Click4Assistance presents - Creating Effective Product Pages

For online businesses, product pages are the equivalent of shop window displays, showing off your stock in all their glory.

Effective product pages can make a huge difference to your conversion rate, and you don’t have to make big changes to see an impact. When would-be purchasers reach your product pages they’re asking “why should I buy from you”, and looking for some key information quickly to satisfy their purchase objections. Implementing small updates, and adding more supporting detail can have a significant effect. Following these tips will also help draw attention to your call to action, which is hugely important.

Cut down on the visual distractions

One of the simplest tips we can offer applies to all user experience related changes. Thinking simplicity will help cut down on unnecessary information. Let large, high quality images do most of the talking for you, and ensure they stand out as the main selling point on the page. Text should be limited to providing only the most necessary supporting detail; keep it simple with bullet points and don’t over complicate things with long descriptive sentences. Adding size guides and stock information is good practice, but should be displayed in easy to read tables.

Delivery and Availability Information

Product pages should effectively communicate both expected delivery times and product availability in-store and online. Giving the visitor an exact delivery date allows the page to be scanned for the most important information. Alternative delivery options should also be available such as next day, with any extra costs involved clearly communicated. Showing availability reassures customers items are in stock before they start the purchase. Not providing the information will reduce your conversions, as visitors don’t want to be surprised by product unavailability after starting the checkout process.

User Reviews

Although we’re reducing the visual noise around your product pages, there’s still enough room for user reviews. Adding user generated reviews is a great way to help reassure would-be purchasers they are making the right choice and provides a sense of social validation. Reviews should be laid out simply with an easy way of communicating a product score or rating. This can be overall or based on various criteria such as ‘value for money’ and ‘durability’. Features like this allow visitors to easily compare different items and make an informed decision. Including a simple ‘helpful’ option on each review allows other users to vote on submissions they found particularly useful. This way, top scoring reviews can be placed higher up the page listing.

Optimise your Product Images

Product images are your main selling point. You wouldn’t place unappealing visuals in your shop window, so why would you consider poor quality or pixelated images on your website? Not being able to physically see and feel a product online is one of the main reasons consumers still purchase certain products in-store. Using images well is a great way to combat this; visitors are looking for a good visual representation of your products before they proceed to purchase. Providing as many high quality images from different angles is good practice and allows the products to sell themselves. The added option of zoom and a ‘360 view’ is another popular tool that has been added to many sites.

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