Product Pages: UX Tips to Boost Conversions

By now, more than 44% of the world’s population has shopped online at some point in their life. Ecommerce is more than firmly mainstream now and is showing no signs of slowing.

As the number of products offered online grows and the number of people shopping in front of a screen expands, the competition to get stuff sold online will intensify. That’s the issue with markets that grow too rapidly and have extremely low barriers to entry.

So how do you make your product page stand out from the nearly millions of others out there? Well, there are a few ways you can adjust your page’s UX elements and get visitors to buy. Here’s what you need to know:

Product Name – Make it Stand Out in Search

Let’s start with the obvious and get it firmly out of the way. The product name is the most useful aspect of your product page and the customer will, of course, use it to see if what they’re looking at is what they need. But the product name needs to do more than simply inform the visitor.

Think of the product name as a short sentence that describes the product. So instead of a short name, try putting some unique details into the title itself. This means people who copy-paste the name onto Google and try to look for the same thing cheaper elsewhere (cheeky, I know) will see your product listing first.

Effective Product Headlines – Influence the Buying Decision

People buy things because they make snap, emotional decisions or are rationally thinking about the purchase. There’s no way for you to know what sort of decision your visitors are going to make so you might as well appeal to both aspects. Your product headline needs to be both emotionally connective and rationally appealing.

Price – Get it Right to Attract Visitors

Here’s where you get a chance to appeal to the rational buyer online. Take some time to get your product pricing strategy right, but also make an effort to place the price in the right spot on the page. As a rule of thumb, place the price front and center if you are confident your prices are undercutting competitors. Place great emphasis on product price, like displaying 2 prices – one provided by other vendors and second your own discounted price. If you aren’t competing solely on price, place the price at the end of a long list of all the amazing benefits and features of the product.

Product Photos – High resolution and Multi-angle

The one element that probably takes up more space on a product page than any other is the main image. Product photos need to be high quality and capture a whole range of different angles. Make the images effective and attractive so it ‘sells’ the product. The more images and the better the quality, the more likely you are to clinch a deal. This is your opportunity to do two very important things – make a great impression and give information.

You can create excitement about the product regardless of what it is by getting a professional photographer to shoot amazing shots of the product. Flatter the image like it is the headliner at a music event. Putting the product in the spotlight is what helped Steve Jobs sell Apple products like hot cakes. Want to know what Apple did to make the product pop? Simply remove the background. You can do that too and make the product stand out on a white page.

Another reason you need a lot of pictures is to convey information. If you have certain plugs that fit a TV, it makes sense to take a photo of the back and post it online. If you sell garments, you need a picture of someone wearing it as well as a plain photo of the shirt by itself.

A great product photo gallery will let you form a connection with the emotional and rational sides of a user. Online shoppers can be sceptical, earn their trust by showing them as much of the product as possible.

Add to Cart – Make the CTA Stand Out

One click and you have the customer’s intent to buy the product. This is why you need to make this element really easy to use. The button needs to be easy to spot and big enough to press, so use the squint test to see if the button is visible even when you are squinting your eyes. If it isn’t, enlarge the button and slap on a better color.

Delivery Options

One of the biggest reasons people abandon what’s in their baskets is because they don’t have all the information about delivery. Tell your customers how much it will cost to deliver, what slots are available and whether you ship internationally. All these details should be displayed in delivery option to eliminate basket abandonment.

The Curious Case of Web Brutalism

When it comes to web design, we’ve certainly seen our fair share of one-page scrolls, with their minimalist icons and fleeting microinteractions, that seem to have taken over today’s world wide web. No idea what we’re talking about? Take a quick peek here to get up to speed.

However, with every design movement comes a reaction, and this time the response has proved quite a sore for not only the design-trained eye. In fact, it’s built upon the desire for intentionally ugly and difficult web pages. Introducing the weird and wonderful trend of ‘Web Brutalism’: an evocative combination of hand-coded HTML and 90s motifs, and the latest aesthetic reaction to the overload of clean-cut and design-orientated user experiences.

The What

Originating from the French word for ‘raw’ (brut), Brutalism was first coined by Hans Asplund referring to architecture that made no effort to complement its surroundings. Seen as a reaction from the younger generation to the frivolity of the ornamental Beaux-Arts style of 1930s and 1940s architecture, Brutalism sought to expose the construction of a building with a return to basic materials. This philosophy resonates in the Brutalist web movement, only this time spanning from a generation who grew up with Microsoft WordArt and customizable MySpace pages.

The trend exploded onto the radar after Creative Director at Freundliche Grüsse, Pascal Deville’s, website – http://brutalistwebsites.com – appeared on Hacker News last month and quickly went viral. The site showcases a selection of websites that Deville considers to have a Brutalist aesthetic, that is, marked by a “ruggedness and lack of concern to look comfortable or easy”.

The How

The majority of examples showcased by Deville’s platform offer an ironic statement or provocative backlash to the expectations of contemporary design. As Nathaniel Smith of tilde.town explains, “I designed a brutalist website to show that we can still do wonderful things together on the web without so-called ‘best practices.”

Many of the sites offer a simple service such as Weather is Happening or act as a cultural platform for projects, like The Enthusiast and Days Without Net. A popular use of Brutalism that we’ve noticed is actually in design portfolios andagency websites, presenting skill sets in a no-nonsense and somewhat ironic fashion.

However, it’s not all about aesthetics, take a look at Craigslist for example. Arguably not the internet’s finest work, each page offers an indeterminate cluster of hyperlinks against an intrusive white background – it’s literally a public whiteboard. The design has barely evolved in 15 years yet, as Deville describes, it remains the pinnacle of user friendliness. And that’s exactly what makes it brilliant. Fast Company even notes that Instagram’s much-discussed new logo has a Brutalist element because of its gradient – the product of one of the most basic tools in Microsoft Paint.

Functionality aside, many of the Brutalist sites we stumbled across are purely designed as fun and games. Sites such as Is It Time For a Nap? (spoiler alert: it is) and The Endless Horse certainly put a smile on our face with their genius simplicity.

The Why

It’s easy to write off Web Brutalism as a middle finger to best practices and the way a design focus on usability has turned UX into a product, disputably killing the potential for creativity.

However, the basic appeal of this movement ensures it requires no expensive Content Management Software and no complicated CSS and Javascript – just a basic understanding of HTML and a text editor. This simplicity in the back-end results in quick loading times and easy to read code, adhering to Pinboard’s philosophy that “your website should not exceed in file size the major works of Russian literature. Anna Karenina, for example, is 1.8 MB”. Brutalist websites also tend to appear the same across different browsers and platforms which is a common frustration within contemporary design and development.

When it comes to the potential impact of the Brutalist trend on UX and usability, the jury is still out. These sites may be quick loading and simple to use, however the aesthetically frustrating graphics and 90s style gifs can make pages incredibly difficult to navigate. What we can say is the bold and unapologetic style of Brutalism certainly adds character to a website, and whether that be in the form of a countdown to 6pm on a Friday or a colour clash-induced headache – visitors certainly won’t forget their experience.

UX Maturity: Where Does Your Company Fit?

If you have an understanding of UX and its importance to long-term business success, that’s great… but what if your CEO or upper management doesn’t feel the same way?

Before you can make a case for investing more time, money or resources in UX, it’s important to first assess the level of UX maturity that your company is currently at i.e. how willing are they to adopt UX practices and make it an integral part of the business function? The following model is commonly used for measuring UX maturity. Where does your company fit?

“To optimally integrate experience design in an organization, it’s helpful to first map out its maturity level.” – Juan Manuel Carraro, Customer Experience & Experience Planning at IBM Interactive Experience.

If your company isn’t on the level you think it should be or you simply want to progress to the next one, it might just be a case of giving management more reason to invest in UX. Download our free ebook to get some information you can use to do just that.

Mobile App Design Trends: Our Picks

We spend a large portion of our time each day using mobile apps. We might use them to wake up in the morning, to plan our day, to shop, to socialize… the list goes on. There are over 2 billion smartphone users connected in the world today and since this is likely to keep increasing, keeping up with the trends (or at least being aware of them) is essential when designing mobile apps and content for an increasingly-connected world.

Though there are many great lists of mobile app trends for this year, here’s our pick of 6 trends that we think are the most interesting:

1. Bigger Screens

With the release of the iPhone 6 and 6Plus it’s become even more clear that screen sizes are going to keep expanding (for the sake of argument let’s just forget about the new SE release…). This positive trend is in line with the fact that more people are using Phablets as opposed to smaller mobile phones, which were all the rage in the early 2000’s.

The ever-growing phone screens bring with them both opportunities and potential challenges to look out for. Take a look at how Phablets are changing mobile UX design here.

2. “Magical Microinteractions”

These single, task-based interactions were a big focus in 2015. So this year, UX designers are working to take these interactions to the next level and go beyond simply ‘like’ or ‘login’ buttons. Not only has the size and improved screen resolutions of mobile phones pushed designers to up their game, but the 3D-touch made available by the iPhone 6 has opened a new world.

3D-touch has the ability to simplify and enrich your user interactions by reducing the steps to complete a task. This is especially true for mobile gaming app interfaces – so whether or not app designers take full advantage of this is still to be seen.

If you’ve missed out, take a look at our article on microinteractions – the devil is in the details, after all!

3. Skeuomorphism

We all thought this trend was merely a fad that simply would fade as flat design took over. But it seems that many users enjoy realism in their technology, which makes sense to an extent as the lines between the real and digital world continues to blur. Interestingly enough, although flat, clean designs are the agreed ideal for mobile users, skeuomorphism makes using new technologies easier as real-world elements are incorporated in app designs.

If you’re keen to learn more about skeuomorphism and why it’s sticking around, check out Gizmodo’s article here.

4. Creative Scrolling

Gone are the days of clicking button after button to move between web pages – especially on mobile. Your users have gotten comfortable with the idea of parallax scrolling and how easy it is to get from one page to another. And with the phablet trend still thriving, there’s even more potential to get creative with your scrolling and stand out amongst the crowd.

5. Wearable Gadgets Will Continue to Thrive

With the launch of the Apple Watch and countless other similar wearables, businesses and app designers are working to adapt their content to fit this technology and meet new consumer expectations. App customization has become more important here, since wearable tech makes app navigation, product information and on-the-go purchasing even more important.

Read more about the wearable tech game changers here.

6. Blank Space

More recently using blank space on screens has become a design element in itself. Along with flat design and skeuomorphism, blank space is being used in creative ways to simplify UI and improve UX. By combining these elements, designers are able to help users focus on specific elements on ever-growing phone screens.

For inspiration take a look at Google’s Material Design on text and background colors here.

Here are a few more interesting links…

• 16 Stats to convince your boss to invest in mobile in 2016
• Web design trends for 2016
• Awwwards eBook on mobile design trends 2015-2016
• LunApps article on mobile design trends for 2016

What might you expect in 2017?

In 2017 over 50% of the world’s population are predicted to have access to the internet. Mobile phone penetration will be closer to 60% in 2017. So which design trends can you look forward to seeing next year? Take a look at some design predictions for 2017 and make a few of your own!

How to Stand Out from the UX Design Crowd: The Characteristics that Count

As desktop and mobile platforms continue to amplify in both relevance and innovation, user experience has never been such an essential element of design. As a result, a UX design skill set is a great asset to have – unfortunately, it’s also a common asset amongst today’s young professionals, meaning it can be difficult to get noticed.

You might have the hard skills down and the UX knowledge in the bag, but when it comes to standing out from the crowd, we think it can actually be your soft skills that give your work the necessary flare. So, here at Usabilla we’ve rounded up the characteristics that count when it comes to setting yourself apart as an exceptional UX Designer.

A Connection to Users

Anyone who’s familiar with UX design will no doubt have had the word ‘empathy’ drilled into them from day one. That fact of the matter is, it’s actually a pretty important quality to nail if you’re seeking success. You can’t build great products without understanding people, and, you guessed it, you can’t understand people without empathy.

You need to understand what the user needs while identifying how they want to achieve it, even when it means swallowing your pride and letting your ego take the hit. UX design is about creating a purpose for your user, and acknowledging their emotions, goals, and motivations is a sure fire way to achieve this.

See The Bigger Picture

While the user is your number one priority, an important skill is the ability to step back and take a look at the bigger picture. Not only is this a way to ensure your clients and stakeholders are satisfied, but removing yourself from the task at hand can be a great way to challenge the status quo and keep things fresh. A wider perspective can prevent you from jumping to solutions too early and help uncover any hidden inspiration.

Stay Curious

You can’t get enough when it comes to staying up to date with the latest trends, not only across design but in human behaviour too. Be an explorer, never stop learning, and aspire for nothing less than perfect.

Know How to Use Data & Insights

It might not be in your job description but understanding how to perform research and interpret the results can give your designs some serious edge.

Communication

It’s a cliche, we know, but as a UX Designer, it’s important to have your communication skills well and truly mastered. This includes verbal, written, physical, and visual and is not only exclusive to your client relationships but within your team as well. You’re not afraid to bounce your ideas off other people and you understand that being challenged can actually inspire you to produce your best work.

And there we have it. The characteristics that we think are important when it comes to standing out from the UX Designer crowd. They might not be the qualities that stand out on your resume, but we believe they can be the difference between an effective user experience and an exceptional one.

A Beginner’s Guide to Conversion Rate Optimization

Whether you’re selling items or starting up your personal website to provide information to the world, the internet has become a convenient way of accessing information and items without having to actually leave the house. Over the years ecommerce and other personal websites have matured and this means, as the owner, you also need to mature and consider your website’s visitors as so much more than just a metric to improve your overall conversion rate.

Whether you think so or not, every image to how your visitors navigate your pages can make a great difference on whether your audience will continue on through your website. Making uneducated guesses or decisions based on your gut instinct when altering aspects of your site can dramatically impact conversion rates which in turn will lead to a loss in sales, revenues and even worse sending customers to your competitors. This is why it’s important for you to understand how conversion and tracking can improve your overall revenue.

What’s A Good Conversion Rate?

When it comes to conversion rate, you need to know whether you’re hitting your desired target. In general terms a good conversion rate is around 2%. This is what most website or business owners aim towards, however it’s always good if you can aim higher depending on your industry.

In business terms ecommerce websites are always lower than lead sites when it comes to conversions, but this shouldn’t discourage you and your efforts. Don’t focus so much on not having the ideal conversion rate instead work on improving your current conversion rate little by little. For example, if your conversion rate currently sits at .5% work on reaching 1%. If your conversion rate is 1% work on hitting 1.5% and so on.

So why is conversion rate important you ask? It’s important because it’s the predictor of sales and leads based upon your current website data combined with your website’s visitor information. It’s essential to know your conversion rate on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis because:

• No matter how your conversion rate is currently you can always make improvements to boost your bottom line.
• Optimizing conversions helps to capitalize on potentially new customers which may be browsing your website.
• Improvements in conversion rate can lower your cost-per-acquisition which refers to how much acquiring the new customer has actually cost you.
• Optimizing your conversions can help you make more revenue which can be used on other areas of the business.

How Is Conversion Rate Calculated?

Without getting too technical your conversion rate is calculated by dividing the number of conversions by the number of total ad clicks/visitor which are set within the same period of time. Examples include:

• 50 conversions / 1,000 clicks = 5% conversion rate
• 50 conversions / 5,000 visitors = 1% conversion rate

Ways To Optimize Your Conversion Rate

Call To Actions

You may already have some call to actions set up on your website, but are they classed as ‘good’ call to actions. A call to action or CTA is an instruction that’s seen by your audience which is designed to provoke a response immediately. Generally, call to actions feature imperative verbs such as ‘call now’, ‘visit a store today’ or ‘find out more’. These however are mediocre to many other call to actions and generally don’t convert the sales that you’re looking for. Some good call to actions include:

Netflix

Netflix’s call to action shows users they can join free for a month while having the option to cancel their membership at any time.

Huemor

Huemor’s call to action is very inventive and draws your attention in. It shows a spaceman ready for launch with a launch button below that says do not press. Makes you want to press it doesn’t it?

Panthera

Panthera has another great call to action as it helps the visitor to feel a part of something. Their call to action says ‘Join the pride today’.  

Trust

Believe it or not, trust goes a long way in whether your conversion rates improve or not. So how is trust the key to conversions you ask? Trust is the most important part of your conversion rate because without it, no one would buy from your business. Here are a few ways you can build trust:

1. Trust Logos

Trust logos can go a long way in building the trust of your customers. Trust logos are specially designed logos which verify the site is trustworthy and a secure website to use. There are many websites which place their trust logos at the top of the page or next to their checkout form. While having your trust logo below the fold is still suitable, it won’t be as effective as having it above the fold. Having your trust logos above the fold of your website or in simple terms before you scroll down the page, can help increase conversions greatly. This is because your visitors can see that you’re a respected and trustworthy verified website straight away upon loading the page. Websites who have trust logos above the fold have between a 10%-20% increase in their conversion rate.

2. Customer Feedback

Customer Feedback is essential to building trust. Customer feedback can come in many forms however the two most popular choices are testimonials and product reviews. These two categories have the ability to really enhance your audience’s overall trust level when good customer feedback is given. Don’t focus on negative feedback so much, as long as the positive feedback outweighs the negative. Always address negative feedback and try to resolve it as this will also show your customers they can trust in you.

3. Other Options

While trust logos and customer feedback are crucial parts to improving your overall business’s customer trust. There are some other options that you can consider as well. These include:

• Featured publications
• Guarantees
• Overall website design quality
• Social media icons
• Easy to find contact details

Landing Pages

Landing pages are specially designed pages which serve as an entry point to a website. While in the typical sense any page of your website can be a landing page, in the realm of online digital marketing however landing pages are pages which are designed as a standalone web page which is used for a single objective. Your landing page won’t have any global navigation that ties it to your primary website and this is to help prevent it from distracting visitor and allowing them to navigate them away from your intended conversion goal. In retrospect a landing page should:

• Contain a form to fill out to continue on.
• Solely exist for the purpose to capture the visitor’s information and attention through the form.

In general terms, landing pages come in two different types. These include Click-Through and Lead-Generation landing pages.

Click- Through Landing Pages

Click through landing pages have the goal of coaxing your visitors to click through to the next page. They are used typically in ecommerce funnels to describe a product better or to offer significant details about something to warm a visitor up so they are closer to make a purchasing decision. The following is an example:

Lead Generation Landing Pages

Lead generation landing pages are designed to capture the visitor’s data such as email address and name. The idea of lead generation landing pages is to collect your visitor’s information to allow you to easily connect and market to them at a later date. These landing pages generally feature a form to fill out and will give you a brief description of what you’ll gain in return for submitting any personal data. Lead generation landing pages are generally used for offering:

• A physical gift via mail
• Free trial
• Contest entry
• Discount coupon/voucher
• Consultation for professional services
• Webinar registration
• Whitepaper and ebooks
• Notifications of product launches in the future

How To Make A Good Landing Page

So how do you make a good landing page you ask? There are a few things that you need to consider. These include, but aren’t limited to:

• Keep it simple, easy to read, and relatable. You only have roughly 3 seconds to catch their attention and convert them to the CTA button. Make the page straightforward.  
• Use images that show what you’re offering if applicable. Visitors will connect faster if they know exactly what they’re getting in return for their information.
• Only ask for information that you truly need like address and name. Long forms tend to increase bounce rate, turning people away from clicking through.
• Don’t add navigation to other websites. The sole purpose is for them to click through or fill out the form.
• Build trust by adding any trust logos, names of major brands that use your product, service or what you’re offering.

Landing pages are a crucial component when it comes to inbound marketing efforts because they have a higher ability to capture any lead data and increase your conversion rate by sending it down your sales funnel.

Tracking

While implementing all these tips can help to optimize your conversion rate, there’s no point in continuing on if you don’t understand your ROI or Return On Investment. Your ROI is calculated by dividing it by how much the investment cost. An example is as follow:

• You invest $1,000 in a small enterprise. The shares sold for $1,200 a year later. Divide the profits $200 ($1,200 – $1,000 = $200 profit) by the investment $1,000 and the ROI will be 20%.

Tracking your ROI is important to the overall success of your conversions. There are a few ROI tracking options that you can use including call tracking, Google Analytics Goal Tracking and Google Analytic Ecom Tracking.