work exactly the same way.

Many people see an e-commerce website as an online catalog. But a good online store isn’t really about displaying products. It’s about understanding where the person on the other side is in their journey.

Because people don’t arrive in the same mindset. Some know exactly what they want. Some are just browsing. Others don’t even know yet what they need. That’s why, before designing an online store, I don’t start by asking how many categories there should be or what the homepage should look like.

Instead, I ask these five questions:

1. What would someone do if they walked into this store right now?

Would they go straight to a product?

Would they look around first?

Or would they simply try to understand what this business is offering?

2. What would make them feel lost?

Too many choices?

Industry jargon?

Not knowing where to start?

3. When do they actually need help?

The moment they arrive?

Or only when they’re close to making a decision?

4. What would make them feel, “This is for me”?

A specific product?

An answer to a problem?

Or simply having someone explain the options in a clear and understandable way?

5. What happens to people who aren’t ready to buy yet?

Do they have a place in this store?

Can they browse, explore and understand?

Or are we implying that if they’re not buying right now, there’s nothing here for them?

I think that’s why designing an online store has much more in common with designing a physical store than with creating a product catalog. Because in the end, the question isn’t where to place the “Add to Cart” button. It’s whether someone feels that this place was designed with them in mind. When they’re decisive. When they’re uncertain. And when they’re simply curious.

And honestly, I think we’ve all been each of those people at some point.

Maybe that’s why designing a great online store is so difficult. Because you’re not designing for one customer. You’re designing for all of us, on different days, in different moods, and at different stages of making a decision.