The major difference between a normal corporate website and an ecommerce store is that a normal website only gives information about the brand and its services/products, whereas in an ecommerce website, the user is actually able to buy the service/product available on the website.
In a corporate website all you need is a smart look that goes with your target audience and a clear call to action whereas in an ecommerce store you need to test different stuff to see what actually works for you and convert better.
Here’s where A/B testing comes into play for an ecommerce website; because small changes in a website can create a big impact on conversions. When we were working on an online fashion brand, all we focused on was remodeling the homepage and removed the products which as a result increased the conversions by 20%.
Anyway this post is not about A/B testing. Rather I am going to discuss how an ecommerce website should create its Product Detail page in order to get maximum conversions out of it.
James Gurd of Smart Insight put together some research and a wire frame for a Product Detail page ideal from the UX and UI point of view. He also shared a list of questions that one should consider before creating or finalizing the Product Detail page for their website.
In the rest of the post I am going to discuss few elements and ingredients for your product detail page in order to make it conversion friendly.
But here’s what I think you need to know.
#1. Persona Research
Before you start designing or developing your Product Detail page, it’s important to understand your persona. If you are already an existing store, you should get into your customer database and see what kind of people buy from your website. Then divide them into groups on the basis of their age, sex, and interests to see what your target persona is and who you should ideally target in order to increase your revenue.
Think Geek, did a phenomenal job on persona research; not only through design, but they wrote their product descriptions keeping their target audience in mind. Check this product page and read its description; you will love it if you are one of their target personas.
#2. Clear Call-to-Action
No matter who or what your audience is you need to persuade your target audience to be converted into leads with an effective call-to-action because if they aren’t, chances are they will bounce off to some other website that’s more persuading than yours.
Zappos.com made some changes to their Product Detail page. It looks great, especially the prominent ‘Add to Cart’ button that one can easily see without having to scroll down the page. It’s important to have a call-to-action button without the scroll down mechanic because if you make your audience work too much, they just might prefer going to some other website that requires lesser effort to be made. Unfortunately… we are epic slackers!
#3. Website Speed
Website speed is important not only because it’s a ranking signal, but also because it helps your audience to stick on your website and move to different parts faster. Laggy websites kill the experience of a visitor who eventually gets frustrated and decides to quit.
One website that did a great job in this regard is Moss Bros as it has a fast loading time and gives all the required information in a single glance.
#4. Display all required information
I have hinted on this just above. One of the biggest mistakes that prevent visitors from converting into leads is not providing all the required information in a single look. Again the idea is to look into your persona and see if they are detail orientated. If yes, provide them with everything that you think they’d be interested in knowing about your product.
Workplace Depot did a great job by providing all the required information on its product page including delivery details as well as terms and conditions. Give all the necessary bits of information and just watch your revenue go skyrocketing.
#5. Product Images
Regardless of your niche, it’s important to have HQ product images or else you will simply lose the ability to engage your audience, landing on your product page. Imagery is crucial… it’s the first thing that people see, literally!
Talking about high quality images in the UK market, you cannot forget IKEA as they are the one brand that focuses on their product images like no other.
#6. Reviews and Ratings
Another important point to consider when designing and developing your Product Detail page is that you need to smartly include reviews and ratings for the products on display.
People now have a lot of choices; and the only way you’re going to be able to convince them to buy your is by providing them access to good reviews and ratings for your products.
Trip Advisor did a wonderful job in implementing reviews and ratings on every hotel page. When users look at these, their decision making process becomes a lot easier as they begin to build a certain amount of trust within the brand and its quality services.
There’s probably a lot more that you can do to increase the efficiency of your Product Detail page, but these are just a few ideas in my head right now. Are you an ecommerce store owner? Trying looking into your Product Detail pages again and see what needs to be changed.
Images: “Modern flat web design in responsive website vector/Shutterstock.com“
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