5 Product Page Mistakes That Are Costing You Sales (and How To Fix Them)

What is a product page?

A product page is a webpage that displays information about a product for potential buyers. It can include information like price, photos, product options, sizing and more.

Displaying the right information on your product pages increases the likelihood of those products being purchased and is all part of creating a successful ecommerce store! It’s important to regularly review how you are structuring your product pages and identify whether there is anything you can do to improve the customer experience.

We’ve compiled five common product page mistakes you may be making and present you with some best practice tactics you can use to fix them. This way you know you’re doing all you can to convert your website’s visitors into customers.

What makes a great ecommerce product page?

There are several ways a product page can impact the success of an online store. A great ecommerce product page lets you sell an item to a customer with effective product descriptions, details, images, pricing and more.

Another question worth asking yourself is, “is my ecommerce store easy to browse through for my customers?“

This is the first thing potential customers see when they visit your website – so your product pages must be well-designed, simple to use and easy to understand. Otherwise, you risk missing out on sales.

Product page mistakes you may be making

Here are the five most common mistakes that lead to customers leaving your product page:

1. Poor page navigation

If customers can’t find what they’re looking for easily, they will bounce from your site.

It could be a confusing homepage product selection process where it’s hard to tell which items are in stock versus out of stock, or you may have a product page that is designed to offer the latest fashion and style. But, if your customer has come looking for a new vacuum cleaner and just wants to read the product description, it’s not likely they’re going to stick around. You’re not encouraging your customers to buy if you don’t make it easy for them to find what they’re after.

How to solve it

We suggest providing multiple easy to access touchpoints so your customers can find product information quickly. Offer your product selection in different ways, such as by category or new arrivals.

1. Categorise. Use a table of contents on your homepage to categorise your products to make it easier for your customers to navigate and find your products. For example, a t-shirt would be under the category of “shirts”. Also, one product line could fit into more than one category. I.e., A new product line of t-shirts can be categorised under “shirts” and “latest fashion”. Ensure your table of contents is visible, clear and easily accessible to anyone coming onto your page.
2. Adding a search bar at the top of product pages will allow users to quickly find exactly what they need without scrolling through all products or searching for items that might be out of stock.
3. Providing filters. Organising your products alphabetically or by newest to oldest could help customers find what they’re looking for more easily without having to spend time going back and forth between different product types. Another popular filter to add to enhance the customer service experience is a ‘Price Range’ section.
4. Add to cart/Buy now button. If you want a visitor to purchase your product, don’t make it hard for them to buy it. Make sure your ‘Add to cart’ or ‘Buy now’ button is prominent and easy-to-find. Try a vastly different colour to your brand colours so it stand outs. Bonus tip, if you have a quick ‘Add to cart’ button from your product category pages, you will make it easier for customers to buy your products.

2. Lack of information

Lack of information on your website can lead to product pages being too hard to use and customers abandoning your website. For example, having no product description or if your ecommerce product description excludes information about dimensions or colour, it can be confusing when customers look at products online versus in-person.

How to solve it

• Include all of the necessary product information. Writing good product descriptions developed for an optimised website can help boost conversion rates by assisting online shoppers in making informed decisions faster. This includes details such as the product’s size, colour choices, materials, and measurements.
• Having an FAQ page on your website will answer any potential questions customers might have before they’re ready to buy. Include links to FAQs on your product pages so customers can easily find them. If a particular product has FAQs specific to it then including the FAQs in the brief description of the product section can make life a lot easier for your customers.
• Add product videos to show your product in action and allow customers to visualise the product before buying it. Product videos can be pricey, so weigh up whether they’re needed carefully, and consider what’s in budget. Product videos won’t make or break sales, but they do go a long way for customers to feel like they really know what they’re buying.
• Include your Return Policy & Warranty. Make sure your product page includes information on how the refund process works and how long the product’s warranty covers, so customers know upfront what they’re getting into if they decide to buy an item from you.
• Add product reviews from customers to your product pages to get feedback on how the product is working for them. Online reviews for business will allow your potential customers to see what others have said about each product which can be helpful when deciding to purchase. Seeing other satisfied customers will foster trust and confidence in your prospective buyers.
• Show the product’s price clearly and make sure it is in your customers’ currency. If you charge for shipping, include that information too. Studies show being able to view shipping cost before actually getting to the cart is of high priority for customer satisfaction. If you have a lot of shipping information, or your shipping is worldwide but varies on price in different countries, then it’s worth having shipping information on another page which can include the cost of shipping split by regions. Informing customers how they will track their items is also a high priority piece of information customers seek when shopping online.
• Let customers know what is out of stock/sold out. Update your product page with the words ‘Out of Stock’ when a customer is viewing an out-of-stock item. This way, customers can avoid any unnecessary frustration and be able to find what they’re looking for faster.

Remember that too much information can also be a problem, so make sure to only include product details that are relevant and necessary. If you’re stuck, draw some creative product description inspiration from other ecommerce websites. Ask yourself these questions when thinking about writing a great product description.

3. No customer reviews

It’s difficult enough as a consumer to decide what to buy, let alone having no trustworthy social proof to create confidence in the product. With no customer reviews on display, the likelihood of a new customer completing a purchase decreases significantly. Reviews offer reassurance that what you see in front of you is worth buying.

Word of mouth is a powerful way to promote your product, and it has been proven that customers are more likely to purchase products with reviews. It also adds another layer of credibility to your product and ecommerce store. Just make sure to regularly monitor reviews – if a customer has left a not so positive review, the best practice is to respond with the resolution. This shows other customers you are engaging with your customers to ensure they have a positive experience.

How to solve it

• Add product reviews to your product page. Product reviews will give customers visibility as to what others have said about the product before they decide to buy. A great idea to incentivise customers to leave a review is to offer review templates to make it easier on them to fill out. Make sure to include the product name and product type that the review is about i.e. particular colour or size that was purchased. Online reviews for business will also provide immediate feedback about your product.
• Evaluate product reviews on your product page before publishing them and make sure they are honest, unbiased feedback – anything less is damaging. Make sure to follow up with customers who have left product reviews and when you receive positive ones remember to thank them.
• Use word of mouth. Ask loyal customers that you know are active online (i.e. social media, blogging platforms) to leave product reviews on your product page. Customers who have social followings will have heightened credibility, giving customers even more reassurance before buying.

4. Your branding isn’t clear

If your customer doesn’t know what brand they’re buying from just by looking at the product page, it causes confusion. It can result in them deciding not to buy anything because of this lack of awareness about who you are as a company.

Your branding represents customer trust, customer loyalty and a great customer service experience.

How to solve it

• Add branding on product pages. This includes company logos, customer service information and contact details. A trademark or logo is a must-have on product pages because it gives customers that reassurance that they are buying from you specifically. They went to your page for a reason, so show them who you are!
• Adjust product images. Ensure your product images are clear and show detail. Customers won’t buy anything if they can’t visualise it. Providing photos of your product from different angles and dimensions is very important. Ensure the sizing of your images is consistent on each separate product page, and the style is attractive and customer-friendly.
• Check tone. If your brand’s tone doesn’t feel genuine it can put people off buying from you. This could mean spelling and grammar mistakes on the product page, too many ‘in-your-face’ product promotions, or ecommerce product descriptions that are just too sales-y.
• Make it easy to read. Make sure you’re using straightforward, easy to read fonts and formatting like bolding product names to make them stand out. Again, there should be consistency in all your product pages, and your customer will notice if there isn’t.
• Use the right product design. Picking the right product design for your page will greatly impact how your brand is perceived and ensure you have a mobile-optimised website. Ezra explains 3 types of product designs as Traditional, Long-form and Mini-site. Here’s a quick overview of what each type entails:

1. Traditional: Strong focus on images and straight to the point on what your product is.
2. Long-form: A longer page for customers to scroll down. Lots of information about your product to educate your customers.
3. Mini-Site: If you are starting out and only have one product to sell – your product page will be the same as your homepage. All other categories on your website will be your brand and story.

5. You don’t have an optimised website

When customers can’t find what they are looking for on your website, or if customer service is slow to respond or feedback is negative, your ecommerce store isn’t an optimised website.

When an ecommerce store isn’t optimised, it means that when people browse the site, they might click endlessly before finding what they’re looking for. The customer experience is ruined when they can’t find what’s right for them, and it also means customer loss – your customers are going to go somewhere else where they can get more of what they want in a faster, easier way.

How to solve it

• Make sure your product page uses SEO keywords. This will help customers find what they’re looking for on search engines – this way, it’s easier for them to locate your brand’s products without ending up purchasing from your competition.
• Product webpage speed is one of the most important aspects of great customer experience on an online store. Customers don’t want to wait for a page to load, and if it takes too long they’re going to bounce and go to a store that is optimised for speed. Ensure your webpage speed is quick so you can offer a seamless experience.
• Include a chat function on your product pages where your sales or customer service representatives are available during business hours, so your customers don’t have to wait for a callback. This isn’t necessary, but it will definitely help optimise your product page by providing your customers with another resource to answer their questions and make the experience more customer-focused. Make sure to check whether this function is in your budget and in time whether you are getting the return on investment.
• A mobile-optimised ecommerce website is critical. Ensure that when your customers are visiting your ecommerce store on their mobile phones that they have no issues navigating via touch screen or scrolling. Google Analytics can quickly and easily demonstrate what type of devices are accessing your site, meaning you’ll know exactly who you need to cater for. Watch your conversions rise dramatically by optimising your site for mobile.

Conclusion

Great ecommerce product pages are the most important part of your website. To generate increased conversions and a stronger customer base, it is crucial to make sure that your product page navigation is user-friendly, informative, branded effectively and well designed. If you ensure these five potential mistakes are covered, then customers will be able to quickly find the information on what they need, when they need and better yet, they’ll have an amazing experience while doing so.