IA Library · Page pattern · Reasoned, not built
Item page
“Is this the one, and how do I get it?”
Its action: The item’s own action: enquire (viewing) for listings, book for rooms and tours, buy for products.
RequiredConditional on the briefCommon, not requiredLeft out for this briefYour content
Used by
Why this pattern works5 statements · 2 sourced · 1 untested or unknown · thin evidence
How sure we are
Worked out from research and real briefs. No site has been built from it yet, so treat it as reasoning to check, not a tested template.
Thin evidence: The bookable variant rests on one market study (Albania).
What it answers
Its job Give one property, room, tour, vehicle or product everything needed to decide, and one action.
Use it when
- Each item is distinct and people compare them: properties, rooms, departures, cars, catalog pieces.
Not when
- Items that are interchangeable (a bakery’s loaves): a list with prices does it.
- A small hotel whose rooms barely differ. One rooms page may serve; whether a 40-room hotel needs an index at all is open.
What the research says
- Listings appeared in 9 of the briefs we studied; bookable items in 8, all from one market study.
- For products, Baymard’s research on large e-commerce sites applies; how far it transfers to a small shop is unknown.
- UK property listings: price, tenure and council tax on the first page of the listing (Trading Standards, Part A).
Common mistakes
- Marketing renders shown as if they were photographs of a finished building.
- The price behind a form.
What changes with the brief
| What do people do with one item? Book dates | Adds dates and the price for them; the action becomes book. |
|---|---|
| What do people do with one item? Buy it | The action hands off to the shop’s basket. Delivery and returns go beside it. |