Website product page checklist: what stops buyers

A shopper chooses a size from a drop-down, then looks at the photo to check the color and at the price to check the total. On many product pages one of those three lags behind. The photo stays on the first color, the price keeps the base amount until the page reloads, or Add to cart stays active for a size that is sold out. The shopper cannot tell which number is right, so they assume the worst and go back to the results. The owner rarely sees this, because the owner already knows the size they want and clicks the one that works.

• Pick each size and color in turn. Do the photo, the price and the stock message change each time?
• Is a sold out size marked unavailable before the shopper presses Add to cart?
• On a phone, can the size chart open without leaving the product page?
• Does a shipping cost or delivery estimate appear before the cart?
• Does the product title match the ad or search that brought the shopper here?

A checklist item passes or fails on the variant the page loads with. Most owners check that one, because it is the variant they sell best or the one they set up. The break comes when a shopper picks the second size or the second color. Wrong: a single photo for every color, and a price in the header that updates only after a reload. Right: a photo for each color, the price placed beside Add to cart, and both updated by the same selection. Check each item against the last variant in each list too, since that is the one nobody opens while they build the page.

Two faults both end with a shopper who wanted a size and got an error or the wrong item, and they sit in different places. If the cart line shows a different size or color from the one the shopper picked, the fault is in the display or in the variant the button sends. If the cart line matches but the shopper is then told the item is out of stock, the stock check ran late, after the button had already been active. Read the cart line in the screenshot after each test add, so the variant and the message tell you which of the two you are looking at.

Landing page testing

Give the test one task on the product address: add a medium blue jacket to the cart. Each visitor picks the variant the task names, presses Add to cart and reaches the cart. The report then shows where each visitor stopped, which step the failure sat on, and a screenshot of that step. A visitor who picks a sold out variant sees whatever the page shows, so a button that stays active shows up in the report. What the test cannot check is your stock count. It sees the page, not your warehouse system, so a size the page shows as in stock while your shelves are empty will pass the test.

A catalog changes after launch: a color is added, a size sells out, a supplier swaps the photo set. Each change can leave one variant with the wrong photo or a button that stays active. Rerun the same shoppers after every catalog change, on a laptop and on a phone, and check the last variant in each list. Do it on the preview address before the new products go live.