27 Ways to Improve Your Ecommerce Conversion Rate

Small changes to your online store can have a big impact on how many visitors become customers. The challenge is knowing where to start, since there are countless tips available online.

This guide covers 27 proven ways to improve your ecommerce store's conversion rate. Each tip focuses on changes that matter for small businesses, rather than large retailers with hundreds of locations and thousands of products.

Everything in this guide is supported by Merchant Tech. If you use a different platform, check its documentation for how to make each change with your setup.

Homepage

Your homepage is often the first page visitors see. Where a lot of shop owners go wrong is treating the homepage like they might a service business or personal site, by leading with a welcome message, a brand story, or general information.

For an ecommerce store, the homepage's main job is to show visitors what you sell and help them reach your products quickly. Your brand story still has a place on the page, but it works best after shoppers understand what they can buy.

It's the same as a physical shop. You don't make a shopper digest a lot of information right away. You present them with your products, sans clutter.

Here are four ways to improve your homepage.

1. Add category shortcuts

Category shortcuts direct visitors to your most important or popular product categories, similar to aisle signs in a grocery store. Place them near the top of the page so shoppers can get to the right place quickly.

Note: If you have a small catalog, consider featuring bestsellers instead. For example, a skincare brand with a five-product routine for dry skin (cleanser, serum, moisturizer, eye cream, and lip mask) could display a product grid right below the hero image instead of dividing five products into categories.

2. Show your range of products

Visitors should be able to understand what you sell within a few seconds. If you sell several types of products, like skincare, haircare, and candles, a shopper looking for candles may leave if they only see skincare.

How you approach this will depend on your product list. The question to ask yourself is: Are people correctly interpreting what I sell and finding the type of product they're looking for?

One recommendation is to show 40–50% of your product catalog on the homepage. This doesn't mean displaying every product, like a Shop All page. Instead, check that your homepage includes:

• A clear one-sentence description of what you sell
• At least half of your main product types

Note: If you sell one main type of product, like coffee beans, you can leave smaller product lines like merch or brewing equipment off the homepage. Focus on the products customers come to you for.

3. Choose your mobile links carefully

The links near the top of your mobile homepage should lead to shop pages that cover your full product range. For example, an apparel store that sells men's and women's clothing could use Shop Men and Shop Women buttons.

Avoid linking to non-shop pages or narrow subcategories early on. If you sell more than shoes and hats, links to Shoes and Hats alone can give shoppers the wrong impression of your catalog.

4. Surface value propositions and social proof early (but keep them brief)

Shipping costs, return policies, and delivery times are some of the most common concerns that cause shoppers to abandon a purchase. Addressing them near the top of your homepage answers those questions early.

Many stores use a banner with three selling points in a row, such as a free-shipping threshold, easy returns, and fast delivery. Other options include:

• The number of 5-star reviews you've received
• Publications that featured your brand
• Customer testimonials that show your product's value
• A cause you support, maybe with a percentage of sales or product donations
• Awards your products have won
• The research behind your product
• Your brand's family story

Keep this section short. A few clear points are easier for shoppers to scan than a long list.

Quick homepage checklist

Use this checklist to review your homepage:

• A hero section with one clear message and link
• Links to your main categories
• Value propositions (shipping threshold, returns, delivery speed)
• Bestsellers or new arrivals
• Social proof (review snippets)
• Brand story

Website navigation

Your navigation menu helps shoppers find products quickly. A clear menu lets visitors move from your homepage to the right category in a click or two, while a confusing one can send them to a competitor's site.

Here are six ways to improve your store's navigation.

5. Make product categories the top level of your mobile menu

On mobile, many stores place all their product categories under a single "Shop" link. This means shoppers need to open the menu, tap "Shop," and then choose a category before they see any products.

Instead, list your product categories as the first items in your mobile menu. Pages like About and Contact can appear below them.

For example, a candle shop's mobile menu might open to Candles, Diffusers, Gift Sets, and Sale, with About and Contact tucked below.

6. Organize categories into manageable groups

The number of subcategories in each category affects how easy your store is to browse. If a category grows past about 10 subcategories, consider dividing it into smaller groups.

Your most specific categories should also contain enough products to browse. Aim for at least 10 products in each one.

For example, a tea shop with 40 black teas, 30 green teas, and 25 herbal blends could create a separate category for each type. A shop with 12 teas in total could use a single Tea category and add filters for type, flavor, or caffeine level.

7. Avoid over-categorization

Over-categorization happens when a store splits its products into many small, overlapping subcategories. When categories overlap, shoppers have to guess where to find a product. If their first guess is wrong, they may assume you don't carry it.

To keep your categories distinct:

• Give each product one primary category.
• Combine subcategories that contain only a few products.
• Present themed groupings, like "Summer favorites" or "Gifts under $50," as collections separate from your main categories.

8. Highlight where the shopper is

When a shopper is browsing a category, highlight that category in your menu with bold text, an underline, or a different color.

This visual cue shows shoppers where they are on your site and how to return to a previous page. It's one of the most commonly missed navigation details, and it's usually a small design change.

9. Make dropdown headers clickable

Many stores use dropdown menus to group subcategories under a main category. For example, hovering over "Candles" might show Pillar, Taper, and Tealight.

Some shoppers will click the main category name instead of choosing a subcategory. Make sure the header itself links to a page that shows every product in that category.

10. Keep your header, promo bar, and footer focused

Shoppers expect to find certain information in each of these areas. Keeping them focused makes that information easier to find.

• Header. Include your logo, navigation menu, search bar, account link, and cart.
• Promo bar. Feature one current offer, such as a free-shipping threshold.
• Footer. Link to help and contact information, shipping, returns, order tracking, store policies, and an accessibility statement.

Your product page is where the decision happens. A shopper has found something they like, and now they need enough information to feel confident buying it. The tips below help you answer their questions before they have to ask.

Product pages

Product pages give shoppers the information they need to decide whether to buy. Clear photos and easy-to-find details help answer common questions about size, fit, cost, and returns.

Here are four ways to improve your product pages.

11. Include at least one "in scale" image

An in-scale image shows your product next to a familiar object or person, so shoppers can understand its size.

Examples include:

• A lamp on a nightstand
• A mug in someone's hand
• A backpack worn by a model

Many shoppers use photos to judge a product's size before reading its dimensions. In-scale images are especially important for furniture and home goods, where size determines whether a product fits a shopper's space.

Use your best judgment for what shoppers want to see from your product. If it’s a common consumable like tea, they probably don’t need to see scale but they will want quantity to be clearly distinguished when adding an item to their cart.

12. Show products on real people

For apparel, accessories, and cosmetics, photos of real people help shoppers understand fit, drape, color, and texture. Consider including model photos from several angles, along with customer photos submitted with reviews.

On mobile, use image thumbnails in your product gallery. Thumbnails let shoppers see all available photos and tap directly to the one they want.

13. Make important information easy to find

Shoppers often look for your return policy before making a purchase. Place a short summary of the policy near the add-to-cart button, with a link to the full policy.

Apply the same approach to shipping costs and delivery times. When this information appears on the product page, shoppers can get answers before they reach checkout.

14. Update product details for each option

When a shopper selects a different size, color, or scent, update the price, photos, and availability to match their selection. If the details stay the same, shoppers may be unsure what they're buying, or discover at checkout that an option is out of stock.

For products sold in multiple sizes, display the price per unit, such as per ounce or per count. This helps shoppers compare the value of each size.

Cart and checkout

Many shoppers add items to their cart and then leave before completing their purchase. Common reasons include unexpected costs, required account creation, and long checkout forms.

Here are five ways to make your cart and checkout easier to complete.

15. Show the total cost before checkout

Unexpected costs are the top reason shoppers abandon their carts. Show shipping, taxes, and fees as early as possible: an estimate on the product page, a running total in the cart, and a progress bar toward your free-shipping threshold if you have one.

The total a shopper sees in the cart should match the amount they pay at checkout.

16. Make guest checkout the most prominent option

Requiring first-time shoppers to create an account adds an extra step before they can pay. Make guest checkout the first and most visible option on your checkout page.

You can still encourage shoppers to create accounts. Offer account creation on the order confirmation page, with their details already filled in.

17. Keep checkout to about 12–14 form elements

Long checkout forms take more time to complete and give shoppers more reasons to leave. A well-designed checkout needs only about 12–14 form elements.

To shorten your checkout form:

• Use a single "Full name" field where possible.
• Hide "Address line 2" and "Company" behind a link shoppers can click if they need them.
• Set the billing address to match shipping by default.

18. Add address validation or lookup

Address autocomplete suggests a full address as shoppers type. This saves time and helps prevent typos that can lead to delivery problems. It's especially useful on mobile, where typing takes more effort.

19. Label fields clearly and be specific about errors

Mark both required and optional fields so shoppers know what they need to fill in.

When a shopper makes an error, explain what went wrong and where. For example, "Card number is incomplete" tells the shopper how to fix the problem, while "Invalid" leaves them guessing. Keep the information they've already entered, so they only need to correct the field with the error.

Performance and visibility

Page speed affects how shoppers experience your store. Slow-loading pages and layouts that shift while loading can cause shoppers to leave before they buy. Search visibility matters too, since shoppers need to find your products before they can purchase them.

Here are five ways to improve your store's performance and visibility.

20. Pass Core Web Vitals on mobile

Core Web Vitals are three metrics Google uses to measure the experience of real visitors on your site:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP). Measures how quickly the main content of a page appears.
• Interaction to Next Paint (INP). Measures how quickly a page responds when someone taps or clicks.
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). Measures how much a page's layout moves while it loads.

Check your product, listing, and checkout pages on mobile, since many shoppers browse on their phones. Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool shows your scores for any page on your site.

21. Prioritize LCP on product and listing pages

On product and listing pages, the largest element is usually the main product image. This means your LCP score depends largely on how quickly that image loads.

To improve LCP:

• Compress your product images.
• Use modern image formats, such as WebP.
• Set your first product image to load right away, before other page content.

22. Speed up the shopping journey

Many shoppers arrive on a product page from search or social media, then continue to the cart and checkout. Test the speed of each page along this path, in addition to your homepage.

Apps, tracking scripts, and chat widgets often load on every page of your site. Review your installed tools regularly and remove any you no longer use.

23. Submit your sitemap

A sitemap is a file that lists the pages on your site, which helps search engines find and index them. Most ecommerce platforms create a sitemap automatically.

To make sure Google can find it, submit your sitemap through Google Search Console. Check Search Console periodically to confirm that new products are being indexed.

24. Add structured product data (JSON-LD)

JSON-LD is code on each product page that describes your product in a format Google can read. It includes details like name, price, availability, brand, and reviews.

Google uses this data to display prices, stock status, and star ratings in Google Shopping and search results. AI shopping assistants increasingly use structured product data as well, so keep your prices and stock levels accurate and up to date.

Trust and persuasion

Shoppers tend to trust large, well-known retailers more than smaller or newer brands. Small stores also rarely have enough traffic to run reliable A/B tests. This makes honest, proven trust signals especially important for small businesses.

Here are three ways to build trust with shoppers.

25. Use countdown timers only for real deadlines

Countdown timers can encourage shoppers to buy when they reflect a real deadline. Examples include:

• The end date of a sale
• A carrier cut-off, such as "Order in 2h for Thursday delivery"

Fake timers, or timers that reset when a shopper reloads the page, can damage trust. Regulators in the EU have also started fining retailers for using them.

26. Show mandatory fees from the start

Drip pricing is the practice of revealing required fees late in the checkout process. It's a common cause of cart abandonment, and it's increasingly restricted by law.

Include every mandatory fee in the prices shoppers see from the start. This builds on tip #15, which covers showing the total cost before checkout.

27. Keep your reviews genuine

Genuine reviews, including critical ones, are one of the most effective ways to build trust. Shoppers are often suspicious of products with perfect 5-star ratings, and a few honest criticisms can make positive reviews more believable.

To build a genuine collection of reviews:

• Ask every customer for a review after their purchase, regardless of their experience.
• Mark reviews from verified buyers.
• Respond to critical reviews publicly and constructively.

In the US, the FTC's Consumer Review Rule prohibits buying reviews, posting fake or AI-generated reviews, offering incentives only for positive reviews, and suppressing negative reviews.

Start improving your store today

Many of the most common issues in this guide come from template, theme, or platform defaults, rather than choices store owners make. If your current theme limits which of these changes you can make, your platform may be part of the problem.

Merchant Tech makes these evidence-backed capabilities the default, and offers all features to all merchants for one price. Guest-first checkout, upfront total costs, and structured product data are built in, so you can get the most out of your store from day one.

Check it out.

Kate Maruyama

Kate is a Senior Editor at Merchant Tech where she oversees content that helps merchants understand platform tools, optimize their online stores, and grow their businesses.