CRO Checklist for Ecommerce

If you’re getting traffic but sales feel stuck, you don’t have a traffic problem.

You have a conversion problem.

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is the fastest way to grow revenue without increasing ad spend. Instead of buying more visitors, you help more of the visitors you already have actually purchase.

This guide walks through a practical ecommerce CRO checklist you can use immediately.

What is CRO?

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is the process of improving your website experience so a higher percentage of visitors complete a desired action (purchase, signup, booking).

Simple formula:

Revenue = Traffic × Conversion Rate × AOV

Most teams obsess over traffic.
Smart teams improve conversion and AOV first.

Ecommerce CRO Checklist

Use this as a working audit.

Homepage

Quick wins

• Clear headline explaining what you sell

• Above-the-fold CTA

• Show bestsellers immediately

• Remove clutter/navigation overload

• Add trust signals (reviews, logos, guarantees)

• Fast load time (<2s)

• Mobile-first layout

• Visible search bar

• Featured bundles or offers

Why it matters

Visitors decide in 3–5 seconds whether to stay.

Collection / Category Pages

Quick wins

• Filters that actually help (price, size, type)

• Sort by “best sellers”

• Show reviews under products

• Quick add-to-cart

• Visible price + discount badges

• Lifestyle images (not just product shots)

• Pagination or lazy load

• Sticky filters on mobile

Why it matters

Better discovery = more products viewed = higher conversion.

Product Detail Pages (PDP)

This is where most revenue is won or lost.

Must-have fixes

• Clear product benefit headline

• 5–8 images minimum

• Short bullet benefits above the fold

• Social proof (ratings + reviews)

• Size guide / FAQ

• Shipping & returns info

• Trust badges

• Sticky “Add to Cart” on mobile

• Urgency (stock or delivery date)

• Bundles or “frequently bought together”

High-impact experiments

• UGC images/videos

• Comparison charts

• Before/after visuals

• Guarantee messaging

• Price anchoring

Cart

Quick wins

• No surprise fees

• Shipping calculator

• Remove forced account creation

• Show savings

• Display trust/security

• Highlight free shipping threshold

• Upsells (small add-ons)

• Clear checkout button

Why it matters

Unexpected friction = abandoned carts.

Checkout

Must fix

• Guest checkout

• Fewer fields

• Autofill enabled

• Express pay (Apple Pay, Shop Pay, Google Pay)

• Clear progress bar

• Multiple payment methods

• Mobile optimized

• No distractions

• Reassurance copy

Goal

Speed + clarity + trust.

Post-Purchase

Most brands stop here. Big mistake.

Quick wins

• Thank you page upsell

• Referral offers

• Email capture incentives

• Review requests

• Loyalty signup

• Cross-sell emails

• Reorder reminders

Why it matters

Retention > acquisition.

CRO Experiments to Run First

Start here for fastest ROI:

1. Add express checkout

2. Improve product page copy

3. Add reviews above fold

4. Test bundles

5. Improve mobile speed

6. Add abandoned cart emails

7. Add free shipping threshold

8. Test hero headline

9. Add sticky ATC

10. Remove form fields

Tools We Use

• GA4

• Hotjar / Clarity

• Shopify analytics

• A/B testing tools

• Looker/Tableau

• Post-purchase email automation

Final Thought

Most ecommerce growth doesn’t come from new traffic.

It comes from making your site easier to buy from.

Fix conversion first. Then scale ads.

If you want help auditing your funnel, let’s talk.

👉 Kiwaluk Digital