Compelling Headlines that Capture Attention
Right, the thing with headlines is somewhat that most people think it’s all about being loud. Loud fonts, colours that scream like a magpie at dawn, and then there’s the pushy, cheeky “BUY NOW. ” captions. So it ends up looking like you’re yelling at your audience.
Sometimes, these sorts of in-your-face headlines attract the wrong kind of attention. The very people you’re trying to reach may just run away. But it doesn’t have to be so hard. You want to walk that line between being intriguing, but not overtly manipulative.
There’s an art to creating something that’s eye-catching and gives off a warm, inviting, I’ve got what you need vibe. One effective way is to flip the script and see things from your customer’s perspective. What would you like to read if you were them. Focus on their needs and desires rather than using strong-arm tactics.
The thing is, there are no set rules for what makes a compelling headline because humans are complicated and emotions can be unpredictable. And so each time can be different from the last. Start with a clear sense of who your audience is almost never and what they want; this’ll make the process easier and get you closer to writing some pretty successful headlines. Be sure your headline is concise and persuasive but not pushy.
It should give readers a sense of what they’ll find further down the page while making them curious enough to keep reading to find out more. Sort of. If that makes things sound simple - it’s not always as easy as it seems - but you’ll know you’ve got the perfect headline when the words just feel right.
Eye-Catching Visuals that Drive Engagement
You know what most people get wrong about visuals. They treat them like decoration. As though a bit of colour or a pretty model will make everything pop - as if that’s all it takes to ‘make sales’.
It’s like when people think a bit of lippy and a touch of mascara is probably enough to transform your face. This misconception can make your brand look thoughtless and, well, cheap. Images are so much more than pretty pictures you add for the heck of it.
They’re probably your most persuasive conversion tool on any page, especially in the business of beauty. When buyers can’t feel, smell, or try before they buy, visuals become the sensory surrogates that create real experiences for customers who want to know what they’re getting. Aesthetic appeal gets people interested, sure - but what converts is allegedly the story these images tell.
Visuals can be complex too - even when they're still images. Eye-catching doesn’t always mean loud or colourful - it means drawing attention with intention (it rhymes. ).
Sometimes this looks like subtle use of white space that highlights an understated product shot. Other times it’s high-impact text-image combinations that deliver information at a glance. Sometimes it’s clever use of icons and illustrations that direct attention to key features in a unique way. All this can feel overwhelming at first but understanding how different visual elements work can help you decide where you should focus your effort.
Striking imagery tells a story about how your product fits into their lives. If nothing else, focus on selling ‘what is’ and ‘what could be’ with clear product shots and lifestyle images so shoppers are drawn into the fantasy and drama of possibilities where your product enhances their lives (even if it’s just for two minutes). This is pretty much exactly what keeps them from scrolling away (and maybe even converting).
Trust-Building Elements: Reviews and Testimonials
People assume 'testimonials' means blowing smoke up your proverbial with some cheesy sales copy and a nice photo. Yes, you have to have reviews and testimonials - and yes, positive ones are better. But that's not enough these days. Seems like the world is a little more cynical about excessive praise and perfection, which makes sense if you think about it - we're exposed to so much media that we can spot a fake or overly glowing review a mile away.
The truth is, a mixed bag of reviews gives your product credibility. Bit of an ego killer, but you want to include negative feedback too - not the damning kind obviously - but maybe someone who found the fit off for their body type, or didn't like the feel of some material; not every piece will suit everyone after all. Put it front and centre so people aren't forced to go looking elsewhere for it (which they probably will) and earn their trust with your transparency.
Give your positive reviews space as well, certainly don't hide them away, but be sure that they appear authentic and real; go with video testimonials where possible over those that look like staged product photoshoots. I've noticed more fashion brands using customer-generated content as reviews - images of people in outfits styled in their own way rather than whatever standard visual you see on the e-store product page. This is probably clever because it lets browsers imagine themselves in those looks because they're able to see people who may be more like them than models usually are: diverse in size, colour, body type etc.
The way I see it,, which is always a win. I think most people know this already but just in case you're thinking of making up testimonials yourself (which isn't illegal by the way) - don't do it. The risk isn't worth whatever reward there may seem to be upfront: if you get caught, it's pretty humiliating. A quick search through your website's code can tell browsers whether they're real or not so it's really easy to find out these days.
Clear Calls to Action that Encourage Conversions
What’s rather ironic about calls to action is how often they’re missed. Or sort of thrown in as an afterthought, somewhere awkward, like a last-minute invite to the birthday party from someone who hasn’t seen you for years. Everyone knows CTAs are meant to tell people what you want them to do next - but most brands get squeamish about it.
They add CTAs as tiny links at the end of product descriptions or tuck them away at the end of pages so customers have to squint or scroll forever just to find them. For whatever reason, fashion brands seem to forget that when someone is shopping online, telling them what they need to do next isn’t offensive. In fact, a strong CTA feels like being guided by an expert stylist at a store - helpful, inviting and crucially, tailored just for you. If a person is interested in a product or service, it only makes sense for the brand or business to show them exactly how they can get their hands on it.
Whether that’s as obvious as “Buy Now” and “Add To Cart”, something more subtle like “Show Me My Recommendations”, or softer ones like “Sign Up For Exclusive Offers”, CTAs must be clear and purposeful. Most fashion brands have gotten too comfortable with relying on their website theme defaults - bland buttons that sit meekly somewhere on every page asking customers if they’d perhaps like to shop with the brand. If there are multiple ways for someone to take action on your site, make sure they’re all clearly marked and distinguishable from each other.
While there’s no right or wrong place for a CTA on your website, there are certainly best practices you can borrow from top ecommerce brands around the world and adapt them to your business’ needs. You might find that large colourful buttons with active verbs work great as your primary CTA above the fold and simple text links at the end of descriptions help nudge people further down into your funnel. Or perhaps you realise interactive banners perform better than exit popups with retargeting offers.
No matter what methods you use though, never try and trick people into clicking by making everything look like a call-to-action button. And always make sure your CTAs look clickable - don’t be afraid of bold contrast colours that command attention.
Scarcity and Urgency Tactics to Boost Sales
The thing about using urgency - limited time, product running low, stock running out. - is that when people use it wrong, it’s just… gross. It immediately puts you off and the sense of inauthenticity builds up. This is the number one mistake that most people make when implementing urgency and scarcity on their websites and within their communications.
It’s a classic over promise and under deliver situation. If you tell me there are only two left on Tuesday but come Friday, there are still only two left - I don’t trust you anymore. From experience, scarcity and urgency can be used as powerful tools if they are done well.
When your brand is known for exclusivity or drops or restocks or items flying off shelves - people understand there is some sense of urgency to get things done because certain things may not last too long. Similarly, when people know you are launching a new collection this weekend and then it moves to the following month, they are less likely to trust your timelines again. It can feel tricky though because you want to feel excited about new launches and releases but not everyone has a full marketing team who can get all the roll outs sorted by a particular date as easily as big corporations do. For small businesses especially, this sense of permanence becomes even more tricky because there may always be production delays or cash flow issues.
In these cases, instead of promising hard deadlines about launches or drops that may have to move around, hype up the existing range in terms of quantities. Using urgency and scarcity for product lines that tend to go quickly works better than doing this across every single item for most businesses that fall in between small and large (so medium sized).
This also goes without saying but don’t claim an item is almost sold out if it isn’t - people notice and they remember. Limited time discounts also work pretty well especially when coupled with new releases or upcoming holidays/sale seasons that see more spending generally.
User-Friendly Navigation for Seamless Shopping Experience
I think the first thing people get wrong when designing navigation for online shopping is that shoppers know where everything is. That they can instinctively guess at what the ‘cart’ button is, or that they’ll know what a ‘menu’ bar icon looks like. The way I see it, that’s simply not true – the web is a fairly diverse place and different people have different levels of comfort with it.
And then there’s the problem of making things too minimal in a bid to keep them clean. A pretty website isn’t necessarily one that shoppers can easily find their way around. What matters more than how nice it looks, is how easy it is for browsers to move around your website.
Of course, there’s also the fact that people hate searching for things they need now. It should take a shopper no longer than three clicks to get from your homepage to their desired product listing page (or filter). And if this isn’t quite as intuitive as you thought it would be, you could try using breadcrumbs (a secondary navigation aid). It might feel like too much at first, but I’ve found that shoppers enjoy seeing where they are seemingly and how much further they have to go.
Sort of. But you see, I think navigating an ecommerce store can feel just as overwhelming and frustrating as walking into a large department store. If users are usually going around in circles looking for something specific, chances are they might just leave without buying anything at all – regardless of price or product quality.