Shopify CRO Audit 148-Point Megalist

Why Your Shopify Store Needs a CRO Audit

The average Shopify store converts at just 1.4%. The top 10% of stores hit 3.2% or higher. That gap represents thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands, of dollars in missed revenue every year.

If you are spending money on ads, SEO, or email marketing to drive traffic but your conversion rate sits below 2%, you do not have a traffic problem. You have a conversion problem. Somewhere between the first page load and the final checkout click, potential customers are dropping off. The good news is that even small changes can increase your conversion rate significantly once you know where to look.

A conversion rate optimization audit is how you find those leaks. It is a systematic, page-by-page review of your entire Shopify store, measuring every element against proven best practices. Instead of guessing what to fix, you get a clear, prioritized list of changes that will move your conversion rate.

The average Shopify conversion rate benchmarks vary by industry, but one thing is consistent: stores that run regular CRO audits outperform those that do not.

What This 148-Point Shopify CRO Audit Covers

This is not a surface-level checklist. Each of the 148 points maps to a specific, testable element of your Shopify store. Here is what you will audit:

Homepage & Navigation

Your homepage has roughly 3 seconds to communicate what you sell, why it matters, and what to do next. This section audits your hero section, value proposition clarity, navigation structure, site search functionality, and above-the-fold content hierarchy. You will check whether visitors can find products without friction and whether your homepage merchandising drives them toward high-converting pages.

Learn more about ecommerce landing page optimization and the principles that make homepage layouts convert.

Collection & Category Pages

Collection pages are where most shoppers start browsing, especially from paid traffic. This section covers filter and sorting functionality, product grid layout, merchandising order, collection descriptions for SEO, and the overall browsing experience. Poorly designed collection pages are one of the most common, and most overlooked, conversion killers.

See our guide on how to design high-converting Shopify collection pages for detailed strategies.

Product Pages

The product page is where the buying decision happens. This audit section is the largest, covering product descriptions, image quality and quantity, buy-box layout, pricing display, variant selectors, shipping information placement, trust signals, customer reviews integration, cross-sells, and urgency elements. Every element is scored for its impact on the "Add to Cart" conversion.

For a deep dive into what makes product pages convert, read the essential CRO checklist for ecommerce websites.

Cart & Checkout Optimization

Nearly 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned before checkout. This section audits cart page layout, order summary clarity, shipping cost transparency, payment option visibility, guest checkout availability, trust signals at checkout, form field optimization, and post-purchase upsell opportunities. Even small improvements here can recover significant revenue.

Read about 7 ways to optimize your checkout and stop leaking money.

Mobile Experience

Mobile shoppers convert at roughly 1.2% compared to 1.9% on desktop, a 37% gap. With mobile traffic accounting for 70%+ of visits to most Shopify stores, this section is critical. You will audit touch target sizes, mobile navigation, sticky add-to-cart behavior, mobile checkout flow, image loading on slower connections, and whether your mobile experience feels native rather than like a shrunken desktop site.

Technical Performance

Slow stores do not convert. A 1-second delay in page load time can reduce conversions by up to 7%. This section covers Core Web Vitals (LCP, CLS, INP), page load speed, image optimization, app bloat, render-blocking scripts, and broken links. You will use Google PageSpeed Insights to score each key page and identify technical bottlenecks.

Track these alongside your other key ecommerce metrics to build a complete performance picture.

Trust & Social Proof

Shoppers need to trust your store before they hand over their credit card. This section audits review placement and quality, trust badges, security seals, return policy visibility, shipping guarantees, "About Us" page credibility, and contact information accessibility. Missing even one of these signals can tank conversion rates, especially for first-time visitors.

Analytics & Tracking Setup

You cannot optimize what you do not measure. This final section verifies your Google Analytics 4 configuration, conversion tracking accuracy, enhanced ecommerce events, heatmap and session recording setup, and UTM parameter consistency. Do not overlook micro-conversions like add-to-cart clicks, email signups, and wishlist adds. These smaller actions reveal where users engage and where they stall, giving you a much clearer picture than purchase data alone.

Explore the best Shopify CRO tools to make sure your analytics stack is complete.

How to Use This Audit

This checklist is designed for action, not theory. Here is the step-by-step process:

1. Download the spreadsheet - Click the button above to get instant access to the Google Sheet.
2. Duplicate it - Save a copy to your own Google Drive so you can edit and track progress.
3. Walk through your store - Open your Shopify store in an incognito window and go through each audit point as if you were a first-time customer.
4. Score each item Pass or Fail - Be honest. A "maybe" is a Fail.
5. Prioritize your fixes - Sort failed items by estimated impact (high, medium, low) and effort required.
6. Implement and test - Make changes one at a time and measure the results. Run A/B tests on your Shopify store for any change that affects a high-traffic page.

The full audit typically takes 2-3 hours. If you want a faster starting point, try the 5-Minute AI-Powered CRO Audit to get a quick snapshot of your biggest opportunities before diving into the full 148-point review.

Tools You Will Need for Your Audit

You do not need expensive software. These free and affordable tools will cover everything:

• Microsoft Clarity or Hotjar - For heatmaps and session recordings that show exactly where users click, scroll, and drop off. Learn how to analyze heatmap data for Shopify CRO.
• Google Analytics 4 - For conversion funnels, traffic segmentation, and revenue attribution. Here is how to set up GA4 for Shopify CRO measurement.
• Google PageSpeed Insights - For Core Web Vitals scoring and technical performance diagnostics on every key page.
• Shopify Analytics - The built-in reports are a solid starting point for sales funnels and product performance data.
• Google Search Console - For identifying SEO issues, crawl errors, and mobile usability problems that affect organic traffic.

What to Do After Your Audit

Completing the audit is step one. Here is how to turn your findings into revenue:

Prioritize by impact and effort. Start with high-impact, low-effort fixes - things like adding trust badges, fixing broken images, or improving shipping cost transparency. These quick wins often produce measurable lifts within days.

Run A/B tests on significant changes. Do not redesign your product page and hope for the best. Test one variable at a time. Compare the best A/B testing tools for Shopify to find one that fits your traffic volume and budget.

Set up proper funnel tracking. Before and after any changes, make sure you are measuring the full customer journey from landing page to purchase confirmation. Follow our step-by-step guide to Shopify funnel tracking to get this right.

Consider professional help for complex issues. Some audit findings, like checkout flow redesigns, custom theme development, or advanced analytics setups, benefit from expert implementation. Check out our conversion rate optimization services.

See How Top Brands Approach CRO

Want to see what great conversion optimization looks like in practice? We have broken down the CRO strategies of some of the world's biggest ecommerce brands:

• Nike CRO Breakdown - How Nike structures product pages and drives urgency
• ASOS CRO Breakdown - Collection page design and filtering done right
• Sephora CRO Breakdown - Trust signals and social proof for high-consideration retail
• Temu CRO Breakdown - Aggressive conversion tactics and mobile-first design

Use these as inspiration when implementing changes from your own audit.