Design & Branding Audit (12 Items)

Your store's design creates the first impression that determines whether visitors trust your brand enough to engage further.

  • Consistent color palette: Follow the 60-30-10 rule (see color psychology guide). Max 3–4 colors used consistently.
  • Professional logo: Clear, legible at small sizes, visible in the header on all devices.
  • Typography consistency: Max 2 font families across the entire store. Headings and body text clearly differentiated.
  • Hero section clarity: Homepage hero has a clear value proposition, single CTA, and is not a slideshow (see above-the-fold guide).
  • Image quality consistency: All product images have the same background, lighting, and aspect ratio.
  • White space: Adequate spacing between elements. Pages do not feel cluttered or cramped.
  • Footer completeness: Contains navigation links, contact info, social media links, legal pages (Privacy, Terms), and payment method icons.
  • About page: Tells your brand story with personality. Includes founder photo or team photo.
  • Favicon: Custom favicon set (not the default Shopify icon).
  • 404 page: Custom 404 page with navigation links and search bar (not a dead end).
  • No broken images: Browse every page and collection to verify all images load correctly.
  • Brand voice consistency: Copy tone is consistent across all pages (product descriptions, about page, emails).

User Experience Audit (14 Items)

  • Navigation clarity: 4–7 top-level menu items with descriptive names. No more than 2 levels of dropdown.
  • Search bar visible: Expanded search field in header on desktop. Magnifying glass icon on mobile.
  • Breadcrumb navigation: Visible on product and collection pages.
  • Product filters: Price, size, color, and category filters on collection pages with 30+ products.
  • Cart accessibility: Cart icon in header with item count badge. Accessible from every page.
  • Checkout flow: Test the complete checkout process on desktop and mobile. Note any friction points.
  • Guest checkout: Enabled (do not require account creation to purchase).
  • Express checkout: Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay enabled for one-click mobile checkout.
  • Contact information: Email address, phone number, or live chat accessible from every page.
  • Back button behavior: Pressing back from a product page returns to the correct position in the collection.
  • Loading indicators: Spinner or skeleton screen when content is loading.
  • Error handling: Clear error messages for form validation, out-of-stock items, and failed actions.
  • Accessibility: EA Accessibility widget or manual WCAG compliance. Keyboard navigation, screen reader support, focus indicators.
  • Announcement bar: Announcement bar communicating free shipping threshold, current sale, or key differentiator.

Product Page Audit (12 Items)

  • High-quality images: Minimum 4 images per product. Multiple angles, lifestyle shots, detail close-ups.
  • Product video: At least one video on top-selling products. 15–60 seconds showing the product in use.
  • Descriptive title: Includes key benefit + product type + differentiator (see copywriting guide).
  • Benefit-focused description: Leads with benefits, not features. Uses bullet points for scannability.
  • Price visibility: Price clearly displayed. Sale prices show original crossed out.
  • Add-to-cart button: Prominent, high-contrast color. Visible above the fold. Sticky add-to-cart bar installed.
  • Reviews displayed: Star rating near product title. Full reviews below the fold. 20+ reviews on top products.
  • Variant selectors: Size, color, and quantity selectors easy to use on mobile and desktop.
  • Shipping information: Estimated delivery time and shipping cost displayed on the product page.
  • Return policy: Return policy displayed near the add-to-cart button.
  • Trust badges: Payment security icons and guarantee badges near the CTA.
  • Cross-sell recommendations: "You may also like" or "Frequently bought together" section. EA Upsell & Cross-Sell automates this.

SEO & Technical Audit (10 Items)

  • Unique title tags: Every page has a unique, keyword-rich title tag under 60 characters.
  • Meta descriptions: Every page has a unique meta description (120–160 characters) that includes the target keyword.
  • H1 tags: Every page has exactly one H1 tag containing the primary keyword.
  • Alt text on images: All product images have descriptive alt text for SEO and accessibility.
  • XML sitemap: Sitemap.xml exists and is submitted to Google Search Console.
  • Robots.txt: Properly configured to allow search engine crawling of important pages.
  • Canonical tags: Correct canonical tags on all pages to prevent duplicate content.
  • Structured data: Product schema markup on product pages (price, availability, reviews).
  • Internal linking: Products link to related products. Blog posts link to relevant product pages.
  • Google Search Console: Connected and monitored for crawl errors, indexing issues, and keyword performance.

Page Speed Audit (8 Items)

  • LCP under 2.5 seconds: Test with Google PageSpeed Insights. Largest Contentful Paint should be under 2.5s.
  • Total page size under 3MB: Check with GTmetrix. Smaller pages load faster on mobile.
  • Images optimized: WebP format, compressed, responsive sizes for mobile. EA Page Speed Booster automates this.
  • Lazy loading: Images below the fold use lazy loading to defer off-screen image loading.
  • Unused apps removed: Uninstall any Shopify apps not actively used. Each adds JavaScript payload.
  • Minimal custom code: Remove any inactive tracking scripts, chat widgets, or third-party code.
  • Font optimization: Max 2 font families, loaded with font-display: swap.
  • Core Web Vitals passing: All three Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID/INP, CLS) passing in Google Search Console.

Conversion Optimization Audit (10 Items)

  • Email popup: Email capture popup active with a compelling incentive. Captures 3%+ of visitors.
  • Free shipping bar: Free shipping progress bar showing how much more to spend for free shipping.
  • Sticky add-to-cart: Sticky CTA bar visible on scroll.
  • Urgency elements: Countdown timers on genuine limited-time offers. Low stock indicators when applicable.
  • Cart abandonment recovery: Automated cart abandonment emails active (3-email sequence).
  • Upsell/cross-sell: Product recommendations on product pages and cart page.
  • Social proof: Reviews, testimonials, "X people bought this today" indicators.
  • Clear value proposition: Above-the-fold messaging communicates what you sell and why it matters.
  • Exit-intent popup: Captures leaving visitors with a final offer.
  • Thank you page optimized: Post-purchase upsell, referral, and next-purchase discount on the thank you page.

Mobile Experience Audit (8 Items)

  • Responsive layout: All pages render correctly on mobile without horizontal scrolling.
  • Font size: Body text at least 16px. Headlines at least 24px on mobile.
  • Tap targets: All buttons and links at least 44x44 pixels for easy thumb tapping.
  • Mobile navigation: Hamburger menu works smoothly. All pages accessible within 2 taps.
  • Mobile checkout: Express checkout options (Shop Pay, Apple Pay) prominently displayed.
  • No intrusive interstitials: Popups do not cover the full screen on mobile (Google penalty risk).
  • Mobile page speed: Under 3 seconds load time on 4G connection.
  • Test on real devices: Browse your entire store on your actual phone, not just a browser simulator.

Marketing & Email Audit (8 Items)

  • GA4 properly configured: Tracking all pages, ecommerce events, and custom events for micro-conversions.
  • Meta Pixel installed: Tracking page views, add-to-cart, and purchase events for retargeting.
  • Welcome email series: Automated 3–5 email sequence for new subscribers.
  • Cart abandonment emails: 3-email automated sequence triggered within 1 hour of abandonment.
  • Browse abandonment emails: Automated flow for identified visitors who viewed products without purchasing.
  • Win-back emails: Automated sequence for lapsed customers (see win-back guide).
  • Post-purchase sequence: Review request, cross-sell, and repurchase emails after delivery.
  • Social media active: Posting consistently on at least one platform with a content calendar.

Trust & Social Proof Audit (6 Items)

  • SSL active: HTTPS on all pages (Shopify provides this automatically).
  • Reviews on top products: At least 20 reviews on your top 10 products.
  • Return policy page: Clear, easy-to-find return and refund policy.
  • Privacy policy & Terms: Legal pages present and linked from the footer.
  • Contact page: Multiple contact options (email, phone, chat, contact form).
  • Payment method icons: Displayed in footer and near checkout buttons.

Fix the Quick Wins First

The fastest audit fixes are installing free apps that address common conversion issues. Sticky ATC, free shipping bar, email popup, and upsell recommendations each take minutes to install and collectively lift conversions 20–40%.

Install Sticky Add to Cart (Free)

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I audit my Shopify store?

Conduct a full audit quarterly and a focused audit monthly. The quarterly audit covers all 75+ items. The monthly audit focuses on speed, conversion metrics, and any recently changed elements. After making significant changes (new theme, new product line), run an immediate targeted audit.

What is the most important thing to fix first?

Start with page speed (affects every visitor), then mobile experience (70%+ of traffic), then CTA visibility (sticky add-to-cart), then trust signals (reviews, shipping info). These four areas have the highest impact on conversion rates and are relatively quick to fix.

How do I audit my Shopify store for free?

Use Google PageSpeed Insights for speed, Google Search Console for SEO, GA4 for analytics, GTmetrix for detailed performance analysis, and manual browsing on mobile and desktop for UX. This checklist provides the framework. All you need is time and attention to detail.

What conversion rate should I aim for after an audit?

The average Shopify conversion rate is 1.4%. After a thorough audit and fixes, aim for 2-3%. Top-performing stores achieve 3-5%. Focus on incremental improvement rather than a specific number. Even going from 1.4% to 2% represents a 43% revenue increase at the same traffic level.

Should I hire someone to audit my Shopify store?

For stores under $50K/month, a self-audit using this checklist is sufficient. For stores over $50K/month, consider hiring a CRO specialist for a professional audit with heatmap analysis and user testing. The investment typically pays for itself within 30-60 days through conversion improvements.