Chris Schutte

July 20, 2022

The Perfect Product Page To Increase Conversions — A Web Agency’s Guide

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Selling a product online is an art form — one that every South African business nowadays needs to master if they wish to see their business grow, especially in the wake of the global pandemic. In 2020, e-commerce saw a 66% growth in South Africa, and over 70% of South Africans are now shopping online. If you feel like your website is no longer up to par and you’re missing out on would-be conversions, we’re here to help you get back on track with our website design expertise in Johannesburg. This guide will focus on an integral part of your website — your product page. In this guide, we’ll walk you through a list of things your product page should have to increase conversions.

Get in the Mindset: Lead With Value

Before you begin tweaking your product pages, you need to get into the right mindset: leading with value. In other words, be as upfront as possible. There’s a time and place for being coy and hiding details behind a glaring “Click Me” button, but it’s not your product page.

It’s a miracle in and of itself that they visited your product page — don’t waste the opportunity by boring them with lengthy spiels or putting in additional hurdles they need to clear before finding the information they need. Remember, it only takes a single click of the back button for them to leave your page and for you to lose a sale.

When designing your product pages, focus on an “at a glance” approach, where customers can quickly identify what makes your product worth purchasing in the span of a few seconds.

Elements of Product Page Design That Increase Conversions

To help you achieve the perfect product page, here are some must-have page elements to incorporate into your web design:

A Clear Call-to-Action (CTA)

Buying a product should be as painless and as frictionless as possible — you want to encourage an environment where shoppers can make a split-second decision and proceed to purchase.

To that end, you want your call-to-action button to be as clear and as easy to locate as possible. Don’t let your other page elements drown it out. The button should be impossible to miss, but it also shouldn’t clash with the rest of your page design or appear overly gaudy.

Here are a few questions you can ask yourself when evaluating your CTA:

  • Can it be easily found by customers? Many customers expect it to be right next to key product information.
  • Is it located high on the page? Customers shouldn’t have to scroll far to find it.
  • Does it use simple, clear wording? Labels like “Buy Now” or “Add to Cart” that get the point across are good.
  • Does it stand out from everything else on the page? A solid, contrasting colour that stands out from your background is the simplest way to distinguish your CTA button.

Targeted Live Chat

Live chat is one of the easiest ways to ensure that potential customers receive prompt answers to their questions. If they’re on the fence about buying your product, having an easy resource for additional information can make all the difference. It also signals that your business is trustworthy — being easily accessible can help assuage customers’ worries.

You can implement live chat either through automated chatbots or through a dedicated support team. Just keep in mind that it may be difficult to have a team member answer questions 24/7, so the second option is best for high-traffic sales periods or on specific products.

Product Descriptions That Address Customer Concerns

Of course, product descriptions are an integral feature of your product pages. However, always ensure that they’re targeted towards customer concerns, not just flowery descriptions filled with fluff.

Your customers are searching for an answer to a problem or a need, and you need to show that your product is the ideal solution. The best way to do this is by aligning your descriptions with what you know they’re looking for. For example, say you’re selling a kitchen appliance. Your product description doesn’t have to go all-out on how it looks — that’s what you have pictures for. Instead, focus on writing strong copy about its features, durability, and utility to help customers see its value.

Strong Visuals: Photos, Videos, GIFs

As the biggest downside of e-commerce over physical stores is not being able to physically examine the products, your product pages need to make up for it with strong visuals. High-quality photos are a given, but don’t confine yourself to just photos — videos, GIFs, and more can help strengthen the appeal of your product.

Videos or GIFs of your product in motion, such as clothes being worn or tools being used, can let customers know what to expect. Your objective is to provide an experience as close to physical as possible — what would your customer want to look at if they picked it up from a shelf?

Prominent Customer Reviews and Testimonials

Regardless of what type of product you’re selling, social proof is one of the best ways to drive up conversions. Customer reviews and testimonials are essential for establishing trust. When potential customers see that others have had positive experiences, they’re more likely to buy your product. Almost 95% of customers browse reviews before committing to a purchase, especially for products tied to a specific outcome (e.g. clearer skin).

Of course, if you want to build a good pool of reviews, you should also make sure that it’s easy for customers to leave reviews. You can follow up with customers a few weeks after the purchase (typically through email) and ask them to leave a review.

Easy-To-Locate Shipping and Return Policies

Shipping and return policies are another way you can convince more customers to hit the “Buy” button. You can have a dedicated page where you can go in-depth, but a few lines on your product pages can help customers know what to expect.

If they’re unsure about buying your product, learning about a robust return policy or a free shipping offer can convince them to take the leap.

Email Opt-Ins

If customers show signs of exiting your store, you can implement pop-ups that will ask them for their emails in exchange for valuable offers. If you manage to come up with the right kind of offer, this can give them the extra push to convert. Offering discounts or promotions via email can encourage them to sign up and watch out for future emails. Once you have this line of communication open, you can work toward building a relationship and bringing them back to the store.

Mobile Optimization

Nowadays, nearly half of web traffic comes from mobile users. In South Africa, around 45% of the population in 2020 browsed the web from their phones. It’s no longer enough to simply optimise your product pages for desktop users. If your pages don’t load quickly, aren’t responsive, or are difficult to navigate on mobile, you could be losing out on a good chunk of potential customers. Make sure your website design company in Johannesburg makes your site responsive.

Upsell and Cross-Sell (in Moderation)

The more you sell, the better. Asking your website design company in Johannesburg to add sections that highlight other products in your store can draw attention to them and encourage a bigger purchase, but you shouldn’t go overboard. Cluttering your page with excess offers can have the opposite intended effect and turn customers off instead. Too many offers can distract the customer from their main order and cause decision paralysis, hindering them from converting.

If you want to incorporate upselling and cross-selling in your product page design, moderation and organisation are essential. Highlight only a few products that connect well to a specific product page.

Need More Help Optimising Your Product Pages for Conversions?

If you need a helping hand to further freshen up your product pages and ensure you boost your conversions, don’t be shy about giving us a call — we can put our expertise in eCommerce website design in Johannesburg to work for you.

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