How to Create Product Detail Pages That Convert

Buying decisions happen on product detail pages (PDPs).

A product detail page (PDP) is a customer-facing page on your website that provides information on a specific product.

Ideally, your PDPs should...

1. Answer any question a customer might have about a given product
2. Excite and delight the customer into making a purchase
3. Introduce the customer to other products they're likely to enjoy in an attempt to increase #ordervalue.

If you want to create #product detail pages that convert visitors into customers, this article is for you. In the coming paragraphs, you'll discover a number of best practices you can implement to increase the effectiveness of your PDPs.

What makes a strong product detail page?

There are many things that make a great PDP, for example...

• Clear, high-resolution photos of products in multiple sizes or colors
• Easy-to-access (and easier-to-understand) store policy information (e.g., return rules)
• Accurate estimated delivery dates to give customers the confidence they need to purchase

Here is a great product detail page from TUMI , highlighting its Short Trip Expandable 4 Wheeled Packing Case:

On the page, you can see:

• The price
• Available payment options
• Stock status (e.g., “Out of Stock”)
• Multiple product photos (including the ability to zoom in on each picture)
• “May We Help?” offering easy access to customer support via phone, email, or chat
• “About this Item” which includes the product code, description, and links to both the warranty and return policy pages
• “Features and Specifications” with the item’s dimensions, measurements, capacity, materials, and internal/external features

One chance to make a first impression

First impressions matter and your PDP is likely the first interaction a shopper will have with a product. Therefore, you need to communicate the quality of your products and your brand in no uncertain terms.

• Page layouts that balance imagery, text, white space, and move visitors toward the checkout button?
• Consistent use of brand colors, imagery styles, and typography
• Appropriate prioritization and sequencing of product details
• Error-free product copy

Speaking of product copy...

It's not enough for your product detail page copy to be descriptive.

Every piece of text on the page—from the product’s title to the buy button text—must be crafted to connect with your brand's target buyer.?

If you're not sure whether the copy on your PDPs is effective, take a look at the product reviews left by customers. If the the feedback you see includes language like "product was not as described" you know you've got work to do. Similarly, you can scan your competitors product detail pages to see if there are strong keywords or descriptors you're not currently using for your own products.

Remember that writing is an iterative process—you should be tweaking and testing your product copy at least a couple times a year to ensure your product detail pages are as authentic and engaging as possible.

The devil is in the details

Add as many of the following features as possible to your product detail pages:

• Accurate size charts
• Product pictures for each size or color variant you sell
• Images that depict products from variety of angles with contextual clues to demonstrate size and fit
• High-resolution zoom for each product image, as well as 360-degree animations and video of the product in use

For additional detail ideas, look at return reason data for each of your products. If you're using an online returns portal, you should have clear visibility into return reasons. Using this data, you can identify areas for improvement (e.g., better images, more accurate product dimensions, etc.) and add additional details that will help increase conversions and lower return rates.

Secure social proof

Customers (be they past or current) always make the best product advocates. Therefore, its critical that you include as much of their perspective (in the form of comments, reviews, and other user-generated content) into your PDPs as possible to encourage others to purchase.

Take a look at this DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse product page, as an example. The page’s color and size selection section features three places where customer fit reviews are incorporated into the PDP.?

In addition, DSW displays “Style Inspiration” in the form of product pictures from real users, curated via social media.

Cultivating urgency

You can introduce urgency into your product detail pages in a variety of ways. Low-stock alerts, purchase timers, and notifications regarding the number of other users viewing an item at a given time are just a few of the weapons at your disposal.

Look at how Amazon taps into urgency and #fomo (fear of missing out) with a low-stock alert for this Naturalizer loafer:

Of course, don't overdo it—no one likes an overly dramatic brand, which is what you'll be if you deploy too many of these options at once.

Similarly, don't ever lie to create urgency, otherwise your customers will feel manipulated and hesitate to purchase your products in the future.

Final thoughts on product detail pages

Don’t think of building product detail pages as something you’ll do once—there’s no “set it and forget it” when it comes to creating product pages that convert. Making ongoing changes to your PDPs to maximize their adherence to best practices is the only way to ensure your product pages are supporting your conversion goals to the greatest degree possible.

Assess your existing product pages against the criteria described above. If you’re missing any of these aforementioned elements, try to integrate them as soon as possible—at a minimum, make sure those missing elements are added to any new pages you make.

If you don’t already have a #retail heat-mapping or an A/B testing tool in place, get them added. As you make changes to your PDPs, you'll use these tools to measure the effectiveness of your modifications.

The bottom line is this—good product detail pages don't happen by accident. Their construction may seem straightforward, but only by following the aforementioned best practices can you be sure your PDPs will possess the power they need to convert casual visitors into paying customers.

About Narvar

Narvar pioneered how brands engage with customers beyond the “buy” button through branded order tracking, delivery notifications, returns and exchanges. Today, Narvar’s comprehensive Post-Purchase Platform empowers 1200+ of the world’s most-admired brands including Sephora, Patagonia, Levi’s, Sonos, Warby Parker, Home Depot, LVMH, and L’Oreal to delivery transparency, build trust, and grow customer lifetime value. Recognized by Fast Company as one of the most innovative companies of 2021, Narvar simplifies the everyday lives of consumers.

[This article is based on a Narvar blog you can read here: The Best Product Detail Page Tips for Converting Visitors.]