Guidelines for product page usability

Product pages are the online equivalent of a customer picking your product from the shelf, opening the box and reading all about it.  They should enable them to decide whether they want to buy it.  Make it easy for them.  Really easy.  As well as the title of your product, you should ensure each page has the following:

Product images

Good quality images will sell your stuff – they’re worth a thousand words.  They’ll also help reduce returns.  Show your product from different angles, close up and, if relevant, in context (e.g. a sofa in a living room).  It’s worth shelling out for professional photos, if you can afford it.

If you’ve tools that allow customers to zoom in or see 360 views, award yourself 5 extra usability brownie points.

Product description

Keep it concise and informative.  Got a lot to say?  Break it up with paragraphs, section headings and bullets.  You know better than anyone what questions your customers ask – so make sure you answer them here.  And don’t just copy manufacturers’ blurb – writing your own means you’ll stand out in search results.

Clear CTA

CTA = Call to action.  What do you want them to do?  Buy something.  So make it easy for them.  Think about colour (try orange), position (above the fold, and leave some white space around it), text (“Buy” or “Add to basket” will be familiar) and size (as big as you can, without it looking silly).  Experiment – try varying these factors and see what works best.

Price

It’s one of the biggest factors in a purchasing decision, so don’t make your customers search for pricing information – they’ll just go elsewhere.  Be clear whether it includes UK VAT and delivery.  Here’s the place to tell customers about any special offers, stock availability, guarantees and free delivery/returns.

If you’ve got all these, then also consider:

Suggestions and reviews

Being too pushy with upsells can put people off.  But helpful suggestions can be welcome – put them somewhere eye-catching but unobtrusive.

Studies have also shown that customers trust other users more than companies or professional reviews.  Allowing customers to feedback, or at least leave a product rating, will help your visitors.  And happy visitors are more likely to become customers.

Videos

Videos sell products. All the above applies: good images from different angles, showing the product in context, simple and informative narration, persuasive but not pushy selling and good quality production.  Oh – and embed the video in your site so that they don’t have to wait an age for it to load in another window.

If you look at your product pages through the eyes of your customers, you won’t go far wrong.