8 Steps to Creating a Product Page that Converts (with Examples)

A product page does more than just sell your product — it gives shoppers an opportunity to learn about your product, check it out in greater detail, and determine the value it brings them. 

Your product page is the customer’s first experience with your product, with your brand.

Conversion Rate Optimization is the art and science of persuading customers into buying.

CRO is a subset of online marketing focused on improving how many people complete a desired action. As ecommerce marketers, that means increasing how many people buy our product. It can also mean increasing how much shoppers spend while they’re in our store. It can even mean getting shoppers to share their love of a product.

Whatever your goal, CRO can help.

The steps below are geared toward helping you make sure you don’t miss any opportunities for conversion — no matter what your goal is.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to create a product page that boosts conversions and increases sales. As an added bonus, we’ve created a comprehensive product page checklist (Step 2 below) for you to follow along with as you create your own high-converting product pages. 

Here are the eight steps to creating an effective, engaging ecommerce product page that drives sales and delights shoppers.

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1. Add Value at Every Stage of the Funnel

Understand your potential customer’s journey. The more you know about how your audience shops, what problems they want solved, and where in that purchase cycle they are, the easier it will be to create pages that convert. 

Know your audience. Know your product.

If your goal is the sale, then you need a product page that provides value for your customers across the journey’s spectrum and nudges them ever-so-sweetly into the next phase of the journey, down the sales funnel and through to checkout.

Let’s look at how some brands are providing value at every stage in the customer journey:

Top of the funnel: Add value by educating the customer

Who’s doing it right: 

Everlane

What they’re doing: 

Total transparency. You would think Everlane’s philosophy of transparency would put it at a disadvantage in customer education. If they share too much, shoppers might question the value. Right?

No. By being totally upfront about material, shipping, and production costs, they quantify the quality of their products and justify the price. 

Middle of the funnel: Add value by differentiating your product

Who’s doing it right: 

iRobot

What they’re doing: 

Differentiating Roomba product lines based on key features. By isolating these features, they’re also distancing their products from competitors in similar price tiers whose features don’t compare. 

These product lead-in phrases may be short and sweet, but they pack a punch. 

• “Most powerful vacuum yet” 
• “Navigation innovation”
• “Cleans in neat rows”
• “Empties on its own”

Bottom of the funnel : Add value by reinforcing selling points

Who’s doing it right: 

Alo Yoga

What they’re doing:

Succinctly giving their shoppers the exact details they need in the exact format they want. 

Benefits and features are clearly listed as bullet points in the description. But it doesn’t stop there. Alo goes on to include Fit bullet points that give shoppers a more precise understanding of what to expect. 

Then, Alo gives shoppers a brief but deep dive into even more features and benefits using strong keywords that resonate and boost SEO:

• Sculpting
• Flared
• Skinny
• Front-smoothing
• Odor resistant

They even go into detail about free shipping to the visitor’s location and inform them that returns are also free — plus, it includes a prepaid label so there’s no need to find a printer. 

Beyond the funnel: Add value by rewarding loyalty

Who’s doing it right: 

Chubbie’s

What they’re doing:

A rewards club that is easy and fun to use. Chubbie’s knows its audience well and incentivizes ambassadorship and return purchases.

With Chubbie's rewards program, customers gain points that can be exchanged for gifts and discounts on future purchases.

The key here is Chubbie's transactional approach to micro conversions. Rather than hope visitors sign up to the newsletter or follow them on social, Chubbie's gives them a quantifiable reason to.

Here's why incentivizing loyalty actions makes sense:

• A follow on Instagram and Facebook means the ability to market to them on social.
• Account creation means they’re in your CRM and you can now send targeted marketing emails and promos.
• Getting them to try products in different categories means increased AOV and more marketable products per customer.

As a marketer, the whole program feels well-thought-out. As a customer, it feels personalized and exclusive; like an actual club with perks and a sense of, well, being part of something cool.

2. Use a Framework Checklist

When creating a product page, it’s important to get your foundational elements right. 

Build out sections of your page that answer all of your customers’ fundamental questions, such as what is it? or how does it work? 

Make sure you have clear call-to-actions, including some sort of on-page navigation for shoppers. Check out our checklist below for more details on how to build out your product pages.

Having a checklist can help you with content, copy, and overall product page design. It will not only keep you focused on what’s most important but also allow you to tackle these elements one at a time and be able to judge your results more easily. 

Before you begin building out your product pages, make sure you ask yourself the following questions: 

1. What is the most important information my customers need to make a buying decision? 
2. What features do they absolutely need to find my product valuable? 

Here is the 4-point framework we use on our top-performing product pages: 

A. Images and videos as a virtual showroom

Showrooming refers to shoppers examining products offline at brick-and-mortar stores, and then buying online. 

The goal here is to provide shoppers with that showroom experience while they’re on your product page. Here’s a quick sub-list specific to product images and videos:

1. Use high-resolution images and videos
2. Show the product from every angle
3. Get close to show details, finish, and craftsmanship
4. Provide images of all color swatches
5. Give model dimensions and size as a point of reference
6. Include lifestyle or in-use shots
7. Invite users to share their photos on Instagram or relevant social channels

NOTE: More info on the Showroom concept can be found in the next section (Step 3).

C. Sizing guides and dimension charts

The majority of ecommerce apparel returns are due to customer dissatisfaction with fit. Accurate sizing data in easy-to-understand presentations on your product page can not only improve conversion rates from new visitors, but it can also reduce returns from previous buyers.

Here are some examples of companies using sizing and dimension data in useful ways:

Diesel

Diesel uses Fit Analytics’ Fit Finder to help its customers find their exact fit.

They also provide their model’s size and dimensions to help shoppers visualize the fit.

Spanx

Spanx gives shoppers a sizing chart unique to the product category they’re on. For example, shoppers looking at leggings will see one chart, while shoppers looking at shorts will see this chart.

By providing sizing guides that match the product category their shoppers are currently viewing, Spanx reduces data overload and makes it easier to find the right fit. And although that may sound intuitive — even expected — not all retailers do this. 

Blenders

Blenders also cuts down on data overload by forgoing sizing terminology altogether. Instead of a chart that explains rim size, bridge width, and temple length, shoppers get a clear diagram of the exact product they’re looking at with sizing dimensions overlaid.

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C. Descriptions as a deep dive into the product

Shoppers know a great product description when they see it. It gives them all the details they want to know without making them feel like they are digging to find them.

A great product description is useful. It’s informative. It’s entertaining, even.

A great product description tells someone why they would want your product and educates them on how to get the best use out of it.

So how do you achieve this holy grail of product prose?

We use this Shopify checklist: 

1. Focus on your ideal buyer
2. Entice with benefits
3. Avoid "yeah,yeah" phrases
4. Justify using superlatives
5. Appeal to your readers' imagination
6. Cut through the rational barriers with mini-stories
7. Seduce with sensory words
8. Tempt with social proof
9. Make your description scannable
10. Set goals and KPIs

It’s a long but worthwhile read if you have the time.

D. Bullet points to seal the deal

Bullet points are the cherry on top of the product description. Good use of bullet points will reinforce your product’s value and highlight the key selling points.

So what do you put into your bullet points? That depends on your products and categories, but there are some foundational rules to follow.

• Highlight the features that set your product apart
• Combine benefits with use cases
• Call attention to quality, i.e., fabrics, material, craftsmanship, etc.
• Isolate important sizing details
• Inject “keyword” features or words shoppers scan for
• Avoid stating obvious facts that can easily be seen elsewhere, i.e., shipping, returns, etc. 

Here are a few great bullet point examples:

Alo Yoga

iRobot

Diesel

3. Use Images and Videos as a Virtual Showroom

You may recognize this point from our checklist earlier. It’s a key piece of the product page optimization process so we'll expand on it in this section. 

The reason why is pretty simple.

Ecommerce opens up a whole world of opportunity — quite literally — but it comes with its own challenges. Namely, the sensory problem. We’ve already dis

In other words: your target audience can't actually touch, taste, or see products in real life before they decide to buy. And that plays an (understandably) massive role in their decision-making process.

So, if you want to get the sale — you’re going to need some stunning product photography. And that means your product imagery will have to be:

• High-resolution — The first thing people notice when they arrive at a product page is the imagery. So, it needs to be professional. And that means high-resolution photos taken with enough lighting, clean, and crisp. If your images seem dull or blurry, your entire ecommerce store immediately seems sketchy, untrustworthy, and unprofessional.
• Provide context — Most websites default to the same style of  boring  basic “product against a white background” imagery. But if you’re going to convert, you need to stand out. And that also means telling a story. Use lifestyle photos of products with people, props, and locations. That will give buyers more context about the product and get them closer to a buying decision. 
• Show detail and variety — People want to feel your products, not just see them. By presenting products from various angles, zoom heights, and in-use scenarios, you will give shoppers a much better feel for your products. Provide as many images and videos as you can for each product page. Aim for five or more images per product. 

4. Optimize For Search Engines

Unless you’re Amazon, people will rarely go to your website directly while searching for a product. Just like everyone else, you’re relying on search engines to get your target audience to your website.

And that means every product page should be optimized for maximum visibility on Google. Here are some of the ways to make that happen:

• Increase Page Speed — One of the main reasons people prefer shopping online to classic retail shopping is the process's convenience, efficiency, and speed. Customers appreciate eCommerce stores that save them valuable time. And that doesn't happen if your product pages load slowly or not correctly. So, test your current page speed and see what backend issues you can resolve and how you can optimize your content.
• Better Product Names — It's wise to have descriptive product names containing as many search keywords while still sounding organic and natural. And besides the name itself, include some defining characteristics your users might search for—for instance, types of fabrics, color, and size when it comes to clothing. 
• Better Meta Titles and Descriptions — These elements will decide how well your products are represented on Google. And if you write them succinctly, professionally,  and informatively, people will be more inclined to click on your product pages rather than the competition. 

5. Leverage Psychology

As any digital marketer worth their salt will tell you, understanding the psychology behind why people make certain decisions while shopping and browsing is vital for increasing your conversion rates. 

For instance, social psychologists have long been fascinated by the notion of "social proof." Basically, the idea is that people who are faced with a lack of experience and knowledge or fear of making the wrong choice will prefer going with what others have decided before them. 

And in the context of ecommerce, that means using testimonials, reviews, various other user-generated content, and trust signals. 

• User Reviews — We’ve already gone over how vibrant photos solve the problem of people not being able to see the products before buying. Now, customer reviews are here to solve the same problem with trying the products out. They’re great confidence builders because they show that other people have tried, bought, and liked the products — the last one being contingent on positive reviews. 
• User-Generated Content — You don't need to rely on reviews to build trust solely. If you want to win new customers, UGC content is a great way to show you've got nothing to hide and that you appreciate the goodwill of your existing customers. For example, you can allow customers to upload social media content related to your products on their respective pages. 
• Badges and Ratings — When faced with the absence of physical experiences and an endless array of options, customers examine ratings, badges, and other ways in which previous customers have signified their positive experiences with products. 
• Color Psychology — Colors trigger plenty of our subconscious preferences and triggers, which is why they’re an important element in marketing psychology. And when consumers are shopping online, this experience is further intensified. For example, female-centric brands achieve higher conversion rates when they use three colors most preferred by women: purple, blue, and green.
• A Human Element — A lack of face-to-face interactions in online shopping often means the experience lacks a certain "human touch." And while personable and interesting copy can achieve this, there are other ways you can address this issue as an eCommerce brand. For instance, a live chat feature would help a lot in this regard — or even a chatbot that can answer basic questions and guide shoppers through product categories — but make sure it’s well-written and well-designed enough to not scream chat bot. 

6. Make It Easy 

The competition on eCommerce websites is immense — and it only takes a couple of moments of frustration for a user to decide to close their tab and search for another online store. Considering that, focus on improving the user experience if you want to attract, retain, and convert more people. 

For example, you can do that by working on: 

• Intuitive Navigation — Most high-ranking websites in all niches have simple menu templates without much clutter. Make sure everything is logically placed for the ideal buyer's journey and improve the readability of all the page content. Hide bulky paragraphs behind dropdowns. And remember — website visitors don't appreciate having to put in extra effort to navigate your page due to poor design. 
• Real-Time Inventory Updates — Customers like having all the information, and a lack of transparency is a certain turn-off. With that in mind, it's a good idea to provide real-time stock updates for all website visitors. There are plenty of options in terms of inventory management software, and investing in some will lead to higher customer satisfaction and better sales in the long run. Also, you can use out-of-stock alerts to recommend other similar products that are currently available. 
• Personalized Recommendations — These days, eCommerce is about far more than creating online catalogs for people to browse and order from. Big Data and machine learning algorithms have made personalized product recommendations natural and expected. And these are excellent ways to create repeat customers out of repeat visitors. Using cookies to tap into your customers' previous purchasing behavior and personal preferences opens the gateway to marketing the right things to the right people — and creating complementary suggestions for logical products as well. 

7. Get The Big Things Right First

Sure, it’s easy to get distracted and focused on smaller details that really aren’t all that important. But getting the big things right first is essential for conversion optimization. 

The Big 3 elements on your product pages are the same three elements we harp on when it comes to product feed optimization:

1. Title
2. Description
3. Image

Why? Because these are the three things shoppers zero in on first.

If you want your product page to convert, start by making sure your title is as accurate as possible; if people can’t find what they're looking for or pick up on keywords within seconds of visiting your site, they'll move on (and probably never come back). 

Next, be sure you have a useful product description with plenty of relevant information and calls-to-action. 

Finally, don't skip out on showroom-level product images — they may take time and effort, but this prime real estate on your page will pay off over time.

8. Test, Test, Test!

The only way you’ll know if one product page element converts better over another is by split testing elements. 

Here are the tools we use and why we like them:

Google Optimize

Google Optimize, is a free Google tool to test page elements. The 6 tests we run on Google Optimize are:

1. Titles – Complex and keyword-rich vs short and minimal
2. Description – Jargon vs layman's terms
3. Primary image subject matter – Isolated product shots vs lifestyle photos vs feature close-ups
4. Button color - High-contrast vs low-contrast
5. Button call to action (CTA) text – Buy now vs Add to cart vs brand-voice CTAs
6. Social proof – Positioning and visibility of reviews

Google Optimize is a great option for new testers who don’t want to invest in a paid tool just yet. Google Optimize, however, has its drawbacks. Its code can be cumbersome. Its performance can be finicky. Testing is limited to very few pages at a time.

For that reason, we recommend trying more advanced CRO tools. And although these tools can be costly, they give you the best path to clarity.

Hotjar

Hotjar is an insights tool that uses heatmaps, session recordings, and surveys to give you experiential feedback of your product page. 

It comes with a pretty decent free-forever option, but more even more obust paid plans are available starting at $39 per month.

VWO

VWO is a powerful, yet affordable CRO tool. It’s powerful enough for the pros, but intuitive enough that anyone can use it — and it starts at around $200 per month.

It has an easy-to-use visual editor that let’s you see what your product pages will look like as you edit them. This makes A/B testing not just easy, but also kind of fun. 

VWO lets you set up campaigns and experiments using a variety of page elements, events, tags, audiences, and more to target and evaluate how shoppers experience your product pages.

Tests you can run using VWO include:

• Change images
• Change videos
• Edit page elements
• Remove elements
• Hide/show elements
• Rearrange elements
• Modify element styles
• Move/resize elements
• Modify HTML code
• Modify attributes 
• Add jump links

Getting VWO running on your website is fairly easy too. To get started, you need to copy and paste its SmartCode — a small snippet of JavaScript — into your site’s closing </head> tag. 

Takeaways

After reading through these steps, you should have a clearer idea of how to create product pages that convert. 

Remember that it’s important to use these ideas as a starting point. Customize them to fit your brand's style as well as your customer's needs. Before you know it, you’ll be making an impact on conversion rate and driving sales.