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Does having a comparison table in WordPress make a significant difference? With 2.14 billion people shopping online, 65% of whom look up comparisons online even when in-store, and 24% of online shoppers compare products before making a purchase… the answer is a definite ‘Yes’.
Creating a comparison table in WordPress is an essential way for businesses and bloggers to present data in an organized and easily digestible way, providing discerning customers with all of the information they need to make a purchase without having to go elsewhere.
Comparison tables allow readers to quickly compare and contrast different products, services, or features, making it easier for them to make informed decisions.
In this article, we will show you how to make your content more engaging and informative by adding a comparison table in WordPress.
Creating a Comparison Table
Although you could spend ages designing and building a comparison table using HTML code, a far easier and quicker method is to use the hugely popular WordPress plugin AAWP.
- Using A Gutenberg Block
The simplest method is to use Gutenberg blocks to include the comparison table. Click on the “+” icon to create a new block and search for “AAWP”.
Click on the AAWP logo, this will embed the Gutenberg block on the page. Now pick the “Comparison Tables” option to embed the table. Click on the “Show more settings” option to reveal the settings submenu.
Switch to the “Block” tab and in the “Select a table” menu, pick the comparison table that we just created. If the table was configured correctly, this should show a preview of the table in the article.
Save any unsaved changes and publish the article. Your comparison table should now be visible to new visitors. Go to the blog page to check if everything looks correct. If you can’t see the table yet, clear the cache or try opening the page in an incognito window.
The Alternative to Gutenberg Blocks
If you’re not using the Gutenberg editor, AAWP allows you to create and customise a comparison table using a straightforward method.
Step 1 – Creating A New Comparison Table
After installing the AAWP plugin, start by opening the Tables submenu in the AAWP tab of your WordPress Dashboard. Click on the “Add New” button at the top of the screen to create a new table.
Make sure you give a descriptive title to the table. This is for your reference only and won’t be visible to your readers.
Step 2 – Adding Product Data Rows
Each item of data in the product listing will need to be included on its own row. For instance, this could include the product title, an image, the price, and a short description. You’ll need to add one row for each item of data you want to include. Click on “+ Add new row” to append a blank row at the end of your table.
You can add a label for each row; these labels are displayed in a separate column in the final table. If you leave this field blank for all of the rows then the label column will be omitted.
For each row, select the content type from the drop down menu. The menu contains some predefined values such as product title and images. However, you will need to use custom text and HTML fields to manually add specific product specifications to your table.
Continue adding more rows to your table. You can drag and drop each row in its right place to restructure the table, and click on the bin symbol to delete it.
Step 3 – Highlighting Specific Rows
To highlight a row in a particular color, click on the paintbrush icon next to the row you want to highlight. This changes the background color of the row in the final output, which makes it stand out.
Step 4 – Adding Product Links
In addition to the default “Buy on Amazon” button, you can also link to the Amazon listing in other rows in your comparison table. This is useful, as some users might not scroll all the way to the bottom of the table. By linking more rows, such as product image and product title, you can expect to see a rise in your click-through rate. Click on the “link” icon on the left of the desired row to add a link.
Scroll down to the next section to add products to your table. Click on the “Search for product(s)” button to search for products on Amazon. For example, searching for the term “television” will give you a list of popular products in this category. Select the products that you want to display and click “Confirm selection” to add them to your table.
If you are not able to find a specific product using the search option, you can add that manually by adding its ASIN. You can find this information in the product information section of the Amazon listing.
Step 5 – Customizing The Listings
If you would like to, you can customize the listing of each product. For example, if you want to add a custom image instead of using the default one provided by Amazon, you can do so by adding a custom HTML tag.
You can also highlight a column. To do this, click on “Show more options” on the product that you want to highlight. Click on “Select Color” to pick the accent color, and enter the text that you want to display over the listing.
Step 6 – Publishing Your Comparison Table
After you have created the table, click on the “Publish” button in the tab on the right to save the changes. Doing this will allow you to use this table in your posts. After publishing the table, it should be visible in the Tables submenu, along with any other tables that you created.
There are two main ways to include tables in your posts:
- Using Shortcodes
Take a note of the shortcode of the table; you can copy it by clicking on the clipboard icon conveniently placed next to it.
Now you can paste this shortcode into your blog posts to display the table on your website. Save the blog post after adding the shortcode, and make sure that it is visible to the public.
Closing Thoughts
AAWP makes it easy to create and customize tables, and provides a wide range of features that can help you effectively present your product comparison information. Start using AAWP today to make your content more interactive and engaging.
