What is a good product page?
How to create a product page that sells?
Creating a product page that converts isn't just about following a certain number of "best practices" you read here and there on the internet. Putting together a list of elements without first thinking through a strategy is the best way to not get the expected results. You therefore need to define a strategy, which will allow you to create a relevant structure and align the planets to obtain very good results. That's why we've defined in this article the three main steps to creating the perfect product page:
Define a strategy
It's important to ask all the right questions upfront to know which direction to take to create an optimized product page that will generate more sales. Indeed, most optimizations are relative: while some work for one sector, one product, or one type of catalog, they will be ineffective or even counterproductive for others.
The brand universe
This point concerns the elements that make up your brand's visual universe, but also the tone used to communicate. It is essential to align the universe of your store with that of your brand.
The UX and UI of the site
User experience and user interface are two key elements in creating a product page that converts. Particular attention will be paid to cognitive overload. Indeed, arranging too many elements (text, CTAs, images, videos, etc.) risks confusing the message and driving visitors away (if they don't quickly find what they're looking for, they're likely to leave the page, or even the store).
Important note: If you follow all our advice, you should be able to create a good product page. However, the optimization process doesn't stop there: we could indeed add a fourth step: A/B testing (this will be the subject of a separate article). A/B testing consists of making subtle modifications to the product page and analyzing the results obtained by comparing them with those of the unmodified version.
1) Define a strategy to optimize your product page by asking yourself the right questions.
The structure, features, and content of an optimized product page depend on your industry, the nature of your products, and the size of your catalog . Each market has its own specificities, target audiences, and specific expectations. Here's a list of questions to help you define a relevant strategy based on your industry and products.
What products do you offer? What sector do you operate in? Who is your target audience?
There's a lot to say on this point, given the infinite number of different products on the market. Our advice is to think about what the customer, or your target audience more generally, is looking for and wants. Put yourself in their shoes: what do they need? What will make them want to buy? What questions might they ask, knowing that there isn't a salesperson directly present to answer them?
Also study your sector: what are your competitors offering? At what price? How do they do it? How can you stand out? What are the trends?
Here are some examples to illustrate the need to adapt your page according to your product or sector.
How does this affect your product listing?
- If you're selling clothing, the structure can highlight elements such as size, fit, material, available colors, care instructions, and information on current trends. High-quality images of the garment worn by a model are also crucial.
- If you sell electronics, products will require detailed specifications such as power, capacity, technical features, compatibility, connectivity options, etc. Images of ports and interfaces can be important to help customers understand the product.
- If you sell luxury or high-end products, highlight their exclusive features, premium materials, unique design, or exceptional craftsmanship. High-end products will likely require a storytelling approach to create an emotional connection with customers. Luxury brands often have a backstory, philosophy, or values that can be highlighted.
- If you sell furniture, product listings can highlight dimensions, materials, assembly and care methods, as well as images showing the product in a home environment.
- When it comes to food products, they must include information on ingredients, nutritional values, certifications (such as organic labels), possible allergies, preparation methods, etc.
- For sports equipment, it is advisable to focus on performance-enhancing features, construction materials, available sizes, and information on how the product can be used in different sporting activities.
- Etc…
Are these products that involve a considered, impulse or recurring purchase?
- Recurring purchases are often a daily necessity, but sometimes they're simply a matter of consumer habits. In both cases, it can make sense to offer a subscription-based service: the customer automatically receives their products at a set frequency. The challenge, therefore, is to create a simple, seamless purchasing experience and convince the visitor to opt for this solution.
- In the context of an impulse purchase, it will probably be necessary to play on psychological springs (urgency or rarity for example), on emotions, on promotions, on personalization to meet everyone's desires, on the possibility of returning the product easily and obtaining an exchange or a refund.
- Considered buying is normally rarer and, as its name suggests, it is the result of research before making the purchase. In this case, it will be necessary to highlight the characteristics and benefits of the product, possibly compare it with other products on the market, offer customization, highlight an FAQ and customer service (chat, telephone line, etc.), etc.
Is it the same product for everyone, or does it come in a large number of variations (size, color, patterns, etc.)?
The structure of the product page will be radically different if you offer many variables (or even bundles, i.e. product packs), because you will have to highlight these in a clear and visible way. You will also need to have all the necessary photos so that changes can be made automatically when you click on a variable: it is necessary to have an immediate idea of the rendering of the product with the selected variable.
Is this a product that requires advice?
Many products require expert advice before making a choice. Integrating a chat and FAQ, and highlighting a phone line and email address are essential elements to ensure you don't miss out on opportunities. Implementing a configurator or diagnostic tool can also make a lot of sense.
Does the visitor need to be reassured in order to make a purchase?
Generally speaking, it is possible to answer this question in the affirmative, but once again, it will be necessary to adapt it to your type of product, your sector and your positioning.
- Remind us of essential information regarding payment, return and refund policy, delivery.
- Emphasize social proof, highlighting reviews and comments. Maximize transparency.
Caution: If this is a premium or luxury product, it's unlikely you'll highlight customer reviews or comments. A luxury brand doesn't have to prove its reputation or that of its products. Furthermore, it fosters a situation where the buyer is left waiting, dreaming of being able to afford the product. Finally, it would be very frowned upon for the brand to receive an average rating for a product with a particularly high price, and which is handmade with high-quality materials. - Implement “nudge marketing.” For example: “9 out of 10 customers recommend us.”
- If you have a serious study or expert opinion, highlight them.
- Once again, take the time to write a good FAQ, whether it is directly present in the product page or on a dedicated page.
How to stand out from your competitors?
- If there are a lot of competitors in your market, you will need to stand out as much as possible by communicating the elements that differentiate you (your universe and brand image, your values, the benefits of your product, good illustrations and photos, etc.) and perhaps by creating promotions or attractive offers. Create a community.
- If the product is exactly the same as your competitors', focus on the quality of your service, particularly your return and refund policy. Remember that the success of many brands stems from the fact that consumers aren't just buying a product: they're buying a service. For example, you sell office furniture and offer free delivery and installation.
Is the product unknown to the public and your audience? Is it innovative?
- An evangelism strategy needs to be developed: precisely define the benefits of your product and communicate them in the simplest way possible. You can then detail them further down, in illustrated content blocks.
- Compare your product with what it replaces or improves, in the form of a table or diagram.
- Focus once again on social proof: visitors will need to be reassured before making a purchase.
How big is your catalog?
This question is absolutely essential, because it will define the structure of your product pages. Indeed, if you have 2000 products in your catalog, it is unlikely that you will be able to create pages with an explanatory video and a dozen content blocks (text and photos) per product like Asphalte . Instead, you will need to define a structure that allows you to integrate the essential elements and thus import everything massively. This is what Ralph Lauren probably does.
Here are the main questions you'll need to answer: this is the first step in defining a real strategy for developing an optimized product page. There are likely many other questions you can ask yourself, so don't stop there.
While most of the things mentioned may seem obvious, remember that defining a good strategy means prioritizing the important elements and limiting or even excluding others: this is what will ensure you don't end up with a "Christmas tree" product page, the main effect of which will be cognitive overload - that is, for the visitor, the inability to find the information they are looking for or that will convince them to buy. We will detail this point in the rest of this article.
You may be interested in this mini-guide on how to set up your catalog and product pages on Shopify .
2) The design of an optimized product page.
Once you have defined your sector and the nature of your product, we recommend that you consider your brand's universe . Too often, we see sites whose design is very far removed from the brand's identity manual, or more generally from the brand's visual elements (content posted on social networks, packaging, photos and videos, etc.). Aligning your site's image with that of the brand is important: it generates the trust and desirability necessary for your products to sell optimally.
Brand identification and consistency
Web design should be an extension of your brand's unique and memorable visual identity. Visitors or customers on your site must be able to immediately identify you, and the omnichannel experience (if applicable) must be consistent (brand image, tone of voice, etc.).
- We've noticed that many companies, some with well-established stores, don't have a brand identity manual or even a graphic charter. If this is the case for you, we recommend starting by at least creating a graphic charter.
- A consistent design across your entire e-commerce site helps reinforce positive brand perception. Consistency in colors, typography, icons, and other visual elements conveys a sense of professionalism and trustworthiness.
Competitive differentiation
In a saturated market, a web design aligned with the brand's universe can help you stand out from the competition. A unique and distinctive design attracts visitors' attention and encourages them to choose that brand over another.
- To do this, it is best to start by studying your competitors' stores so that you can stand out from them and be sure that you are not reproducing something that already exists.
- Also, the quality of your web design allows you to position yourself as a leader (if applicable) or as if you are much more important than you actually are. While it is often difficult to have a physical store on the most beautiful shopping street in your city, it is much simpler and less expensive to have a premium design and experience online.
Credibility
A neat web design inspires confidence in users. Many visitors remain wary and are reluctant to provide their banking details if the platform doesn't seem secure. A sloppy web design can easily create this feeling. Even if the goal isn't to have the best web design, you should at least succeed in reassuring your visitors.
Brand storytelling
Your web design should help you tell your brand's story, its values, and its mission. Remember that too little text is read on the internet; just study the average time spent on the different pages of your platform to realize that it's impossible to read everything you want to say. Design is there to convey your messages without words, or almost: an icon or an image can often replace a paragraph of text.
Customer loyalty
A web design aligned with the brand's universe ultimately strengthens the emotional connection between the brand and its customers. This can lead to greater long-term loyalty and positive word-of-mouth. Make your design convey emotions.
In short, a web design aligned with the brand universe is an essential investment to strengthen the brand image, optimize the user experience and achieve your business objectives.
3) The UX (user experience) and UI (user interface) of an optimized product page.
They are an extension of all the elements you just defined. Once again, check that each of the following points makes sense in relation to your strategy. In this study, we will focus on the most recurring elements so that they can be relevant to the vast majority of e-commerce stores. Don't hesitate to contact us if you have a project and would like us to study your site specifically.
Cognitive overload
There's a reason we're starting with this point! This is what you absolutely must avoid, and yet it's what we see most often: stores have strictly followed the recommendations for good product information, and as a result, there are useless elements everywhere, which confuse the message and scare away potential buyers. Here are our recommendations to avoid this.
- Create wireframes (mockups) of your product page before moving on to design and development. Remember: a good strategy is to limit the number of elements and therefore define which ones are priorities.
- Limit your texts: a good title is short (5 words), and so is a good description. If you think you'll rise in search results with blocks of text everywhere, you risk simply not getting any results, either in terms of SEO or conversion. Consider setting up accordions for your SEO texts further down the page, if this is part of your strategy.
- Graphic elements (photos, visuals, icons, etc.) allow you to say a lot without words, but don't overdo it: the result must be airy.
- There's no point repeating the same things over and over again : if you do, you probably didn't communicate them well the first time (or they weren't in the right place).
- Reduce the number of options presented to the visitor: everything should correspond to what is expected in the sales funnel at a specific moment.
UX Design
Here are some points to emphasize.
- Divide different types of information into distinct blocks. Understanding must be immediate: you must understand what each block corresponds to without having to read or think. To do this, play with colors, shapes, and elements that allow for division (lines, frames, white space, images, etc.).
- Remember to balance the structure of the page with different contents: photos, texts, icons, images, etc.
- Use only graphic elements that are known to everyone (icons, shapes, layout, location, etc.)
- Generally speaking, avoid using visually cluttered images. Instead, opt for uncluttered content.
- Your CTA should be – generally speaking – visible above the fold.
- If you are setting up two CTAs, differentiate them in a clear way (different color, bold text for one of the two, possibly underlined text, possibly boxed text).
Cross-platform adaptability
With the rise of mobile devices, a good responsive experience is essential to provide consistency across all devices (computers, smartphones, tablets).
- All elements must be designed to be used by thumbs on mobile (menus, CTAs, product cards, etc.)
- Limiting the number of words and texts is even more important for mobile.
- Limit the number of fields in forms
- Consider optimizing the size of your photos and videos for faster page load times. Obviously, if you can improve the quality of your code, that's a big plus. Finally, remove any unnecessary plugins, as they're likely also slowing down your performance.
Optimize your product page photos
- Preferably use a neutral background for the main photo: white, black or beige.
- The main photo should be of high quality and make people want to see others or check out.
- Complement the main photo with images showing the product in context.
- Play on the size contrasts between the product and the background context.
- In some cases, it may make sense to blur the background context.
- Show the product from many angles.
- Set up a zoom so we can see the product more closely.
Make it easier to navigate between product pages
- It is likely that the visitor wants to see other products on your site: offer them the chance to see similar and/or complementary products.
- Integrating a breadcrumb trail at the top of the page will allow for smoother navigation, without necessarily having to go back through the menu.
Here is an illustration of an optimized product page
This is just a suggestion. We invite you to adapt it based on everything we've covered in this article and what you've defined in your strategy.
The potential “pluses” to implement depending on your strategy
- Indicate the amount above which delivery costs are free, for example in the top bar. Emphasize the term “Free.”
- Indicate the cost and delivery time.
- Use a secondary photo to also showcase the benefits of the product (give example)
- Indicate sizes and their international equivalents (if applicable) if clothing or footwear.
- Sticky add to cart (desktop and mobile).
- Cross-sell / upsell in “checkbox” mode
- Content sections highlighting the benefits of the product, its manufacturing or the brand universe.
- Testimonials
Despite all this advice, you may still need to be supported by a Shopify agency , so don't hesitate to contact us!
