115-Point Ecommerce Conversion Rate Optimization Checklist of a 7+ Figure Online Store
Over the years, we’ve worked with hundreds of retailers and run thousands of ecommerce optimization campaigns.
So we dug into eight years of experience and put all our most important insights into one ebook.
That’s how this in-depth, 115-point ecommerce optimization checklist came about.
By the end of it, you’ll have a thorough understanding of all the on-site elements you need to optimize and how to do it.
We’ve designed this guide to be used in three ways. There’s a lot of content, so it’s advisable not to try and digest it all at once. Whatever your needs, an incremental approach will likely work best.
You can use this guide in the following ways:
As a comprehensive guide to conversion optimization, it’s structured in a top-down way, beginning with a general checklist that?s applicable to all areas of your site before moving onto checklists for specific types of pages and ideas for encouraging visitors to complete your most desired action.
Where appropriate, we’ve also elaborated on checklist points and best practices. We’ve included more information in the “general” section because these changes tend to lead to the biggest conversions.
CRO is the process by which you tighten up your whole conversion funnel, focusing on the “leakiest” parts first. We’ve tried to make this as easy as possible for you.
Handy dandy printable version of the whole 115-points Ecommerce Optimization Checklist. Click here to get the full, pdf version.
Get the full checklist in a pdf:
Ecommerce Optimization Checklist of a 7+ Figure Online Store
Read on!
When new website visitors land on your site, especially if they come from search engines, they have a specific set of questions. Your job is to gauge whether or not they are being answered as quickly as possible.
Though it isn’t always explicit, visitors usually want to know the following:
Crutchfield does that job in a great way: (1) clear headline and tag under the logo tells a user what he will find in this store and on this particular page (2) USP is clearly stated (3) Call to action in contrasting color is included (and links are in blue indicating what can be clicked)
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Anybody that comes to a site for the first time instantly takes in dozens of micro-impressions, all of which contribute to an opinion about trustworthiness.
Consider the following elements that can help build trust:
a. Professional design.
b. Number of customers or clients that you have.
c. Number of reviews (especially important during product pages optimization).
d. Years on the market (for example, “Established in 1985”).
e. Testimonials.
f. Phone number and contact information.
g. Awards.
h. HTTPS.
Note the multiple trust signals including HTTPS protocol, the green padlock for extended validation certification, the “secure” subdomain for checkout, and the prominantly placed Comodo security badge.
Not all of these will be appropriate for every page. But it’s important to bolster trust by including at least some.
Sites that “breathe” usually convert significantly better than those that are cluttered and difficult to navigate.
The Apple home page makes extensive use of “white space”. Also note the simple navigation.
At Growcode, we could talk for hours about grids. They’re one of the oldest elements of design and uniquely important for online retailers. Grids work for a number of reasons, particularly because they’re inherently easy to understand and a large percentage of visitors are used to them. It sounds like a simple thing, but you’d be surprised how many eCommerce site designers overlook it.
Grid-based layouts are one of the most popular designs in ecommerce. Following a grid system will make every online store beautiful and likeable. Reserved knows it very well.
Responsiveness refers to how well a site adapts to different browser sizes and devices. There are literally hundreds of devices and browsers, so it’s crucial that your site is designed to render well on all of them.
In the US, sales made on mobile devices accounted for 34.5% of all ecommerce sales in 2017. And that number is only expected to get bigger.
Parralax created great responsive website, which works perfectly on desktop and mobile. Responsive version is the first step if you want to improve your mobile checkout. Source.
We’ve mentioned the importance of highlighting USPs on your pages, but do you reinforce your main USPs across your whole site? By “bombarding” customers with your most persuasive USPs, they’ll form a clear connection between your store and the key benefits you offer.
If you offer free shipping on the majority of your products, shout it out on every page! We encouraged one of our clients to showcase the following slogan: “If you don’t get your product in 24 hours, we’ll pay for the shipping!” Needless to say, conversions increased.
Simply Hike communicates next day delivery on every page so the customer can be encouraged to buy on every step of the purchasing process. By “bombarding” customers with your most persuasive USP and ecommerce value proposition, they’ll form a clear connection between your store and the key benefits you offer.
Have you ever clicked on an ad only to land on a page that’s totally unrelated to what you were offered? It’s an incredibly frustrating feeling.
Ensure that all of your landing pages link up with your ads, especially on social media. And we’re not just talking about corresponding headers and page copy. The whole look-and-feel should reassure visitors they’re in the right place. All your other digital content marketing tactics can fail if you don’t take care of this small point.
After clickinig Daniel Wellington add about women watches we land on a category of women watches. Free shipping which is outlined in the add also appears here. Ensure that all of your landing pages link up with your ads.
Slow loading pages hurt SEO rankings and increase bounce rates (the number of site visitors that leave after visiting only one page). You can run all the multivariate tests in the world. But they won’t amount to anything if visitors leave before they see your pages! What’s more, improving page-load times can often have a dramatic effect on conversions.
Here are some practical tips for improving page load times:
All of these small tips can add up to reduce load times by fractions of a second. And in the online game, that’s all you need!
Slow loading pages can hurt SEO rankings and increase bounce rates. Improving page-load times can often have a dramatic effect on conversions. Graphic shows how website performance affects shopping behaviour. Source.
Are you making personalized product recommendations as a customer is browsing? When they land on a product page, do you include personalized suggestions? What about on a category page?
Oka Furniture gives recommendations after adding something to cart. It allows shoppers to explore new products that they might also want to buy. Source.
Including related product recommendations is all about increasing the percentage of customers that purchase more than one item.
How easy is it for a customer to check shipping policies or confirm that they’re able to make returns. These are two of the primary concerns that visitors have. Make it easy for them to find answers quickly and you’ll see immediate improvements in your page conversion rates.
On every product page on Reserved you will find return and shipping policy. It is easy for a customer to check shipping policies or confirm that they’re able to make returns. They don’t need to search for it.
Testimonials are one of the easiest ways to build trust with new customers. Are you including them prominently on product pages and alongside or underneath product listings on category pages?
Testimonials are one of the easiest ways to build trust with new customers. Glossybox have a group of devoted customers who every month are leaving reviews so it can help potential customers to make a decision about buying the product.
Split-testing of reviews – such as those which you show first on a page or showcase in the “featured” section – is uncommon but can be very worthwhile.
Always include a password recovery option on login pages. Something like, “Have you forgotten your password?” is all that’s needed. Also offer alternative recovery methods, such as answering security questions, for people who don’t have access to an email address.
Simply Hike created very simple password recovery option so it is as much easy as possible. “Forgot your password?” is just enough to make it clear for the customers what to do when forgetting their password.
Reviews are useful for building engagement with existing customers as well as trust with potential ones, leading to higher conversions all round. By encouraging customers to leave reviews on your site, either after checkout (find out how to optimize checkout funnel) or on return visits, you will create a solid collection of positive testimonials whilst also fostering engagement.
Reviews are useful for building engagement with existing customers as well as trust with potential ones. Seeing other giving reviews encourages to leave a review after shopping to feel as a part of comunity. On Sephora’s product page reviews are hard to miss.
Clear confirmation pages are about fostering satisfaction with your customers. By removing any doubt that their purchase has been successful (and is on its way), they will associate your brand with ease. Don’t overlook this minor but important part of your conversion funnel.
Crate&Barrel created simple “thank you page” where they comunicate a confirmation of the order. By removing any doubt that their purchase has been successful (and is on its way), they will associate your brand with ease.
Error pages and messages are equally important for boosting conversions because they let the user know when they need to take another action. If your error messages are ambiguous, then users may assume that they have achieved their desired outcome or they are unable to get what they want (such as a product is out of stock). Let users know something is wrong and be clear about what they need to do.
Whenever a visitor lands on a 404 page, their “customer journey” has been interrupted, often leading to annoyance and frustration. This is the time they are most likely to think, “I can’t be bothered with this, I’ll try another site.”
By being friendly (making a joke or saying something nice) you can overcome the tendency on the part of customers to close your tab in their browser. They’ll be more inclined to give you a second chance.
Whenever a visitor lands on a 404 page, their “customer journey” has been interrupted, often leading to annoyance and frustration. Crutchfield came up with funny idea to present the 404 page. Thanks to that customers should be more inclined to give you a second chance.
Typically, the About Us page tends to be one of the most visited pages of a site. Whenever a visitor lands on your about page, you have an excellent opportunity to build trust and engagement.
Here are some practical tips:
“About” page should build trust and show values of a company. Showing faces and their story behind the brand, just like MVMT does, is also a good idea.
It’s important to showcase promotions and offers on your site, but are you offering a number of different promotions to appeal to different segments of your customer base?
Tbdress shows the specific number of pieces available for its flash sale. This approach overcomes the knee-jerk reaction from customers of, “Oh, just another sale!” whilst also taking advantage of fear-of-missing out.
Free shipping is one of the most important considerations for customers when purchasing online. If it’s viable for you to offer free shipping and you don’t, then it’s something you should seriously consider.
Free shipping is one of the most important considerations for customers when purchasing #online. #freeshipping #ecommerce #optimization #checklist Click To Tweet
In the example above, HP adds “Free Shipping” alongside the promotion.
Navigation should follow a simple, hierarchical structure and utilize categories that most customers will recognize.
Navigation should follow a simple, hierarchical structure and utilize categories that most customers will recognize. Zalando is showing in several places in which category customer currently is.
Showing the number of products in a customer’s cart ensures they can keep track of their purchases and stay within budget.
Simply Hike uses this technique to allow customers to track their purchases and makes them aware that they’ve put something into the cart.
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💡 At Growcode, we develop and maintain online shops and B2B ecommerce on Magento!
