Ecommerce thrives on product pages. Creating product detail pages (PDPs) and product listing pages (PLPs) that can yield high conversion rates is the mantra to success.
Many online marketers and retailers are confounded by the high traffic but low conversion rates. They attempt to make the prices more attractive and offer better deals to achieve greater success. But as the problem lies elsewhere, such attempts bring little to no improvements in customer engagement and sales.
An in-depth analysis would reveal that the design, structure, ease of navigation, and other elements are responsible for visitors getting stuck. You can use these super effective and actionable tricks and tweaks to deploy product detail pages that result in better conversion.
Similarly, an attractively designed product listing page offers the impetus to the visitors to check out your product detail pages.
According to a Statista report, on average, only 2.42% of visits to eCommerce portals convert into actual orders. So, if you want to beat this average result and achieve success, then employ these tactics and unleash the potential of your venture.
Find more statistics at Statista
By optimizing your product pages – both PDPs and PLPs – your visitors will be able to:
- Find all the relevant information.
- Get the recommendations that are best suited to their needs.
- Navigate to any section and page with ease.
- Check product reviews, testimonials, and feedback.
- Take actions like adding to a cart or buying the product with simplicity and ease.
- Share their purchases with their friends and followers.
What Is A Product Detail Page (PDP Meaning)?
A PDP or the product detail page is a dedicated web page for a product on an eCommerce portal. It aims to provide complete information about that product like its color, size, manufacturer, price, shipping cost, how to use it, ingredients or composition, and customer reviews.
In a sense, a PDP is a foundation on which the eCommerce businesses thrive.
If you have ever visited Amazon, the world’s largest marketplace, you will understand it more easily. When you search for any product, you are first given a list of multiple products from many dealers and manufacturers. This is the product listing page.
The PDPs come with images and videos related to the product showcasing its features to the visitors. The images can be in all the colors the product is available in, the guarantees and warranties applicable, and the return & refund policy.
Why Is A Product Detail Page So Important?
Therefore, it is utterly important to give visitors information about the product. They have opened the page in the first place because they are interested in buying it.
eCommerce Product Detail Page Components
There are many components that a highly effective product detail page should have. Even if one of these components is missing or is poorly presented/designed, it can have serious repercussions on your conversion rates.
1. Creative Components
Product details that help your visitors get a better understanding and sense of your product are called creative components. These help them visualize how your product looks, how it works, how it appears in different settings and with other complementary products. These include pictures, videos, 3D animations, size charts, dimensions, and color palettes.
2. Conversion Components
Any element that helps the visitor turn into a customer by placing a buy order is clubbed into conversion components. These elements can be a steep discount, limited-time deals, clearance sale, easy EMI options, limited inventory, and CTAs (call-to-action) buttons & links. They nudge a visitor to make the purchase right away.
3. Technical Components
Products like electronic gadgets or sports equipment require more explanation than a garment. Technical components help your customers to compare such details against what is best suited for them and then choose to buy the product. They include specifications, ingredients, customer reviews, trust badges, licenses, and certifications.
4. Managerial Components
Elements related to shipping, returns, refunds, guarantees, warranties, customer support are collectively called managerial components. These elements help your customers give you their trust as they assure them of the best service and support even after the purchase has been made. You can lessen the misunderstandings, fears, and apprehensions of your customers.
eCommerce Product Page Best Practices
These best practices can help you develop and design the best and super effective product detail pages. You can use this checklist to evaluate your current PDPs.
1. General Components
These are the must-have components in any product detail page. Each one of these components must be present on each of your product detail pages. Their easy visibility and prominent placement make them easy to find on the page, making a huge difference for the users.
Menu
The most common navigation tool, menu helps users to find their way within the portal. Proper placement of quick links, product categories, expansion on hovering or clicking help them make user friendly. You can also offer sliding menus that work on any form factor, device, and orientation.
Breadcrumb
A breadcrumb trail is used to show the path that the visitor has taken to reach their current location on the portal. This navigation tool helps the user to trace back her journey by clicking on the links in the path. For example, when you are on the product detail page of a flower vase, your breadcrumb trail may look like, “Home & Kitchen › Home & Décor › Vases.”
Product title
The product title must be the most prominent and easy-to-locate text on the PDP. It will show your customers what you are offering. If your product goes by a generic name, add the product category and key specification details to it.
Product descriptions
You cannot make it too long lest it becomes boring. You cannot keep it too short and miss any vital details. A great copy will increase the chances that the visitor will buy your product immediately. Clearly and concisely specify what the product is, how it is used, why your product is best suited for customers’ needs, and other product details. Always include its specifications, technical details, measurements, ingredients, functions, and limitations.
Product Images and Videos
High-quality images from multiple angles allow the customer to have a good look at your products. With an engaging video showcasing the use and applications of the product, highlighting its features, you can give the customers a near-real shopping experience. If your product comes in different colors or sizes, then showcase all of them in the images and videos.
Price and Offers
The most important factor in buying decisions on a product details page is its price and applicable discounts and offers. They must be prominently displayed to help quick conversion.
Call-To-Action
A call-to-action is a link or a button that encourages the users to take some action so that they can buy the product. The best CTAs are simple and nudge the customer subtly to order the product. Some of the best examples of CTAs are “Buy Now”, “Add to Cart”, and “Subscribe.”
2. Conversion components
These subtle yet powerful elements nudge your customer in making the right decision – buying the product.
Social proof
Customers love to hear the opinions of others – experts, celebrities, and other customers. Testimonials, ratings, reviews, industry awards, and explainer videos are some of the tools. Once a user has social proof, she thinks that she is not alone in the decision.
Scarcity and urgency signals
The fear of missing out is a sure trigger for encouraging the visitors to buy the product. You can create a sense of urgency by showing the low stock of the product or sharing the information of how many other users are also checking this product.
Cross-selling
Many products work well when used with some other complementary product. For example, jeans often are showcased with t-shirts, and shoes with track pants. Similarly, shampoos are paired with conditioners and other body care products.
Trust badges and trust seals
People tend to buy products with sport trust badges and seals from reputed third parties and certifying authorities. Electrical appliances with the “Energy Star” badge and star ratings help customers know the power consumption of the product.
3. Managerial components
These administrative elements reassure customers that you care about them before and after the sale.
Policies
Policies related to returns, refunds, and after-sale services must be clear and uniform across the eCommerce portal. If a product has additional requirements or disclaimers, you must add them clearly and in simple terms. You are stating the extent of your liability, customers’ responsibilities, and mutual rights that can reassure them.
Shipping details
Shipping is something that you do not have much control over. The same applies to local taxes when your product is shipped from a different country or region/province/state. Therefore, shipping details, costs, and local taxes must be calculated each time the customer changes her delivery address.
Examples Of eCommerce PDPs In Action
Benjamin Franklin famously said,
Tell me, and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn.
We may not be able to involve you, we can certainly do the next best thing: we will showcase five awesome designs of PDPs of online retailers with a better than average conversion rate.
1. FitBit
A household name, FitBit is now essential for fitness lovers and sportspersons. The wide product range, easy connectivity, and analysis reports have made the FitBit range quite popular and very quickly.
Fitbit’s product detail pages showcase what it is like to design awesome product pages and employ most of the best practices we have discussed. The product page for FitBit Versa 3 has superb images with the perfect background and just the right amount of details.
The product videos, color palette, product details, size information, everything is in perfect sync. The page engrosses a user the moment it loads. It is super optimized so opens instantly even on slower connections and has all the relevant details like setup process, OS support, price, and offers all near the main product image.
2. Kardiel
Kardiel, a modern mid-century handmade furniture retailer, offers yet another stunning example of a perfect product detail page. All information is clear, crisp, and visitor never loses focus from the main product images.
All possible color options and size details are easy to find and compare. For example, the Hutch Theory 69″ Shelf page has product images, color options, sizes, and material details right on the first screen. When you scroll, you can see other details such as care and installation instructions, product showcase, and CTAs.
3. NIKE
One of the world’s favorite sportswear and shoe brands, Nike is not only a leader in conventional channels but also in the digital marketplace.
Nike’s online platform is one of the best examples of how to get it right every time. The product detail pages on the online Nike store, like for this Sports bra for women, are a case study for digital marketers and online eCommerce platforms.
4. Forever 21
The young and hip brand for the youth has taken the online marketplace by storm. And why not? Not only the products and merchandise are cool, but the PDP for each product is also uniquely designed. The clever use of different-sized images makes the product detail page all seem different.
They all have stunning images in multiple colors, size options, a detailed size chart with measurements, and videos shot with models sporting their line.
The customer feedback is given directly with the product description. You can create a wish list of the products that you like and then check them out directly. The product information is visible with call-to-actions at very convenient places.
5. Missguided
To understand how to employ cross-selling as a successful tactic you must visit the Missguided online store. They shoot their models with complementary fashion ware that can be used in multiple product detail pages.
This allows Missguided to suggest the visitor buy the “entire look” instead of just the product they are currently seeing. The users can then see the entire collection of images of matching products like jeans and t-shirts or skirts and tops.
What Is A Product Listing Page? (PLP Meaning)
A product listing page or PLP is a catalog-like page on an eCommerce portal that showcases multiple products based either on the category or the filters that you applied. This page serves as an entry point to the product detail page and could prove to be the point where your marketing strategy is tested.
The SEO and digital ad traffic more often go to the product listing pages rather than to the product detail pages. You must curate the PLP experience to:
- Promote discovery of products.
- Engage users by giving them relevant choices.
- Reduce the time and effort needed to make a purchase.
You must focus on enhancing the user experience and engagement on product listing pages by employing the following tactics:
- Proper categorization and sub-categorization.
- Easy navigation with menus and breadcrumbs.
- Uniquely naming each product listing page.
- Always offer a “sort menu” to sort choices by relevance, availability, prices, discounts, ratings, popularity, and other applicable criteria.
- Offer a larger viewing gallery on the pages by loading a few products quickly and loading the rest of them when the user reaches the bottom of that list.
- Clearly show and make it easy to apply as many filters as you can. Give options to filter by brands, style, availability, ratings, price range, colors, material, specifications, and so on.
- The product always shows the best picture of the product with the most important details and call-to-actions.
- Offer a quick view of the product by either changing the image or zooming in on the mouse hovering.
What Is The Difference Between PLP & PDP?
As discussed in detail earlier, a Product Detail Page is the designated home page for a specific product containing all the information about that product only. On the other hand, a Product Listing Page is a catalog page for multiple products belonging to the same category and meeting some filter conditions.
A PLP is a page for products meeting certain criteria and comes after the Category Landing Page or the CLP in the hierarchy of an eCommerce portal. The PDP comes even below the PLP and the CLP and relates to only one specific product.
A product detail page is at the center of the online retail business model and that is why it is also called the “cash page.” The PLP and CLP offer multiple ways to reach the PDP in minimum time and with the least effort to make the shopping experience unforgettable.
eCommerce Product Detail Page Winning Tactics
Some tactics are sure to work when applied individually. But many of those tactics work wonders when applied collectively. Let us check some such cool tactics.
1. Descriptive Product Names
If your product name does not describe your product correctly and completely then you could lose many customers. Each word in the product name is a potential search keyword and therefore is equally important. We suggest you also include defining features in the product name to stand out in search results.
2. Describe Product to the Customer
Describing your product to the customer is your duty. Descriptions can be shoddy or great and so can your sales. If you write a great product description, then your job is done as it will address customer desires and needs directly. You must focus on the features and benefits as well as caveats applicable. Do not use too much jargon and use the language that your average customer would understand.
3. Stunning Photos and Engrossing Videos
A picture is all that you have when you are selling online. A video can help make you a better presentation but relying only on videos is a mistake. Many users have a slower internet connection where they can see only images. Optimize the images for quicker download, shoot them from multiple angles, and use proper lighting while shooting them.
4. Clear and Prominent CTAs
CTA is to online shopping what the magic words “Open Sesame” were to Alibaba. If the customers cannot see your CTAs or cannot click on them conveniently, you can forget about converting them. CTAs are not only limited to “Buy Now” or “Add to Cart” but you can use them for mailing lists, customer support, reviews & ratings, and social media sharing.
5. Give Social Proof
Social proof in the form of testimonials, customer reviews, expert reviews, and customer ratings can help you earn the trust of new customers. Celebrity endorsements, photos of customers using your products, product certifications, and trust badges are also helpful and rewarding.
6. Allow Comparison
The best way to choose among rival products is to provide a comparison mechanism. You must help your customers choose the right product by allowing comparing products and saving their efforts in flipping back and forth between tabs. A simpler way would be to present the comparative information in a tabular or chart form for easy understanding.
7. Be Available
Customer service representatives should be available online 24×7 via chat to sort things out. Customers can log in any time of the day and if you are unable to answer their questions then and there, you may lose them for good. The CTA for “Chat Now” or “Contact Customer Support” should be visible, online, and manned with trained executives.
8. Small Details Matter
Something may seem trivial and small to you but may be super important for your customers. Some such small details are:
- Confirmation messages on user actions.
- Simple and accurate size charts.
- Language and currency conversion.
- Stock availability on product listing and detail pages.
- Offering to notify when the product would become available soon.
- Breadcrumb navigation.
- If you have products available at offline stores, then their location.
- Contact and locations of your physical service centers.
9. Generous Return Policy
The more you are confident about the quality of your products, the more generous you can be with your returns and refunds policy. The aim is to please her as well as make her a brand ambassador for many more to come. With a reasonable return and refund policy, you can enthuse trust and create a competitive advantage, that no one else can.
10. Guarantees and Warranties
Just like a return policy, your after-sales service is dependent on the guarantees and warranties that you offer. If you are going a step ahead of the competition, then announce it with pride. Put the minds of the customers at ease.
11. Clarify Shipping Costs Upfront
If you think that the customer is invested and you can spring a surprise about shipping costs and schedules, then you are so wrong. No one loves shocking news, especially an eCommerce customer who has literally millions of options. If you cannot ship products or charge for shipping then be clear and upfront, your customer would love you for it.
12. Help Them Save
One of the most amazing things about Amazon is that they automatically apply the best coupon from among all the coupons a customer has collected. They want their customers to save while they shop. Even if that is not possible, then help customers to find and benefit from the best possible deal.
Conclusion
By implementing the great tactics, best practices, and tools you can breeze through the rough competition that online commerce is. If you are systematic, careful, and pay attention to details, then it is not a tough nut to crack.
When you pay attention to these details, you are treating your customers with respect. And respect begets respect as well as revenues. You will no longer have to worry about low conversion rates and stagnating revenues.
You can always contact the experienced analysts at Emizentech who can help you design, write and deploy great product detail pages. Our ecommerce & web design team can also help you in designing a great template for product listing pages.
Frequently Asked Questions On eCommerce PDP & PLP
Product pages on an eCommerce platform comprise a Product Detail Page (PDP) and a product Listing Page (PLP). The PDP contains details about every aspect of just one product, while a PLP list multiple products that meet a specific set of filters.
Making a great product page requires concerted efforts on your part. You must pay attention to details, be honest and open, give all relevant details, understand what a customer would want, and then do some more for them.
A powerful product description is neither too short nor too long. It is crisp, concise, clear, and simple enough for the visitor to understand it. It details the features of the product, its uses, applications, instructions to assemble or install, and limitations.
In this article, we have discussed multiple best practices and 12 great tactics that can get you started. Paying attention to simple things such as clear and attractive images, properly placed CTAs, announcement of discounts & deals, and honesty in the product description are some of them.
Emizentech to get more ideas on how to design rewarding product detail pages.
Despite paying attention to every detail you may miss certain aspects of a great product page. This is not because you were callous, but because you were focused on what you are good at – churning our great products.
You can leave the task of improving and creating great product pages – PDP and PLP – to the experts at Emizentech who will organize, design, curate, and deploy your winning strategy. The small investment in hiring our experts will go a long way in improving your conversion rates.
A great product page contains all the information that may help a potential customer become a customer. It includes amazing pictures, stunning videos, detailed descriptions, exact and correct specifications, features list, warranties & guarantees, and offers & discounts.
A product detail page must have the following elements:
-> Menu
-> Breadcrumb
-> Search bar
-> Link to Shopping Cart
-> Descriptive product name
-> Multiple product pictures
-> CTAs for Buy Now, add to Cart, notify me, add to Wish List, Share with Friends
-> Short description
-> Detailed description
-> Price and discounts
-> Availability
-> Size and Color picker
-> Slider/Combo box for quantity to purchase
-> Shipping delivery duration and cost
-> Customer rating, reviews, testimonials, and celebrity endorsement
-> Guarantees, Warranties, Return Policy, and Refund Policy
-> Contact and location of offline stores and service centers
-> Recommendation for related products
-> Recently viewed products list
-> Email subscription and notifications
-> Customer support and contact info
The length of a product detail page is dependent on the product you are buying. For example, PDP for garments would be shorter compared to mobile phones, which in turn would be shorter than a laptop. Whatever the length, the description should be engaging, simple, clear, and collapsible. The user should be able to switch to another section in just one click.
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