Aspects of creating a clean, simple product information template and the importance of photographs on a website
When shopping, customers want to see product details to help inform their buying decisions. Having plentiful, well-organized, helpful information about the site’s products or services helps customers make better and faster purchasing decisions. Shoppers need to scan for basic, valuable blocks of information, including product photos, thorough descriptions, features, prices, and even benefits.
A product detail page that is quick to scan and read helps customers find the information they need on a conceptual level, and gives them a satisfying experience on an emotional level. A standardized product template helps customers find the details they need as they move from one product page to the next.
General information is useful to every customer, so keeping key elements above the fold is crucial. The exact information shown above the fold depends on what customers need to see first. If important information is placed too far down the page, customers may never see it. The key elements to keep above the fold include the following:
Standard navigation and shopping tools. Customers want to use the standard navigation bars, shopping tools, and search tools right away if the current product is not the one they want. Forcing customers to backtrack to find a different product only frustrates them.
A small, clickable product thumbnail. Not all customers have fast Internet access. So to keep the initial product detail page fast and simple, the designer has to keep the product shot small and in JPEG or GIF format. The designer needs to provide higher-resolution, more finely detailed image of each product so that customers can examine it for important particulars that will help them make a purchase decision.