To buy or not to buy? This will be the question most asked by your potential customers when they see your online shop’s product pages. So how can you best convert them into real customers? Here’s a few pointers to help based on the use of attractively designed product pages.

Make sure that there is a separate product page for each product in your online shop. Here you can and should provide your customers with all the information they need for their purchase decision. Below you will see each of the individual elements of a typical product page and tips on what you need to look out for when optimising each element.

The most important elements of the product page

Product name

It is essential that the product name is displayed in a prominent position. Choose a compelling, unmistakeable name. When giving a name, imagine that you are the customer – what kind of name would the customer give the product? What would the customer use that as an Internet search term? If you are selling branded products, it is important that you mention the brand in the name too.

Product photos

Display your products in a row of high-quality images – preferably from all sides – remember you need to convince the customer they know everything they need to know about the product. Images should have a minimum width and height of 1000 pixels. The larger your images the better as inferior quality photographs will have a negative impact.

A larger image helps if your online shop system has a zoom function available: When a user moves the cursor over the product photo, a small window opens and a close-up is shown of the relevant area on the product photo. The user can then comfortably examine the details of the product photo.

Product description

The product description should be the centrepiece of this page. Try to answer all of your customer’s questions in your description. What does the product feel like? How big is it? Is it easy to use? A detailed product description can also avoid returns.

The product description is equally useful to both prospective customers and search engines. Google and all the other search engines record the text on the product page and this is taken into account in the search results. So use the correct key terms in the product description. If a customer is searching for these terms, they may come across your shop. Always use your own texts and do not just copy the manufacturer’s description onto your site. Search engines love unique text, which can’t be found anywhere else on the web, but you also need to make sure you have the keywords across your site so that your pages can be found by standard search engine searches.

Price

For many online shoppers, the price is crucial. For every product you may want to quote a price comparison which is then displayed in addition to the current price. The customer can therefore see how much they are saving. Choose whether you want this to be displayed as a percentage or an amount.

Product reviews

You are bound to have read product reviews yourself when shopping online. According to a survey by IT provider Novomind, 81 per cent of online shoppers consider product reviews by other customers as “important.” This view is even more pronounced among younger online shoppers compared to older ones.

Product reviews have several immediate advantages for your shop. Positive reviews prompt potential customers to buy. Many product reviews convey a feeling of confidence among wary customers. And even in the case of critical reviews and comments, visitors can find out about the possible drawbacks of the product. They then might order a different product, but are ultimately happier and will not return the product later on feeling frustrated.

Encourage registered customers to review your products so that all reviews can be checked before publication on your site and avoid non-buyers from reviewing unfairly.

Availability

Many online shoppers are impatient. They would prefer to receive their ordered goods immediately. In your online shop, visitors will want to see whether the products they want are in stock. Ensure your settings are set to specify which information regarding availability is displayed, such as how long for delivery. If you want to, you can also notify customers automatically to let them know as soon as a sold out product is available again.

“Add to basket” button

By clicking on this button, the customer places the product in the basket. Spend time considering the format of this button  – it is extremely important. Customise the design of the button. Make sure that it is big enough and contrasts sufficiently with the rest of the page. Colours can have a psychological impact on a potential purchaser too, so make sure you have everything stacked in your favour when they see your button.

Asking a question

Clicking on “Ask question” should take the user to a contact form where the customer can send you an e-mail. The customer may only be briefly interested in the product or will shortly buy it from another shop. It’s therefore important that you answer all questions as quickly as possible. Consider copying the answers you give each time to be incorporated into your product description – there may be more visitors with the same question so you will not only improve their buying experience but also save you time in the future too.

Social media buttons

Social network buttons like Facebook and Twitter enable your customers to share interesting products with their group of contacts. With a click on one of the buttons, a link to your shop appears in the user’s timelines and in the hopefully direct other visitors to you – remember people value recommendations especially from their friends on social media.

Select the social networks you want to activate and choose where the relevant buttons should be displayed.

Cross-selling

Imagine that a customer is buying a smartphone in your shop. Wouldn’t it be great if the same customer were to buy a second charger cable, loudspeaker and a case at the same time? You can encourage your customers to think about this via cross-selling functions built into your online shop. You can establish a range of add-on products, accessories or even alternative products to accompany each product. Or, simply activate “Auto cross-selling” functionality that will use shop statistics, automatically to recommend products to the customer that other users have also ordered with the product in question.