The 7 Deadly Sins of Product Page Design

Tricks & Tips
November 7, 2023

In the world of ecommerce, your product pages are your virtual storefronts. They are the places where potential customers make crucial decisions about whether to buy from you or not. A poorly designed product page can be a silent killer for your sales, driving potential customers away. In this blog post, we will explore the seven deadly sins of ecommerce product page design that you must avoid to thrive in the competitive online marketplace.

Cluttered Layout 

Sin: Overloading your product page with too much information, images, or elements.

Virtue: Maintain a clean and organised layout with essential information.

Your product page should provide information efficiently without overwhelming visitors. Use clear headings, bullet points, and concise descriptions to guide customers.

Pro Tip: Choose a website theme that follows best practices for product page design. 

Check out Shopline’s Theme Store to select the template that’s right for your business. Select a theme that best reflects the vision for your brand, and customise it to bring your brand to life.

Low-Quality Images

Sin: Using low-resolution or insufficient product images.

Virtue: Display high-quality, zoomable images from multiple angles.

High-resolution images help customers examine products in detail. Include zoom-in functionality and lifestyle images to provide a comprehensive view. Giving customers the best possible experience with your products virtually will help increase conversions and decrease returns. 

Pro Tip: Consider a 3D & AR Product Viewer to elevate your customer’s shopping experience and boost conversions.

Hidden or Incomplete Information

Sin: Concealing crucial details such as pricing, shipping costs, or product specifications.

Virtue: Be transparent about all costs and product details.

Transparency builds trust. Display prices prominently, mention shipping costs upfront, and provide comprehensive product descriptions to answer potential questions. Always - always - have your returns policy readily available. 

Pro Tip: Robust, descriptive product information is also vital for SEO success! 

Ensuring your structured data is top notch helps search engines better understand the content on your website, thus improving rankings and helping to get your products found! Shopline’s EasyRank for SEO tool helps you effortlessly streamline your SEO diagnosis and optimisation, leaving you with more time to focus on growing your business.

Complex Checkout Process

Sin: Forcing customers through a convoluted, multi-step checkout process.

Virtue: Simplify the checkout process to reduce friction.

Keep the checkout process as simple and streamlined as possible. Offer guest checkout options and use progress indicators to guide customers through each step.

Pro Tip: Selling instore as well as online? Ensure your customer data is integrated!

Allow customers to checkout online AND instore with ease with an integrated point-of-sale solution.

Neglecting Mobile Optimisation 

Sin: Failing to optimise your product pages for mobile devices.

Virtue: Ensure responsive design for a seamless mobile shopping experience.

Around 62% of Australians use their mobile phone to shop online. Ensure your product pages are fully responsive and user-friendly on smartphones and tablets.

Pro Tip: We all know about mobile-first site design, but what about mobile-first indexing?

Google predominantly uses the mobile version of a site's content, crawled with the smartphone agent, for indexing and ranking. This is called mobile-first indexing.

While it's not required to have a mobile version of your pages to have your content included in Google's Search results, it is very strongly recommended. Check out Google’s best practices to mobile sites in general, and by definition to mobile-first indexing.

Ignoring User Reviews

Sin: Not showcasing customer reviews and ratings.

Virtue: Feature authentic user-generated content to build trust.

Customer reviews and ratings provide social proof. Display them prominently to help shoppers make informed decisions.

Pro Tip: Asking for customer reviews may seem daunting at first, but here are our top 3 tips for extracting that killer review:

  1. Offer incentives. Offering them the chance to win a prize after leaving a review may be just the motivation they need.
  2. Make it easy! It should only take them a few seconds to jot down why exactly they love your product (and why review-readers should too!)
  3. Say thank you. Their time is valuable; acknowledge it.

Consider incorporating your loyalty or membership system into your reviews program and reward your top reviewers!

Inadequate Call-to-Action

Sin: Weak or unclear CTAs that don't encourage action.

Virtue: Use compelling CTAs that guide visitors to take the desired action.

Craft persuasive CTAs like "Add to Cart," "Buy Now," or "Learn More" that stand out and encourage conversions.

Pro Tip: Test, test and then test again. Different CTAs evoke different responses from different people - see what works for your audience! Here are some examples:

  • "Shop Now": Direct and straightforward, this CTA encourages immediate action.
  • "Buy Today": Creates a sense of urgency, motivating customers to make a purchase.
  • "Get Started": Effective for onboarding and subscription services, it invites users to begin their journey.
  • "Add to Cart": Prominently used for product pages, it simplifies the shopping process.
  • "Limited Time Offer": Conveys urgency and entices shoppers with exclusive deals.
  • "Subscribe & Save": Appeals to customers looking for ongoing value and convenience.
  • "Join Now": Ideal for loyalty programs or memberships, it suggests a sense of belonging.
  • "Discover More": Engages users to explore and learn about products or services.
  • "Get Your [Product] Today": Personalises the offer and implies ownership.
  • "Exclusive Access": Appeals to customers who want early access to products or content.
  • "Start Your Free Trial": Effective for SaaS and subscription-based services, offering a risk-free trial period.
  • "Get [X%] Off": Promotes discounts, making the value proposition clear.
  • "Find Your Perfect [Product]": Offers a personalised shopping experience.
  • "Learn How It Works": Helpful for explaining complex products or services.
  • "Don't Miss Out": Instills FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and encourages immediate action.

Avoiding the seven deadly sins of ecommerce product page design is essential for success in the highly competitive online marketplace. By adopting the corresponding virtues and focusing on user experience, transparency, and clarity, you can create product pages that entice and convert visitors, leading to increased sales and customer satisfaction. Remember, a well-designed product page is your digital storefront's window display – make it enticing!

SHOPLINE is the leading unified ecommerce platform in Asia, offering a comprehensive solution trusted by businesses worldwide. Schedule a demo today to unlock the full potential of SHOPLINE.

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