It’s the new year. Time for new beginnings. 

Maybe you’re thinking about re-designing your site. Or just a quick spit shine and polish. But where do you start? 

Everyone thinks “homepage”. First place you land, right? But you should probably work backward and start with where your customer decides to buy from you…

👋 It’s your product description page (PDP), and it’s one of the highest-value pieces of real estate on your store. You’ve probably spent a lot of time and effort getting a customer to that point, so now you need this vital piece of UX to close the deal. 

While everyone obsesses about above-the-fold content, the smartest stores are discovering that what's below matters just as much. Modern online shoppers spend just 2.6 seconds on initial product evaluation, so both hooking (ATF) and holding them (BTF) are essential. 

This week:

🎯 First Step - How to nail your above the fold design

🖼️ The Gallery Secret Sauce - Why you need a 5-10 image framework 

💡 Data Spotlight - The top reasons shoppers abandon product pages

🎢 Below the Fold - The rollercoaster ride 

TACTICS

🎯 First Step - Nailing ATF

The temptation is to jam as much information as possible above the fold. But that can create a cluttered, overwhelming mess that confuses or alienates shoppers. 

It’s also an SEO no-no. Back in the day, brands used to keyword stuff their product descriptions, just to get Google to direct hungry shoppers their way. Hacks like that never last, though. Google got wise and now it’s against their spam policies. 

Plus SEO stuffing your PDP descriptions reads terribly. It will turn off your customers even more than Google. 

So just blasting the user with info doesn’t work. You have to be more purposeful when it comes to designing and refining your ATF content. 

Here's the thing about product pages - they're not just digital catalogs anymore. They're your best salesperson, your trust builder, and your conversion machine all rolled into one. But just like a great salesperson, timing and flow matter more than throwing everything at the customer at once.

The First Impression Formula

When someone lands on your product page, you've got less than 3 seconds to make an impression. 

That's not much time, but it's enough if you focus on the right things. The best stores are winning with this simple ATF triangle approach…

• What your product is (2-sentence description max)

• Why it matters (core benefits with checkmarks ✓)

• How to use it (simple steps)

Think of it like a conversation - if you were approached in real life by someone interested in your product, how would you introduce it? What are the first questions they would ask? What benefits would you stress to make them interested?

But remember, you can’t speak to them in walls of text on you site. You need to be succinct, clear, punchy, and leverage things like bullet points and iconography to get to the point. 

Pro Tip - If possible, try selling your product in real life. This will give you a more intimate feel for the pitch, including what makes your product stand out, what features and benefits resonate, as well as what causes doubts or anxieties. 

This can help with ad creation as well as product page design. 

The Gallery Secret Sauce

Images are scanned quicker by the eye than text. 

They play the biggest role in your page “passing the eye test”.

Unfortunately, you can’t just upload an endless number of high-res product images and assume that’s going to get the job done. 

No, they have questions that the pictures should answer at a glance.

The magic number? Between 5 to 10 images, each with a specific job to do.

Your winning gallery framework should flow like this:

1. Hero product shot (lead with your money maker)

2. Text-layered lifestyle image (show it in action)

3. Key benefits/differentiators (what makes you unique)

4. Comparison charts (make it a no-brainer)

5. Usage demonstration (when/how to use it)

6. Lifestyle imagery (Tell a story by reflecting your target audience’s life, environment, or aspirational setting)

Think of your carousel like a silent sales pitch. More than 10 images can create analysis paralysis - being purposeful beats being comprehensive because it helps advance the buyer to the next stage.

Another pro tip - Shoppers love to see images from…other customers. Even more than your pro product hosts. Think about adding UGC to your gallery or to the social proof section to improve conversion rates.  

💡 DATA SPOTLIGHT - Why Shoppers Really Leave Your Store

Before we get to the below the fold content, let’s talk about what research from Business Dasher and Convert Cart tells about why people tend to bounce from product pages…

The Trust Gap

When shoppers can't find reviews or authentic customer feedback, they get nervous. Social proof isn't just nice to have anymore - it's expected. The modern shopper wants to see what real customers think before they commit.

The Price Mystery

Hidden fees, unclear shipping costs, or complicated pricing structures send shoppers running. If they can't quickly understand what they'll actually pay, they'll find somewhere else to shop.

The Mobile Mess

While 72% of shopping happens on mobile, many stores are still designing for desktop first. Poor mobile navigation, tiny product images, and hard-to-tap buttons are costing you sales.

The Speed Problem

Every second counts. When your page loads slowly, customers don't wait around to see your beautiful product images - they just leave.

The Navigation Nightmare

If shoppers can't easily find related products or move through your catalog, they'll opt out. Your product page should be a gateway to discovery, not a dead end.

🎢 Below The Fold: The Rollercoaster Ride

Everyone's obsessing over what happens in those first 2.6 seconds above the fold. 

But here's the thing: your ATF content hooks them, but it's your below-the-fold content that books them.

If someone's scrolling down, they've not said no yet. 

You need to take that curiosity of theirs and give it momentum with hook after hook. It should feel like a rollercoaster of reasons why they can’t say no. 

This is especially crucial if you're selling something that requires trust or has a high AOV, like health supplements or premium products. Your prospective customers have heard all the promises before. They've been burned by expensive products that didn't deliver. Your below-the-fold content needs to overcome that skepticism.

Key elements that convert BTF:

• Social proof (but make it scannable)

• Detailed benefits (show, don't just tell)

• FAQs (kill those objections)

• Technical specs (for the detail-oriented buyers)

The trick? Don't just throw up a wall of text. 

Present information in a way that's easy to scan and intuitively understand. Turn benefits into punchy highlights that reflect the way your audience thinks or talks about your niche. Highlight reviews that reiterate your key value props and claims that appear above the fold. 

Your customer's questions should be answered before they even ask them.

🔨 Useful tools

• Semrush’s Ecommerce Keyword Analytics – Get insights on ecommerce keywords from top retailers' domains

• Replo’s Ultimate Guide to Shopify App Ecosystem. This free download organizes hundreds of apps into easy to browse categories.   

Wrapping things up

Start with the framework we outlined above, and you'll be ahead of most stores already.

Remember: In the age of short attention spans, being clear beats being cool. 

Your PDP should look great, but what really matters is your experience builds enough confidence and trust to make that shopper click “add to cart”. 

With ❤️,

Kent Wilson

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