CRO
Website Conversion Checklist for Product and eCommerce Brands
Most online shops do not need a rebuild to sell more. They need fewer reasons for a visitor to hesitate. This checklist covers the seven places we look first when a product brand asks why visits are not turning into orders.
Work through it on your own phone, starting with your busiest pages. For most shops that is the homepage and two or three best selling product pages.
1. Make the promise clear in five seconds
Open your homepage and your top product page. Without scrolling, can a stranger tell what you sell, who it is for and why it is better than the alternative? If the answer needs the menu, a video or the second screen, the promise is not clear enough.
Good looks like a headline that names the product and what it does, a supporting line with the key detail, and a photo that shows the product clearly. “Refillable deodorant that lasts all day” tells people more than “Welcome to a new kind of self care”.
2. Give each page one main action
On a product page the main action is adding to basket. Newsletter signups, social links and other products should sit below it or come later. Check that the button:
- Can be seen without scrolling on a phone, or stays in view as the visitor scrolls.
- Uses plain words, such as “Add to basket”.
- Stands out in colour from everything else on the page.
- Changes to a clear message when an item is out of stock, with a way to hear when it is back.
Pop ups that appear the moment someone lands work against all of this. If you use one, delay it.
3. Put trust near the buy button
People hesitate just before they commit. That is where proof does the most work.
- The star rating and number of reviews next to the price.
- Delivery cost and timing beside the button, not only in the footer.
- Your returns policy in one short line.
- The payment options you accept, such as Apple Pay, PayPal or pay later.
- A few real reviews on the page that answer common doubts, such as fit, taste or how long it lasts.
4. Take the friction out of basket and checkout
Every extra step between basket and order is a chance to leave. Check that:
- Customers can check out as a guest. Forcing an account loses people.
- Express payments such as Shop Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay are switched on.
- Delivery costs are clear before checkout, ideally on the product page.
- The discount code box is not so prominent that it sends people off to search for a code.
- Forms ask only for what you need to deliver the order.
On Shopify, most of these are settings rather than development work.
5. Test every key page on a real phone
For most online shops, phones bring more visits than computers. Check your own analytics to see your split, then test on an actual phone, not a narrowed desktop browser. Look for:
- Text that is too small, and buttons too close together to tap.
- Product photos you have to pinch to see properly.
- Size guides and delivery details hidden in tabs that are fiddly to open.
- Forms where the keyboard covers the field, or the wrong keyboard appears for a phone number or email.
6. Make the pages faster
Slow pages lose visitors before they see anything. Run your top pages through Google PageSpeed Insights and look at the mobile results. The usual fixes on an online shop are:
- Resize and compress images before uploading. A product photo rarely needs to be several megabytes.
- Remove apps you no longer use. Some leave scripts behind that still load on every page.
- Cut back sliders and autoplaying video at the top of the page.
- Load chat and review widgets only on the pages that need them.
7. Track each step, not just sales
If you only track orders, you cannot see where people drop off. Make sure your analytics records each stage: product page views, adds to basket, checkouts started and purchases.
Then compare each step with the one before. If plenty of people add to basket but few start checkout, look at delivery costs and the basket page. If many start checkout but few finish, look at payment options and form fields. The numbers tell you which check to work on first.
Frequently asked questions
Should we redesign the whole site to improve conversion?
Usually not. Start with your busiest pages and work through the checks above. A redesign makes sense when the platform is holding you back, or the site no longer looks like the brand.
How quickly can conversion changes show results?
Simple fixes, such as clearer delivery information or express checkout, can show within a few weeks with steady traffic. With less traffic it takes longer to be sure, so make one change at a time and compare like for like periods.
What should we fix first?
Start with the biggest drop between steps in your tracking. If you have no tracking yet, set that up first, then begin with delivery information and the area around the buy button on your best selling product pages.
Where we can help
We design and build websites that are quick, easy to use on a phone and built around one main action per page. If you sell on Shopify, see our Shopify website design service. Our TimeFrame Gifts case study shows a Shopify store built so a first time visitor can understand the product and order without help.