A Simple Checklist That Most Stores Fail
I have audited hundreds of ecommerce websites over the past decade, and I have distilled the most common issues into seven critical checkpoints. If you are in ecommerce, I want you to open your website right now and check these seven points. Not tomorrow, not next week — right now. Because I can almost guarantee that at least three of them need attention, and every day you leave them unfixed is a day you are losing revenue to problems that are entirely within your control.
The Seven Points
First, check your mobile page speed. Open Google PageSpeed Insights and test your homepage and your best-selling product page. If your mobile performance score is below 50, you have a serious problem that is costing you customers every hour. Second, check your product images. Are they high quality, zoomable, and showing the product from multiple angles? Third, check your trust signals. Can a first-time visitor immediately see reviews, security badges, and clear returns information without scrolling? Fourth, check your checkout flow. How many steps does it take to go from cart to order confirmation? Every unnecessary step loses you customers.
Fifth, check your site search. Search for one of your products by a term a customer would actually use — not the exact product name — and see if it appears. Sixth, check your shipping information. Is it clearly visible on every product page, or does the customer have to hunt for it? Seventh, check your mobile navigation. Can a customer on a phone easily browse your categories, filter products, and find what they need in under 30 seconds?
Why These Seven Points Matter
These are not advanced optimisation techniques. They are the absolute basics of running a competent ecommerce store. Yet at MageCloud, when we run these checks on prospective clients’ websites, the majority fail on four or more of these seven points. The ecommerce brands that consistently grow are the ones that obsess over these fundamentals rather than chasing the latest trend or shiny new feature.
What To Do Next
If you checked your site and found issues — which you almost certainly did — do not panic. Prioritise them by impact. Page speed and product images will typically have the biggest effect on conversion rates, so start there. If you need help, come to one of our Ecommerce Camp events where we regularly workshop these exact issues with real store owners, or reach out to our team for a proper audit. The important thing is not to be perfect — it is to be better than you were yesterday and better than your competitors are today.