{"id":111944,"date":"2024-05-06T10:54:57","date_gmt":"2024-05-06T08:54:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.wingify.com\/blog\/product-listing-page-best-practices\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T19:49:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T14:19:37","slug":"product-listing-page-best-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wingify.com\/blog\/product-listing-page-best-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Guide to Product Listing Pages and How to Optimize Them (+ Examples)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you ask most e-commerce marketers how to optimize your website to generate more conversions, they\u2019ll tell you to focus on your homepage or product detail pages. While that answer is technically correct, there is a potential goldmine for clicks that even the most seasoned marketers overlook: product listing pages<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While these pages are often used as a catalog for your products and services, they can offer much more than an opportunity to optimize the customer experience. Since visitors browsing your product listing pages are already engaged with your online store, they just need one final push to convert.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019ll show you everything you need to know about product listing pages, how to optimize your PLPs, and some examples of great product listing pages.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are product listing pages?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Product listing pages (sometimes called PLPs or category landing pages) are pages on a website that display products based on a selected category; they may also be based on applied search filters. Product landing pages lead visitors to product detail pages<\/a> where they can find more information on the items they\u2019re interested in or even add said items to their cart.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the main drivers for optimizing your product listing pages is the opportunity they present for optimizing your user experience, as they can be tailored to shoppers with different user intent. On the one hand, we have buyers who visit a website knowing exactly what they are looking for. These potential buyers want to view the items that are most relevant to their search or intent (e.g. a user looking for a mountain bike doesn\u2019t want to view road bikes). On the other hand, other visitors simply love browsing and use your PLPs to sift through the list of products that suit their preferences.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, your product listing pages are not only about navigation and UX. They do much more. With a well-optimized PLP, you\u2019ll be able to boost your SEO<\/a>, increase user engagement<\/a>, and improve your conversion rate<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key elements of a product listing page and how to design your PLPs for better conversions<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Creating an effective product listing page starts with the basics. Designing your product listing pages in an optimal way, with all the relevant elements, will increase the odds of shoppers finding the products they are looking for and making a purchase. Here\u2019s what you should make sure to include in your product listing pages:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. PLP page name: Descriptive title<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Remember that Google will only display the first 25, 50, or 64 characters of your title, so make sure your PLP title is optimized accordingly. For example, if you are selling cell phones, you might want to structure your titles according to make, model, memory size, and color so that shoppers can see the most important information upfront.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Description: Keyword-rich<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The product description and title have a big impact on your PLP\u2019s SEO and product discoverability. Make sure that your descriptions are thorough and contain all the relevant keywords that will help you rank higher. Remember: the more specific, the better. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. <\/strong>Breadcrumbs: Proper category name\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Make sure that each product is placed in the most relevant category to both orient your shoppers and help them discover similar products. Breadcrumbs<\/a> can display the parent category\/subcategories so that users can jump back and forth between product listing pages with ease.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. <\/strong>Imagery: Thumbnail<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

People process visual information faster than anything else, and your product images will be the first thing a customer sees. Use high-quality photos and be consistent (for example, use the same color background for every image). If you use various backgrounds, colors, and sizes, your customers will be distracted. Want proof? Read our case study on  Hanna Andersson<\/a> where they have proven that keeping all images simple, clear, and harmonized will work wonders for results.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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5. Price<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Make sure that your pricing is competitive. Do your research and benchmark your prices against your competitors and make amendments. Highlight any other elements that make your pricing more competitive, like free shipping, or buy-one-get-one-free offers.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. CTAs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Call to action buttons (also known as CTAs) are items that use imperative wording to nudge your users towards the action you want them to take, like \u201cAdd to cart now!\u201d or \u201cSave to Wishlist\u201d if a product is unavailable. It\u2019s important to create an effective CTA<\/a> by following design best practices and carefully testing different variations of your call to action\u2019s copy, location and colors.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure that your button is visible against the background and all the other elements on the page. This not only draws the visitor\u2019s eye to the call to action but shows them that the button is clickable. It\u2019s important that your button looks like a button, even if you want to adopt a more minimalistic design for your website.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, make sure that your call to action conveys urgency<\/a>. Using phrases like \u201cSign up now,\u201d  \u201cHurry\u201d or \u201cDon\u2019t delay\u201d encourages your users to not only act, but to act fast. It\u2019s also a good idea to utilize first-person copy so that the visitor feels more connected to the CTA.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Filter menu<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This menu displays the filtering options available to refine searches by attributes, like pricing, color, style, availability, size, and more. This will help your customers find what they are looking for easily.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Sorting menu<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The sorting menu presents different options for organizing products using a dropdown menu, including \u201cPrice: Low to High,\u201d \u201cNewest,\u201d or \u201cRating: High to Low.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sorting options have a sole purpose: narrowing down the number of products in order to increase conversion. Your sorting options should be based on your audience\u2019s needs and expectations regarding your products. Thinking in the minds of your customers is crucial for optimization at this point in the digital customer journey.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take WatchShop as an example.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

WatchShop knows that watches come in all sorts of shapes and colors, so they created various sorting options to match visitors\u2019 requests. This includes water resistance, strap type, case color, movement type, and so on.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s all tailored to match customers\u2019 expectations \u2013 and it delivers. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

10 best practices for creating and optimizing product listing pages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now that you know how to design your product listing pages, let\u2019s get into how to optimize them for the best results:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Optimize headers or banners<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Headers play the \u201ctitle\u201d role of each category and listing page design.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re the main indication of the page\u2019s content and should be treated as the most important thing. If the header does not properly describe the page or the category, visitors will not be able to find what they are looking for.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Headers can reinforce your branding, so use the space on the top of your page to create a great-looking banner that engages and informs without adding clutter. <\/span>In addition, never forget to include your keywords inside your <h1> tags. Not only will this make them more visible on the page, but they\u2019re also a bit part of your on-page SEO efforts that will help you appear higher in search results.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the image below, beauty specialist Ulta bets on shiny visuals to increase its headers\u2019 visibility. It\u2019s a good solution to avoid \u201call text\u201d headers that can seem dull at first glance.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Take<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Note: headers can also be used as promotional spaces to display featured products, special offers, and discounts.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Experiment with multiple layouts on your product listing display <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Your product listing display has a significant impact on the way your customers interact with the products. <\/span>Unfortunately, there\u2019s no easy answer when it comes to choosing between list and grid views. In fact, it all depends on what type of products you\u2019re selling and what experience you want to provide. <\/span>The most common choices are list view or grid view:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

List view<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

List views require a little more scrolling but can display more product information than a grid. This makes it easy for shoppers to compare product attributes, like dimensions or features. <\/span>Some sites let customers toggle between a list or grid view, depending on their preferences.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The list view is better suited for products that require extensive information and specifications in order to help customers compare aspects of similar products.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a great fit for technical products like TVs, computers, electronics, DVDs, hardware, etc. However, this isn\u2019t the only time to use list view for your product pages.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we take a look at the image below, Wine.com sells luxury wines and champagnes. In this case, it\u2019s important that visitors take their time benchmarking the brands and \u201cgrands crus\u201d before making a purchase decision.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notice how they capitalize on the extra horizontal space to display ratings.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Pros<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Grid view<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Grid views allow customers to browse and compare products next to each other. This is a good option if your site is picture-heavy and doesn\u2019t require a lot of description outside the product titles.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grid view is mostly used for products that rely a lot on pictures and can be compared quickly without paying much attention to the specifications. It also allows for more visual experiences.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amazon uses grid view to display products inside its \u201cgift ideas\u201d category. They also use tags to rank the bestsellers and lure visitors into clicking on the products based on their popularity<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Grid<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3. Add persuasion triggers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Persuasion triggers create a sense of urgency or scarcity. You most often see this on hotel booking sites or the sales section of a fashion store (\u201cOnly 1 item left at this price!\u201d or \u201cSelling out fast!\u201d). These labels trigger visitors\u2019 fear of missing out and push them to take action, so be sure to add them to your images to nudge them into making a purchase.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

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4. Personalize the shopping experience<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Personalization<\/a> can dramatically increase conversions, boost engagement, and help shoppers discover relevant products by sorting them according to their individual preferences. Personalization has also been known to reduce bounce rates by 20-30% and increase customer loyalty<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing you can do to personalize the experience for your visitors is to display complementary products<\/a> that they might be interested in. For example, customers shopping for a new bedspread might also be interested in buying pillowcases or sheets, so steer them in that direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Use recommendations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If someone is already browsing your product listing page, the chances are that they already have the intent of making a purchase. This is the best time to make suggestions and cross-sell or upsell your products:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n