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Essential pages for your e-commerce store

Chapter 1: Setting Up Your Online Store

October 31, 2024

10 min read time

Now that we have figured out the domain name, and the design, we can start building out landing pages for your e-commerce store. Since you're launching your first e-commerce store, it’s very common to be confused about the pages you need. 

So, what’s the solution? How many pages should you create for your e-commerce site?

To make this easier for you, we have created the frameworks for must-have pages along with examples from top e-commerce stores, so let’s dive right in: 

1. Homepage

If you’re thinking whether you need to invest time on your homepage, then the simple answer is yes.

While you may not be directly driving traffic to the page, it is the first impression that your brand makes. A home page is basically the first or main page of a website or app that shoppers see when they find your e-commerce store. 

However the tough part is building a framework to understand how to build a good home page.

Here’s what you could include: 

how to build a good home page.
  • Header: The header is essential for navigation and brand recognition. It should include the logo, menu, search bar, and user icons. It provides easy access to all site areas and shopping functions, for a simple user experience. 
  • Hero Section: This is prime real estate for showcasing your main message or current promotional offers like season sales. Use high-quality imagery or a video with a catchy headline and clear call-to-action, to grab attention. 
  • Featured Categories: Highlights main product categories for easy navigation to help shoppers explore your entire product range. 
  • New Arrivals / Best Sellers: Showcase your latest products or most popular items in this section. It keeps content fresh and appeals to both new and returning customers. 
  • Special Offers: Show discounts, or seasonal promotions to create urgency and immediate action from visitors. Opt for attention-grabbing design and messaging to attract attention. 
  • Featured Products: Use this section to highlight specific products like high-margin items, overstocked products, or seasonal goods you want to promote.
  • Social Proof: Build credibility through customer reviews and user-generated content in this section. 
  • Footer: The footer provides additional navigation and important information. Include quick links, social media icons, payment/shipping info, and legal notices. 

With a dynamic page, you can keep experimenting with sections and see what works best for your conversion rates. 

Here are two examples of homepages that we love that you must check out! 

Lululemon
Fenty Beauty

2. Product Page

Product pages show the specific view of a product with the full product details and pricing. The main call to action is the add-to-cart button. Here, shoppers make the key decision whether they should buy a product from you or not, based on the information and images they see on the page. 

Here is a simple framework that you can follow to build great product pages, that actually results in conversions. 

how to build great product page

  • Product information: Add a tile, descriptions, and specifications; and high-quality images, videos, or demos. This helps your customers visualize the product, and reduce uncertainty and potential returns. Don’t forget to clearly add pricing and color/variant options for customization.
  • Add to cart button: This is your primary call-to-action, which should be prominently displayed and easy to use. Including discount coupons for a final push to complete a purchase.
  • Other information: Clear shipping, return, and warranty policies provide additional assurance, potentially swaying hesitant buyers to purchase and demonstrating your confidence in the product's quality.
  • Customer reviews and testimonials: Featuring a mix of text, video, and image reviews provides a comprehensive view of real user experiences, helping potential buyers feel more confident in their choice.
  • Related/recommended products: Helps customers discover similar items, and complementary products to increase CLTV or for easier comparisons.
  • Social sharing options: Easy sharing on social media platforms, helps shoppers make quicker decisions through friends or family; and you get a quick organic boost too!

Here are two examples of product pages that could be great inspirations!

Google Pixel 2 smartwatch 
Bellroy wallet
Pro tip: Don’t spend hours writing product descriptions for your e-commerce store. You can input basic product details, and AI tools like Ahrefs will create descriptions that highlight key features and benefits.

3. About us page 

An About Us page tells your readers all about you. While you may choose to name it differently this tells your shoppers who you are.

Here is a simple framework that you can follow to build a great about us page: 

how to build a great about us page

An effective "About Us" page can be structured around two main pillars: Brand Story and Visual Elements.

  • Brand Story:
  • Talk about your company's purpose and long-term goals which sets the tone for the entire narrative.
  • Tell shoppers the reason for starting your business. Remember, stories sell more than facts and figures, so make them personal and memorable. 
  • Unique Selling Proposition: This is further broken down into:
  1. Product Differentiation: Highlight what makes your offerings stand out.
  2. Ideal Customer Persona: Describe who your products or services are designed for.
  3.  Method of Operation: Explain how you deliver value to your customers.
  • Culture and Values: Showcase the principles that guide your business decisions and operations to build relatability.
  • Visual Elements:
  • People: Include photos of your team members, customers, or founders to put faces to the brand.
  • Processes: Create videos and infographics to show the BTS of building a business, especially in a high-trust business like food. 
  • Products: Add product shots, so that shoppers don’t miss out on the hero of the story. 

Take a leaf from the About Us pages of these two brands:

Chubbies

Milk Bar

If you’d like to make an even more detailed About Us page, then refer to our About Us checklist with all the information.

4. Contact Page 

Your contact page can be one of the most visited pages on your site, yet most make the mistake of building generic and functional web pages. Here is a simple framework that you can use to stand out: 

Contact page framework
  • Self-service options: Create resources like FAQs and a knowledge base for answers and reduce the load on customer support. 
  • Categorized support: Directs users to the qualified team members and departments for support like sales for purchasing assistance, and technical support for product-related issues.
  • Contact options: Offers various ways for customers to reach the company, like contact forms, phone numbers, and email addresses depending upon the customer’s ease and choice. 

Here are two e-commerce stores that do it really well: 

Yeti
Team Bando

Bonus: Additional Pages Additional pages are supplementary resources to enhance the experience and impart information. Here’s a simple framework for the pages that you must add to your e-commerce store. 

Additional Pages structure
  • FAQ: Helps address common inquiries, with quick, accessible answers to typical concerns about products, services, or company policies.
  • Shipping Information: Outlines delivery options, costs, and estimated timeframes. This covers domestic and international shipping policies, tracking information, and any special handling procedures.
  • Return Policy: Clearly explain the process for returns, exchanges, and refunds, including any time limits or condition requirements, helping reduce perceived risk.
  • Privacy Policy: Details how customer data is collected, used, and protected and shoppers’ rights regarding their personal information.

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