It’s helpful to look at successful models when trying to determine what the layout and design of your own website should be. If you look at some of the big players in the online sales industry, you’ll see certain trends in the layout, organization of colors, branding choices, and ease of navigation to the desired product.

Regardless of whether you’re selling clothing, sporting goods, electronics, or whatever else, sites are being built around displaying their products in the most flattering light possible, and doing whatever they can to not take attention away from the product. Product landing pages usually feature great shots of the product, and not much else. Manufacturers like Apple have the advantage of being able to stick to their own branding and feel, throughout their site. Resellers like Amazon or Best Buy are trying to sell a wide range of brands and products, so they aren’t able to have as sleek of a design, but they still stick to the idea of presenting the product with minimal or strategic distractions.

In Amazon’s case, they use every sale as opportunity to springboard into another. You don’t have to scroll down very far on a product page to get to a bunch of related items to purchase. When you make a purchase, the next screen after you finish the transaction starts recommending other items based on what you’ve been looking at. Amazon doesn’t feel the need to remind you that you’re on their website. They let their products do the talking.

Best Buy follows a very similar format but likes to use their branding a little bit more often, with the goal of trying to create a positive association between their in-store sales people and their customers. They aren’t just trying to sell you the product, but the idea that they are experts in their field, to try to get you to physically go to their store.

A sporting goods store like Big 5, also likes to present products in a similar fashion, although uses shots of people in the great outdoors enjoying the products, adding a little bit more personality, which might be better fitting for their target audience that Amazon can’t really take advantage of because of trying to appeal to everyone.

The best example for a manufacturer is Apple’s website. When you arrive on their landing page, you are greeted with a large, beautiful, picture of whatever their latest product is, floating in white space. The colors are white, with a little bit of black. All you see is their product. Nothing is distracting. The site strives for elegance to push their products as luxury items. The navigation is easy. The design is simple. Apple believes that less is more.

All of these companies have managed to strike a successful balance of highlighting the product over everything else to instigate a purchase. When designing for your own site, keep in mind that it may be a good idea to step back and let your product shine. Go for simplicity. Go for ease of use. Utilize white space to your advantage to make the product really pop. Make the search for the perfect product as short and easy as possible. Let the product sell your website instead of the other way around.