Pages That Sell: Building an Effective Product Page

Congratulations! The visitor to your site has arrived at the product page, which is often the last place they’ll visit during their purchasing journey. This is where they make the decision to buy your product, so you’ve got one goal on a product page: Get your customer to hit click the “Buy” button before they proceed to the checkout page.

Posted 4 years ago by Tatiana Dudin

Presenting your product in the most appealing way while giving your customer all the information they need about it is how a sale happens. So, make sure to include all the elements needed to turn your visitors into buyers.

What Elements Should Be on My Product Page?

The 5 basic elements that all product pages should have are:

Product Images. This is the first thing customers will engage with. Have a mix of photographs that show only the product as well as lifestyle shots where the product is being used or worn by actual people. Since shopping online doesn’t give customers the option of trying on the product, lifestyle shots give them an idea of what the product looks like in real life. Don’t forget the zoom function! This allows buyers to examine its details and texture.

Product Descriptions. After seeing product photos, customers want to read about the product. The very first words should obviously be the product name. Give this a lot of thought, as it will represent not just the product but your brand as a whole.

The next piece of product info should be a brief description, just a few sentences long. It could even be bullet points, for easier reading. For customers that want to know more, add a more detailed product, consider adding a ‘Learn More’ link that when clicked, reveals more detailed text. Remember to talk about the materials, the story and the inspiration behind this product.

Color + Size Options. Variety is the spice of life, and giving your customers choices will make them more likely to find a product that fits their style and budget.

Price. People want to know how much they will be paying for your product. While delivery and taxes are often calculated on the check-out page, the base price should be clearly visible on each product page. When sites are evasive about the cost of their products, it creates instant mistrust between them and their customers.

Buy Button. Don’t get fancy with the wording – a simple “Add to Cart” or “Buy” will do. This button should be prominently seen. Other than the product images, it should command the most attention on the product page.

Predictability. It’s no secret that the structure of an e-commerce site often follows a formula. This includes product pages, where customers expect a certain layout. The risk of not following the expected design is confusing your customer and losing a sale. While the above elements are a must-have for any product page, brand identity can be woven in through typography and color.

Beyond Basics: Other Elements for Product Pages

Once all the critical information is on your product page, you can branch out and add other elements that provide customers with even more information about your product.

High-Quality Media. It’s a no-brainer that your product images and videos need to load fast and show off your product in the best way possible. Make sure to optimize them! Neutral backgrounds and professional shots are also a must. Keep videos short to match today’s shortening attention spans.

3D Modeling. Shopify recently unveiled that it will natively support video and 3D model assets for products. This feature could be a game-changer for products that people traditionally buy in-store. Learn more about other Shopify announcements here.

Reviews. Start collecting reviews about your products as soon as you can. You can then leverage them to create customer trust and add them to specific product pages. Research shows that social proof is one of the ingredients of e-commerce success.

Whitespace. Clean design and an uncluttered website make the customer journey and experience smooth and simple. Don’t try to cram as much information into a product page as possible and resist the urge to write paragraph upon paragraph extolling its virtues.

A Word About Words: Keep It Simple

I remember shopping online for a lipstick from a brand recommended to me, and while the product was high-quality and beautiful, the names of the lipsticks gave me no indication of its actual color. Sure, I was able to see the color variants, but consumers know that color in online images doesn’t always look exactly like the real-life product.

Injecting personality into your color variants with funky options like “Candy Dream” or “Cake Escape” is great. But what do these words mean? And more importantly, what will you customer take away from this? This is especially important in e-commerce – remember, your customers are seeing your product through a screen.

When they can’t try the product or see it with their own eyes, the color and product variants need to make it clear what the actual color is. If something is pink, for example, make that information readily available for your customers visually and through words. If you end up using unique names, remember to link your images to your product variants.

See It Through Their Eyes

Remember to try and look at your product pages objectively – you as the store owner know much more about your product than a customer. Try to see this experience through their eyes and understand what they need from your site to convince them to make a purchase.

Did you know we have a special section just for product pages in our task catalog? Take a look at all the different ways to improve your product pages below.