5 elements of high converting ecommerce product pages

Mike Wagaba
Analytics for Humans
7 min readDec 22, 2020

--

A product page is where e-commerce customers spend most of the time and make the final decision about completing a purchase.

If you are running PPC campaigns, the products page might be as well the first impression a prospective customer has of your online business.

The importance of a good product page is immense — it is the page where you showcase your products and give customers a reason to make the final buying decision.

The structure of your product page can make or break your sales and in this article, we’re covering the 5 elements that all high converting product pages have in common.

Here’s what we covered

The 5 elements:

  • Trust
  • High-quality images/videos
  • Optimized product copy
  • Clean design, no distractions
  • Flawless checkout
  • Conclusion

With these 5 elements, you are more likely to turn your eCommerce visitors into paying customers.

  1. Trust

One of the key elements of your product page should be building trust. Showing your product page is trustworthy by displaying trust signals can play a decisive role in completing the purchase.

Contrarily, not having enough trust signals on your product page can lead to cart abandonment:

Trust signals on product pages include:

Social symbols — icons of your social plug-ins;

Payment assurance — multiple payment options and third party badges and certifications;

Reviews and ratings a snapshot of the general rating, and feedback from previous buyers;

Contact and information — contact information and possibility to get in touch with the store;

Trust badges — badges that show the payment methods are secure — the most popular are Norton Secured, McAfee Secure, and Verified by Visa;

Return policy — offering free return in a certain time period or a Money back guarantee badge.

Increase trust on your product page by:

  • Including reviews

Including 2 to 10 reviews of the product from your customers builds trust. Some stores offer a possibility to win a discount code if you leave a review of the product. Do not hide the identity of the reviewer — adding full names, pictures will bring more transparency. Display the average score calculated by the reviewers for a visitor, who does not have time to read each of the separate reviews.

  • Offering multiple payment options

Your online store should provide the most popular payment method among your target group. However, adding multiple payment methods increases your store’s credibility. The bigger choice of payment methods you offer, the highest the trust will be of your prospective customers. Another possibility is to offer the “pay later” possibility, where the customer pays for the products after receiving them. Do not forget to include icons of the possible payments as well.

  • Displaying contact information

Try including the icons with links to your social media channels and contact information on the bottom or top of your product page. Adding a chat-bot on your page that gives viewers the possibility to immediately ask questions is even more efficient.

The online store Asos builds trust by offering free shipping and a 60-days return policy. It also includes social icons in the footer:

While the website Bol.com which presents more providers of the same products builds trust with the platform by highlighting a free 30-day return policy, 24/7 customer care service, and free shipping:

It also includes reviews on each product page:

2. High-quality images/videos

The visual representation of the products in your online store is the most important aspect of a product page and can be a deal-breaker. Compared to the physical stores, a customer is unable to hold the product; therefore it has to be presented to him through pictures and videos from different angles.

As the popularity of videos is increasing, it is highly advisable to include both — high-quality pictures and videos to highlight the best of your products.

Nike already incorporated videos on their product pages:

When using multiple pictures, make sure all of them have the same size and height-width ratio. A recommended size for e-commerce pictures is 2048px X 2048px.

Include one (or all) of these practices to improve your visual representation:

  • Provide 360° view of your product

Offer your customers a more interactive, 3D experience by providing a 360° view of your product. Most commonly used for showcasing jewelry, this is especially handy when you want to show the details of your product.

  • Include a model wearing the product

Again, people cannot try your product before buying it; therefore try to show them how it looks. The most successful online stores include the measurements of the model wearing the item.

  • Use video to show how to use the product

Adding a video of how to use the product or how to style it has a persuasive effect on your potential customers.

Brilliant Earth offers a detailed look of their rings with the 3D feature:

While Boohoo includes pictures of the model from different angles, and the clothes size that he or she is wearing:

Effects use the video to show the viewers how can they use the product (and indirectly, why do they need to buy it):

3. Optimized product copy

Creating a fun, engaging, and optimized product copy can make an online store stand out among competitors.

To be successful at product copy, you need to know your audience, have a strong understanding of the brand, and be familiar with the SEO best practices.

Improve your copy by:

  • Speaking to your target audience

Knowing your target audience dictates the tone of voice, which words to use, and sometimes even how funny your product description becomes.

You can use trendy word abbreviations when targeting Gen Z but avoid them completely when writing copy to attract boomers.

  • Talking about value

The copy should answer the question: “Why does someone need this product?” and present the advantages of having it instead of just its features.

The online store Twelfth South created a copy that speaks to millennials by taking into consideration their buying behavior. Known for being technologically savvy, millennials tend to buy the latest version of mobile phones and are loyal Apple customers:

When it comes to innovative headlines, Firebox knows how to catch a buyer’s attention by creating unique and fun product names:

Showcasing a product’s value comes almost naturally for the online store Chi Chi London. In this product description they explained where could their customer wear the dress, instead of talking about its features:

4. Clean design, no distractions

The design of your product page should be attractive and easy to navigate.

To improve your website design:

  • Use tabbed navigation

To avoid cluttering your page with text, present more information, create a drop-down menu with links to more details about the product.

  • Create clear and contrasting CTA’s

Make your call to action pop by making the button clear and in a different color compared to the other text.

  • Make it mobile-friendly

Design your product page to be not only responsive on mobile devices but clear and easy to navigate when being in a smaller format.

The online store Watches of Switzerland keeps its product in the spotlight by using tabbed navigation:

The website of Jackie Smith store opted for a more colorful and eye-catchy design, paying attention to the colorful call to actions:

Warby Parker’s product page is a perfect example of how a clean, well-designed e-commerce website should look on a mobile device:

5. Flawless checkout

The checkout process should be simple, transparent, and fast. If your score of cart abandonment is high, consider improving your checkout process by:

  • Including a basket summary

Include a review of the products in the shopping cart and the possibility to remove some of them before moving to the next step.

  • Displaying a progress indicator

Creating an overview of the needed steps to complete the purchase makes the customer aware of the next steps and can indicate how soon the process will be over.

  • Offer guest checkout

Offer a guest checkout for customers who are in a rush or do not want to create an account

H&M offers a review of the products at the beginning of the checkout process:

In the checkout process, Etsy displays a progress indicator in the top-right corner:

Chanel facilitates the checkout process by offering a guest checkout:

Conclusion

Building trust, using high-quality images and videos to show your products, and engaging your visitors with fun and useful copy can increase the number of prospective customers.

While the clear design of your product page and a simple check-out process should lead them to complete the purchase.

By keeping in mind your target audience, you will surely be able to personalize each of these elements and use it to connect with your ideal customer.

--

--