Product page, also known as a product details is most probably the last page customers see before making a decision to buy the product and adding it to their basket. That's why it's crucial your customer finds all the information they need to know.
What can you tell about your product page? If you don't want your website's visitors shopping at your competitors, test your product pages against our UX tips.
Bring your product pages to perfection. 11 mistakes that cost you customers.
Online shop owners, marketers or copywriters who create the content on the product page often forget that customers do not know offered products and segments as much as they do. Be it a user who does not know anything about your products or a regular customer who might want to try something new, we come across the same problem: if your customers do not have sufficient information and can’t make their decisions easily, they will go to look for information elsewhere. Maybe straight to your competitor’s online shop, from whom they subsequently buy the products.
What are the most commonly repeated product page mistakes?
1. Bad quality product photographs deter potential buyers.
They say photographs sell. Bad photographs of your products might deter your customers from buying them. Unsuitable lighting, background or composition can hurt the product instead of help marketing it. Keep in mind that photographs are the first and sometimes the only way for your customer to see the product you are trying to sell. Make sure you give the photographs the attention they deserve.
2. Add relevant amount of product photographies
The amount of the photographs you need depends on the segment you're trading in. If you are selling something everybody knows and encounters daily, you do not need an excessive amount of photographs. Do not forget the specific details your customers might be interested in (for example packaging if selling alcohol).
On the other hand, if you are selling designer items people haven’t seen yet, do not hesitate to take high quality product photographs from many angles and from close up. Customers also might want to see photographs of clothes, shoes or accessories on models before buying them.
In case you don’t manufacture the products you’re selling and your supplier does not provide you with enough photographs, consider taking your own. Photographs of products your customers won’t be able to see elsewhere will help them decide and you gain a competitive advantage.
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For certain segments, it might be beneficial to consider a video presentation. This would enable customers to see how the clothes move when somebody is wearing it or learn more about technical parameters of a bicycle you are trying to sell.
3. Technical solutions should be intuitive
Navigation in the gallery is very important and should always be intuitive. A good gallery needs to offer a simple transition between photographs, either with arrows keys on the keyboard or clicking through the photographs using the mouse. Always design your solutions in such a way that the users know what is expected of them. Let them view the photographs in full screen mode but at the same time do not forget you need to return back to the product page as quickly and simply as possible (for example using the Escape key). Always optimise your galleries also for mobile devices.
4. Product description replaces a live shopping assistant
Product description must contain not only information you would normally find on the products label or packaging, it also needs to substitute for a live shopping assistant in a regular high street shop, who is able to answer all customers’ questions. The description needs to answer all questions of a new customer who does not know the segment very well but should be also sufficient for a person who wants to know the most specific and detailed information. Avoid excessively long texts without any real value. You should focus not only on the text’s contents, but also on its syntax, segmentation, tone (a way in which the text is written) and using the right expressions keeping SEO in mind.
5. Consider what information you need on your product website
Always provide your customers with a structured overview of product features. Make a research and find out what your customers want to know about the particular product. We have come across many details irrelevant to customers in online shops, for example a product code for warehouse accounting. Such details should be omitted.
In most cases, the more valuable a product is, the more details customers need to make a full and informed decision. Avoid inaccurate or incomplete information. Imagine a description of a backpack saying: “small <25l”. Is it 12l or 25l? This information did not help you at all and if you really like the backpack, you will find and buy it in a different online shop.
6. Make sure the product page contains details on shipping/time of delivery
Estimated time of delivery is absolutely key for your customers. Inform your website’s visitors on your products availability and whether you will be able to dispatch it immediately after placing the order or whether you need to order it from the manufacturer or manufacture if first, which inevitably takes more time and how long is this going to take. The more accurate estimated time of dispatch your customer can get, the better.
7. Product reviews are crucial, do not underestimate them
Product reviews from customers who have already bought the product can be crucial for decision making. Positive reviews from real customers add trustworthiness and confirm product’s quality. Reviews can also decrease the number of returns as customers can learn valuable details they would not know otherwise.
For example, whether the clothing sizes are accurate.
On the other hand, negative reviews are a handy tool for the online shop’s owner as they might be the reason to discard the product and remove them from the offer and can tell you about the need to increase your product’s quality. Well functioning reviews section on the product’s page requires effort from both customers and the online shop.You need to motivate customers to leave their review and never assume they will leave a review of their own accord.
8. Advantages of online shops and returns
Always inform your users about the options they have returning the products they have bought from you. If you offer extra long return period or extended warranty, make sure you mention it on the product page. It might be just this information that will help the user make a decision to buy.
In case your products can’t be returned, either for hygiene reasons or because it was hand- or tailor-made, do not forget to inform your user early enough. Not all users might assume this is the case and you can avoid a conflict or a negative review.
9. Recommended products on product pages increase sales
Use your product page to cross-sell and up-sell. You can help your customer find what they are looking for. You can offer them other products they might like - either from the same category or by using an advanced tool for related products; just make sure they are relevant.
If you offer products that are complementary to the ones users are viewing, do not hesitate to bring these to their attention. For example, if you’re selling running shoes, feel free to offer compression socks or any product that a person with new running shoes might be interested in. Without your recommendations, the users might not realise they need the recommended product or they might not know that you are selling such products.
10. Page structure needs to be uniform, the user should not get lost
Position of individual elements on the website should be consistent across the whole online shop and all its products. Don’t forget to pay attention to your website’s responsibility on mobile devices, we have often come across a situation where thanks to the misaligned CTA (call-to-action) elements, the call to action key is so low that users need to scroll excessively far.
If your product descriptions are long, separate them and place only a short description above the page break and leave a short description with a link to a longer text placed below. Make sure the users know where they’re going to be taken after clicking on your links and don’t feel like they got lost.
11. Links to blogs or other products too belong to the product page
If one of your online shop’s features is also a blog with articles aimed to inform on a given segment or make customers’ decision process easier, do not hesitate to place links to these articles on your product page.
The visitors will not be forced to leave your website to find additional information or compare products. Moreover, you are building a great reputation of an experienced and professional seller who offers all the necessary information. Once again, a competitive advantage is on your side. It is more than probable that the customer will come back to shop for more and recommend your website.
Have you just looked at your product page and found areas that might need improvement? If your answer is yes, then go full steam ahead! Apropos, don’t forget the forms. 13 bulletproof tips on how to bring them to perfection can be found in this article on our blog. Do not hesitate to contact us if you need help, we’ll be delighted to help you with your e-commerce project from the very beginning to the end.
