Best Online Shopping Websites 101: The Basics to Succeed
Creating a great product page for your online shop actually has nothing to do with being a good web designer. The secret actually lies in your ability to make visual representations of your products that are pleasant for the user. This is what makes the best online shopping websites succeed.
The internet is now filled with millions of websites whose main purpose is to sell something. Why such high demand? When you build an online store, you can access millions of customers you couldn’t in other ways. So while you are in this period of exponential growth over online shoppers, now would be the perfect time to make sure your online shop is on point.
People are buying online more than they have ever done before. With such a competitive market, you will want to ensure you deliver the highest customer experience! For this reason, I am here to help you through it all with some great eCommerce basics for your online shops.
Simply ask yourself if you are offering the best online shopping experience out there. If you are not sure, then please, by all means, keep reading. This what any online shopping sites must have product-wise in order to convert:
An Organized Clear Structure
This may depend a lot on which online web builder you have decided to use. Even when using an online shop template, please consider that you MUST have the following, specifically on your product pages:
- Product Name. You will realize that SEO is important in every single aspect of your shopping sites. The keywords you decide to use on your products will directly affect how discoverable they are for your store’s visitors. For example, most people in the United States will look for a “raincoat” rather than a “waterproof coat.” Words matter a lot.
- Clear Price. Find a great spot with and use big numbers to make it clear what your product’s price is.
- Weight & Other Dimensions (for physical products). Make sure it is clear what the size your products actually are to avoid confusion. Use images that show the object to scale. You can achieve this by using a model in your images.
- Include your file with the most used formats and a clear download option (for downloadable products like ebooks).
A Word On Descriptions
It is very important that your descriptions are convincing, that you use long, explicative sentences, and that you mention each product’s benefits. All of this should fit in a single paragraph, be direct, and concise.
Be helpful instead of being salesy. Tell your shoppers what they can expect from your product and do not try to oversell them.
- A Killer SEO Script! Again, SEO is vital for your store’s general ranking so throw some keywords here and there whenever they make sense. We are not trying to keyword stuff anything, but don’t leave out important keywords.
Star Your Product Shots!
And now the stars of the show, your product images! It’s so very important that you always display desirable, high-quality images in professional shots. It is wise to add a zoom-in option, maybe a plugin, to really see the details of your products. Make sure all images are the same size. You can even provide 360-degree images or images with different views of the same product.
If you are not a professional photographer, then you should definitely use mockups. Don’t risk it by showcasing your products with ugly looking pictures.
Pro Tip: It’s easy to find these mockups on the internet. Pillow mockups, tote bag mockups, there’s even a mug mockup generator! You can find tons of product mockups on sites like Placeit.
Also a Few Tips on Your Images:
- Use product demo videos. Show how to use your product or show them being used. This also means giving your images some context in real-life situations.
- Choose the right product categories. Add filters like price ranges, type, color, newest, most popular, etc. Again, this is a great space to add the right word, so do some research. Are people using classic or vintage? Are people filtering by style or by characteristics? If you notice “boho dress” is rising in ranking then you may want to make some adjustments on your product filters.
- Add your product variations on the bottom, if you sell different colors, textures, or any other variation.
- Real customer reviews are essential. They are not only great for your Google ranking but it is also very valuable for your customers to hear from other customers what they thought about your product.
No pressure at all, BUT, creating beautiful product images for your online shop should be your FIRST priority. This will directly affect your quantity of sales.
Other Considerations
As you probably know, there are a ton of things you should consider to have high selling online shop, from the moment you choose your website builder to the very last detail. Here are a few other very high priority topics you should also have in mind about your product pages:
- Pay attention to important processes of your sales like payment methods, the security your online shop offers when handling your customer information, and sort out your shipping options.
- Responsive Design. Most customers buy on mobile devices nowadays, so it pays to make your website mobile-friendly. Also, test your shop on different browsers.
- What does your checkout say? Include clear, direct CTAs on your checkout page and boxes. This is too a very important part of the customer experience.
- Write Your Online Store FAQs. Just like your customer reviews, your store’s FAQs are also very important so that you can clearly answer any questions your buyers may have. Without any questions or confusion, then there is nothing that will prevent them from buying.
Don’t Have a Brand Yet?
If you read this whole thing thinking, “This is great, where do I start?” Then start by building a brand! Some creatives think that designing cool products and having an online store is enough. It’s not. You can’t just use a name and make a whole brand from under it. Take your time to create a brand logo that actually represents your style and essence.
Don’t worry about it, if you don’t have the time to illustrate your own logo, don’t know how to, or simply don’t want to hire someone else to do it, then you can use an online logo maker! This tool gives you a professional logo in just a few clicks and with your own custom design! So there you go, design a logo for your online shop in no time!
Now that you’ve got your tools in order and you know what your product pages should include, go ahead and make major modifications to ensure you give your shoppers the experience out there!
