What Makes a Good Online Shop? 6 Essential Content Elements

Online shopping is part and parcel of our world today. Its popularity continues to soar, breathing new life into e-commerce sites and presenting both challenges and opportunities for product-based businesses.

For anyone new to the industry or those wanting to keep ahead of the curve, the question remains:

What makes a good online shop?

Of course, we all know that the answer to that is largely relative and customer-dependent. But when it comes to your website content, there are those certain elements which are undeniably essential to helping with your messaging, marketing, and the one thing all online shop owners long for: the sound of orders dinging in. Get them right, and you're well on your way to creating a professional, trustworthy shop that's ready to grow.

1. A story-led, up-to-date About page

First up, people love to feel a connection to the brands they choose.

It is part of human nature. We recognise ourselves in stories, values, and experiences. When your About page captures this clearly, customers feel more at home in your world.

Brands I work with often feel a shift once their About page truly reflects their current identity. It’s like getting that true understanding and shared reference point for the whole team, and beyond, of what your brand stands for. 

This is because your About page is one of the few places on your website where you can speak directly about who you are and why people should shop with you. This is the balance to get right: enough story to show your points of difference and make people feel connected to you, but not so much “me, me, me” that people can’t get a read on why it matters to them. 

What would you usually include on an About page to get that balance? 

• The story behind the brand (i.e. why did you start up the company?)

• The problem you wanted to solve for your customers

• The values that shape your decisions

• A glimpse behind the scenes, such as your team, workshop, or supply chain

• A clear explanation of who your products are created for

Many customers will happily shop without visiting your About page. That is fine.

The page matters for the people who are curious, loyal, or almost ready to buy. They might have seen you on social media, saved a product once, or heard your name from a friend. Before they spend a larger amount or place a first order, they want to know the faces and values behind the logo.

It also matters for your own sense of confidence. When you know your About page is up to date, clear, and aligned with your direction, you can send people there without worrying about what they will find.

My two top tips for a great About page:

• Keep it current. New collections, changes of direction, supply chain updates, fresh certifications, and partnerships all deserve a mention. An outdated About page can make customers wonder if your business is still active or committed.

• Make it yours. If your competitors could lift a few lines from your About page without anyone noticing, something's wrong. Your story is something they shouldn't be able to copy. Make sure everything you write links back to you as a business.

2. A homepage that passes the five second test

Consider where most of your customers land on your website from. Maybe a Google search. Maybe from an Instagram ad. Maybe they’d heard your name somewhere. 

Unless they’re already familiar with your brand, you’ve got almost a split second to capture their attention. 

So what do they want to know?

1. What type of products you sell (i.e. Clothing? Furniture? Electronics? Food?)

2. Whether they will like them (i.e. Are they the target audience?)

3. What’s the easy next step for them to take? (i.e. Click through to your New Arrivals or Shop your Sale)

A simple way to test if the right information is being portrayed is to show your homepage to someone who has never seen your site before. Ideally, someone who has no idea what your business is at all. 

Give them five seconds, then ask:

1. What products could you buy in this store?

2. Who would you say is buying these products?

3. What would you do first after clicking on this page?

If their answers match your intentions, fantastic! Your homepage is doing its job. If their answers feel vague or aren’t what you are expecting, it tells you that your content needs some attention. 

3. A well organised blog with a clear strategy

If we are talking about what makes a good online store, a strong blog has to sit very near the top of the list.

A blog supports:

• Search visibility (so people can find you when they search for topics related to your products)

• Customer education (helping them understand materials, care, sizing, styling)

• Email and social content (giving you a library of ideas to pull from)

• Product launches and seasonal campaigns (building anticipation and context)

To make your business blog successful, treat it as a content hub rather than a place to drop ideas when there is a spare hour.

A simple way to bring order is to think in topic clusters.

Pick three to five areas your customers care about, then shape a pillar page for each one. These act as anchors. From there, plan supporting articles that explore specific questions, routines, materials, stories, or problems customers are trying to solve.

Over time, this starts to look and feel like a hub of helpful, relevant content. Visitors can move around easily. Search engines recognise clear topic areas. Your team has a ready-made library to pull from when writing emails, social captions, help articles, or product features. That all totals up to a good online shop that's there to do the one thing it should be doing: helping your customers.

4. Clear and consistent collection pages

Collection pages often carry a huge amount of responsibility.

They are the bridge between your homepage, your campaigns, and your product pages. When a collection page feels like an unexplained grid, customers have to work hard to filter and compare.

When someone lands on your product collection page, they often have a loose intention in mind. Maybe they are doing some shopping for a holiday, looking to replace an old/broken item, buying a gift for someone - there's usually some kind of reason why they are there.

Consistent content on your collection page can respond directly to that intention. Short intros, fit notes, and signposts help people find the right section quickly. You might include:

• Set the scene for who the products suit

• Offer mini signposts, such as “Bestseller" or "New Arrivals"

• Suggest where to start, so people feel less overwhelmed by choice

• Link to other relevant collection pages, size guides, or how-to articles to help with the buying decision

These touches support both first-time visitors and long-time customers. Someone new to your brand can understand the range faster. Someone who already loves your products can move quickly to the category that fits their current needs.

When I support brands through ongoing content support, collection pages are often a high impact area. They shorten the time between landing on your site and reaching a relevant product. They create landing pages for your campaigns that feel inviting and simple to navigate. So a few focused paragraphs, updated filters, and better internal links can increase conversion, all without touching your ad budget.

5. Clear and consistent product descriptions

Just like your collection page content, your product descriptions also need to be clear and consistent.

Product descriptions sit right at the point of decision. That final stretch where someone hovers near the “add to basket” button with their card nearby. Which means that vague content has a direct impact on your revenue in multiple ways.

For example, you might be paying for traffic every day through ads or influencer campaigns. If people land on a product page and feel uncertain, they leave without adding anything to their basket. Others take a chance, place an order, and later send the item back because it did not match what they pictured.

Both cost you money.

Clear, specific product descriptions do three main things:

1. Explain what the product is in simple, customer-oriented language

2. Show how it fits into a real situation or routine

3. Cover the details that matter most for that collection

For example, an outdoor jacket might include guidance on warmth in different conditions, fit on various body shapes, how it layers, and how it feels to wear all day. A candle might describe the scent in terms of mood, room size, and burn time.

My advice here is to shape some sort of product description template that gives structure to your entire catalogue. Customers begin to learn where to look for things like sizing information, care instructions, suitability notes, and any warnings or tips. That familiarity, over time, often leads to clearer customer expectations, a reduction in fit-based returns, and a stronger sense of cohesion across the site. 

6. Helpful customer service content

When I work with a product-based business, one of the first things I recommend is a proper sit-down with the customer service team.

Because think about all the questions your team answers on repeat:

• When will my order arrive where I live?

• How do I exchange something?

• What happens if an item arrives damaged?

• How do I choose the right size?

• How do I care for this material?

All this is website content just waiting to happen. Content that supports current orders, supports your hardworking team, and supports potential customers who are still deciding whether to buy.

Now, of course, you will always get people ringing or sending an email, even if the answer is right there in front of them. So I won’t lie to you and say it will reduce your customer service tickets about sizing to zero. But if you could cut even 10% of those repetitive questions, how would that feel during a busy Black Friday morning, or in the run-up to Christmas when your team is already stretched?

Helpful customer service content works best when it appears throughout your site, ideally never more than a click or two away.

Of course, your blog fits naturally into providing this kind of content, but you can also make the most of other parts of your site too.

For example:

• Help Desk or FAQ pages to cover the most common queries all in one place

• Product page drop-downs for delivery, returns, and care information

• Order confirmation emails with quick reminders about delivery timelines, tracking numbers, what to do if something goes wrong etc.

• Live chat responses that link directly to help articles instead of typing the same answer repeatedly

A good user experience has always been a key part of SEO. Search engines pay attention to whether people can move through a shop without running into blockers. Clear customer service content helps because it answers the practical questions that often slow a shopper down. When someone can check delivery timings, sizing details, or care information on the spot, they keep moving through the shop in a natural way. This tells search engines that the site supports real customers well, which is an important marker of a good online shop.

Content element	The role it plays
A story-led, up-to-date About page	Gives people an instant sense of who you are, what you stand for, and why your products belong in their lives.
A homepage that passes the five second test	Helps visitors understand your shop straight away and guides them towards the next logical step.
A well organised blog with a clear strategy	Builds a bank of helpful content that supports search visibility, answers customer questions, and strengthens your brand expertise.
Clear and consistent collection pages	Helps shoppers understand your range quickly so they can jump to the products that fit their needs.
Clear and consistent product descriptions	Gives people the details they need to choose confidently, which supports both conversions and customer satisfaction.
Helpful customer service content	Reduces hesitation by answering practical questions at the point of need, which creates a better user experience across the whole shop.

Bringing the elements together as a system

Each of these content elements supports the others.

Helpful customer service content and pillar pages create a strong backbone of information. Clear product descriptions and purposeful collection pages make day-to-day shopping feel easier. A well organised blog and a story-led About page deepen the sense of connection over time. A focused homepage draws everything together and sends visitors in the right direction.

Together, they form a content ecosystem that feels reliable for customers and manageable for your team.

This is the work I love. Helping to turn your ideas, plans, and product range into A-game content that helps your shop sell.

So if your shop has the products, the ambition, and the traffic, but the content isn’t keeping up, let’s change that. Reach out today, and we’ll pinpoint the gaps that are holding your site back.

Let’s Review Your Content →