The e-commerce CRO checklist: 22 things that actually move conversion

How to use this list

Go top to bottom. Don't skip to the fun ideas — they're lower-impact for a reason. Ship, measure, next.

Product page

1. Above-the-fold clarity. One product, one price, one CTA visible on mobile without scrolling.
2. Benefit-led headline. Not "Comfort Tee" — "The tee you'll reach for five days a week."
3. Trust under the CTA. Reviews, returns, delivery time, payment icons.
4. Social proof in the first scroll. Rating, review count, UGC photos.
5. Video on product. 15-second loop, autoplay muted. Conversion lift 10–25%.
6. Urgency without gimmicks. "Ships today" works. "Only 3 left!!!" insults intelligence.
7. Upsell on add-to-cart. Not on the PDP — it hurts. On the cart drawer — it helps.

Cart and checkout

8. One-page checkout. Multi-page is 2015 thinking.
9. Guest checkout default. Account creation is post-purchase.
10. Apple Pay / Google Pay above the fold in checkout.
11. Real shipping costs as early as possible. Surprise fees kill.
12. Address auto-complete. Google Places or equivalent.
13. Phone number optional unless required. Friction matters.
14. Post-purchase upsell page. One-click add before the thank-you. Highest-intent moment of the funnel.

Lifecycle

15. Abandoned cart 3-email flow. 1 hour, 24 hours, 72 hours. 10–30% recovery typical.
16. Browse abandonment flow. Higher intent than most teams realise.
17. Post-purchase flow. Shipped, delivered, review, replenishment.
18. Winback at 60/90/120 days. Incentive ladder, not one-and-done.

Site-wide

19. Search that works. 15% of serious buyers use it. Bad search = dead session.
20. Fast. Genuinely fast. LCP under 2s. Checkout under 1s.
21. Size and fit content. For apparel, size guides, fit charts, reviewer height/size.
22. Live chat or AI agent. 24/7, with a real human escalation path.

What most brands get wrong

They skip 1–7 because they're "already done" (they're not) and jump straight to pop-ups and gamified wheels. Those add 0.1% and burn brand equity. Do the boring stuff first.

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