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Product Pages: How Should They Be Designed?
Rick Henkin
Most visitors will have arrived at a specific product page on your website, not because they're ready to buy, (although some will be ready), but because they want more information. The starting point for designing your product page is to provide that information. What do visitors want to know?
They may not need to know every item in every instance, but the more information you can offer, the more likely the sale. How do I communicate what they want to know? Price- Show the price at the first mention of the product. Don't make your visitor click back and forth between pages. If you hide it until later, you'll be perceived as untrustworthy. If you offer a service rather than a product, and feel you can't give an exact price without knowing the specifics of the job, do this: Give an estimate based on a typical job. For a moving company it might be the price to move a 3 bdrm house across the country. For a painter, it could be the average price to paint a 2000 sqft house. While it may not be the exact price, it at least gives the potential customer a starting point to work into their budget. Photos- Show a photo of the product and allow the user to enlarge it. The enlarged photo should be significantly bigger and still retain the product information text. Add alternate views showing different angles, size comparisons, details and how to use the product. Try to find a balance between the sharpest resolution and the smallest file size. Show thumbnail images first, allowing your visitor to decide whether or not they want to download a larger view. Features- Describe the product's features- what it has or what it does. Examples of features are: call forwarding, self-winding watch, 0-60 mph in 3.2 seconds. Benefits- Describe the product's benefits. A benefit is a result of a feature. Take any feature and ask yourself, "So why should my customer care?" The answer is your benefit. Examples: call forwarding means your customer will never have to miss a call again, a self-winding watch means he won't miss an appointment because he forgot to wind his watch, 0-60 mph in 3.2 seconds means he'll never be late for work again (just kidding). Options- Tell them whether the product comes in different sizes, colors, performance packages, etc. Allow them to choose options before they place the item in their cart. Options for a single product should be shown on the same product page. Anything you can design to make the process as simple and clear as possible, benefits both you and your customer. Availability- Always let the customer know if the item is in stock and available now. If it's not available now, let them know when it will be. Offer to notify them when the product becomes available Shipping- Show the shipping price as early as possible and before asking for any personal information. Consider offering free shipping. One of the primary reasons given for abandoning shopping carts is shipping charges. Free shipping offers drive online sales more than any other promotion. If you decide to offer free shipping, say it loud and place it near the Add to Cart button where it will definitely be seen. Shipping Date- Display this information prominently, whether it's shipped the same day or 2 weeks from now. You may feel that this might work against you, but it's better than having an unhappy customer. Estimated delivery time- Let your customers know when they might expect their order. This helps them plan for its arrival and also alerts them to any shipping problems. Don't let them go through the checkout process only to find out that they have to wait awhile before it's shipped. Other costs- Display these as early as possible. Don't hide these costs and display them before requiring any personal information. Return/Refund Policy- Place a visible link to these policies on every product page as well as checkout. These policies make customers feel more secure and more trusting of your website. Guarantee/Warranty- Place the guarantee right on the product page and display it prominently. Link to manufacturer's warranties. These help to establish trust. Secure transactions- Establish trust with security icons from companies like Verisign, TRUSTe, GeoTrust, Hacker Safe, BBB Online, etc. Customer/Industry reviews- If you have any product or company reviews, link to them from your product page Product comparison- Allow your customer to comparison shop. Because it's difficult to compare a lot of choices, offer fewer rather than many. It's also easier to use side x side comparison tables. Related products and accessories- Display related products and accessories on the product item page that are relevant. Make sure they are truly related or complimentary. Don't overdo it. You don't want to distract them with too many choices. Contact Information- Make contact information visible and available on the product page. Customers might have questions that haven't been answered and need to know how to contact the company. Add to cart- Keep the "Add to cart" or "Buy it" button close to the item description on the right hand side of the screen. That's where users expect to find it. If they don't see it, they can't buy the item. What are some general guidelines to follow?
Conclusion Remember, your visitors can't touch your product, see your product, turn it on or try it out. There isn't any salesperson to speak to either. They only have your description to rely on, to convince them to buy from you. It would be a shame to lose a sale just because of a poor product description. ARTICLE DATE: 2008-11-30 REVISED DATE: Share this Article as a Tweet on Twitter
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