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How to design a listing page that converts
Plus, how to use non-Stripe-supported currencies in your Sharetribe marketplace
Fiona Burns
December 12, 2024
Hey - it’s Fiona
This weeks newsletter comes to you from a festive Copenhagen, where I’m devouring my weight in Danish pastries. All washed down with a few glasses of gløgg. T’is the season after all 🍷.
In today’s issue I cover:
Why the design of your listing page matters
How to optimise the design of your listing page for conversion
How to use non-Stripe-supported currencies in your Sharetribe marketplace
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
How can I improve the design of my listing page?
Redesigning the listing page has been one of the top requests I’ve received over the past five years. Many marketplace owners recognise that it’s an important page to get right, but they’re not always sure what they should do improve it.
What is a listing page?
A listing page is where all the details about a specific listing lives. If you have a product-based marketplace, it’s similar to a product page in e-commerce.
Why is the design of the listing page important?
Listing pages are like shopfronts for your vendors. They need to catch a customer’s attention and convince them to convert into a paying customer. They have to:
Showcase the listing in a compelling way
Provide enough information for customers to feel confident about making a purchase or booking
Convert while the customer’s interest is high. You don’t let them go cold!
Common Problems with Listing Pages
In my experience, listing pages often fall into three main traps:
1. Too much information
Some marketplace operators require providers to fill out extensive details in the “Create a Listing” form. While this isn’t inherently an issue, problems can arise when all that information is dumped onto the listing page without thoughtful organisation. This can result in a long, clunky page that overwhelms visitors. When faced with an endless scroll of poorly arranged text, users are more likely to abandon the page and search for something easier to digest.
2. Not enough information
On the flip side, some listings leave out critical details, forcing visitors to hunt for answers to basic questions. This lack of clarity creates hesitation, undermining trust and sending potential customers off to explore other, more comprehensive listings.
3. Poor visual hierarchy
Even when the right information is included, it’s often presented without a clear structure or hierarchy. If visitors have to work hard to locate key details, it can lead to frustration and quick exits. Worse still, a cluttered page can distract from the main call to action (whether that’s “Book,” “Buy,” or “Rent”), in favour of less important links like “Contact Host.”
If you’re able to address these pitfalls, you can create listing pages that are both engaging and effective at converting visitors into customers.
How to design awesome listing pages
When you’re an early-stage start-up, the first listings on your marketplace set the tone for your entire platform. They’re what potential customers will judge your marketplace by, so they need to showcase the very best of what you offer.
High-quality listings build trust, convey professionalism, and demonstrate the value of your marketplace.
In one extreme example, in the early days of Airbnb, the founders went from apartment to apartment, taking photographs of listings themselves!! It must have been a huge amount effort to do this, but it ensured every listing looked appealing and aligned with their high standards. It is said this was one of (many) things that contributed to their early success.
So, how do you create high-quality listings?
Step 1: Start with the “Create a Listing” form
High-quality listings begin with the “Create a listing” journey. Here’s a few things you can do to encourage providers to create great listings:
Listing title
Explain to the vendor what makes a great listing title. Provide examples or suggested formats they can follow.
Descriptions
You want the vendor to provide as much information as they can about the listing, and pre-empt any questions that might hold a customer back from converting. It is therefore, a good to provide help text to guide providers in what information they should include in the description. I also recommend using minimum and maximum character limits to ensure people write enough, but not too much.
Images
If images are important (e.g. in product, real-estate or experiences based marketplaces) then you should require a minimum and maximum number of photos. Add help advising providers to include high-quality images from multiple angles, as well as which aspect ratio the images should be.
Approval process
Particularly in the early days, I recommend that you review all new listings before they go live. If they’re not perfect, ask the provider to make the relevant edits, or you can make small adjustments yourself (e.g. fixing typo’s).
Step 2: Design a listing page that converts
Next, you want to make the listing page easy to scan, visually engaging, and focused on the main CTA. Here’s a few techniques I use when designing listing pages:
Minimise long blocks of text
Long paragraphs can feel overwhelming and make it harder for users to find what they need. Limit text blocks to 4–5 lines and include a “Read More” option for those who want to dive in further. This keeps your page concise and easy to scan, while allowing deeper engagement for interested users.
Use icons thoughtfully
Icons can break up text and make information more digestible, but only if they’re clear and relevant. Use simple, universally recognisable icons to represent key features or details, and avoid overloading the page with too many. This helps users quickly understand important points without unnecessary cognitive effort.
Be selective with colour
Colour is a powerful tool, but too much of it can be distracting or overwhelming. Stick to a cohesive palette that aligns with your brand. Use colour strategically to draw attention to key elements, such as CTAs or important sections. This keeps the design clean and professional.
Create clear sections
Organising information into well-defined sections makes it easier for users to navigate the page and locate what they’re looking for. Use headings, dividers, or whitespace to separate content logically, guiding users through the page.
Prioritise the CTA
The call-to-action (CTA) is the most important element on the page. It’s what drives conversions. Make sure your primary CTA, such as “Book,” “Buy,” or “Rent,” stands out by giving it a prominent position, contracting colour and clear, actionable text. Avoid letting secondary links or distractions compete for attention.
—> ✉️ Send me your questions and I’ll answer them in a future issue.
DESIGN SPOTLIGHT
Listing pages to inspire you
There are so many different ways you can design your listing page. But you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Here are a few marketplaces I take inspiration from when I’m designing listing pages for my clients.
1. Peer Space
Peerspace - Listing page
PeerSpace is a marketplace for booking unique venues for events, meetings, and productions. Their listing pages convey a huge amount of information without it feeling overwhelming, thanks to some clever design techniques:
Expandable text sections: The “About this space” section displays just three lines of text, with a “Read More” option should the reader wish to learn more. This keeps the page tidy and easy to scan, while still accommodating readers who need more information.
Accordion menus with icons: Key details are organised into expandable accordion sections with clear icons and titles. This design allows users to quickly locate and focus on the information they’re most interested in, such as amenities, pricing, or rules. By collapsing less relevant details, the page stays visually clean and user-friendly.
The love the design of PeerSpace’s listing pages. It’s both functional and engaging. Top marks!
2. Airbnb
Airbnb - Listing page
Airbnb applies different visual textures to the listing page to make it more engaging. From the images, icons, and badges, to lists and concise text blocks, every element feels intentional and adds to the overall experience. This variety makes the page easy to browse and visually appealing, even with a lot of content.
I also like that Airbnb highlight key decision-making details (such as number of beds) and interesting features (e.g. dedicated workspace) at the top of the listing page. This helps users to quickly understand the basics without scrolling, making it easier to decide whether to explore the listing further. By prioritising this information, Airbnb captures attention and provides immediate value to the user.
Airbnb manage to balance aesthetics with usability. This creates listing pages that are both beautiful and highly effective.
3. StockX
StockX - Listing page
StockX, a marketplace for high-demand products like sneakers and collectibles, is a great example of how simplicity can drive conversions. Their listing pages are designed to be short, concise and focused.
The design also prioritises the CTAs, “Buy now” and “Place Bid,” which is strategically placed near the top of the page, making it immediately noticeable. This encourages users to take action without hesitation. By reducing distractions and optimising the page for its primary goal, StockX proves that a clean, straightforward approach can be incredibly effective in pushing users toward conversion.
4. Hipcamp
Hipcamp - Listing page
I couldn’t write this section and NOT mention Hipcamp (my marketplace crush 😍). For those who don’t know, Hipcamp is a marketplace for camping and outdoor stays. One thing I really like about their listing pages is their thoughtful use of colour, particularly in their icons.
Rather than overwhelming users with bold or flashy elements, Hipcamp applies colour to their icons, adding subtle visual interest. This draws the user’s attention to important details (such as amenities, activities, and property highlights) without distracting from the overall design.
The simple colour palette gives the page a cohesive and natural feel, aligning perfectly with their brand and the outdoor experiences they offer.
NEW IN SHARETRIBE
Use non-Stripe-supported currencies in Sharetribe
At the end of November, Sharetribe released a new feature to allow marketplace operators to choose any currency from around the globe, so long as they’re not using online payments.
This is a big step forward for people building marketplaces in countries that aren’t supported by Stripe, and aren’t ready to invest in building a custom payment gateway integration.
For example, if you had a marketplace that was operating in Thailand, providers can now their price in Thai baht (THB). However, the users will need to handle the payments offline.
To set this up in your Sharetribe marketplace, here’s what you need to do:
Set listings to the “free messaging” transaction process type
Select your marketplace currency in the localisation settings.
Read the full details here if you want to learn how to do this yourself. Alternatively, feel free to give me a shout if you’d like some help.
—> ✉️ Send me your favourite tips and tools and I’ll feature them here.
Fiona Burns
Whenever you’re ready, there are two ways I can help you:
Sharetribe configuration - Feeling bamboozled by the Console, or simply lacking time? Leave it to me. I can set up, configure and customise your Sharetribe marketplace in no time.
UX/UI design - Whether you want to design some additional features, or redesign your entire marketplace with your own unique style, I'm here to help.
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