When a store sells less than it should, the first reflex is often to buy traffic. That is rarely the right order. Bringing more visitors to a leaking store means paying more to lose just as much, proportionally.
Here are the five places we check first, whether on Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop or a custom-built store. None of them requires a redesign to be diagnosed.
1. The checkout
This is where buying intent is strongest, and where every bit of friction costs the most. The questions to ask:
- Do customers have to create an account to order? Guest checkout should always be possible.
- Do shipping costs only appear at the last step? A cost discovered at the moment of payment is among the reasons for abandonment that shoppers mention most often.
- How many fields have to be filled in? Every field that is not essential is a chance to leave.
- Are express payments — Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal or Shop Pay depending on the platform — on offer?
The simplest test is still the most revealing: place a complete order yourself, on your phone, as if you did not know your store.
2. Mobile
A large share of visits to online stores now happens on smartphones, while many stores are still signed off on a large screen. On mobile, check that the add-to-basket button is visible without scrolling, that photos can be zoomed with a finger, that each field opens the right keyboard — numeric for the phone number, email for the address — and that nothing covers the content: cookie banner, sign-up pop-up, chat bubble.
3. Speed
A slow product page does not show up on a dashboard: it shows up in the visitors who leave before it appears. The usual causes are well known: photos that are too heavy or in an old format, apps installed and then forgotten that still load their scripts, an overloaded theme.
On Shopify or WooCommerce, taking stock of the installed apps and plugins is often the quickest win. Each one has to justify what it costs in loading time.
4. The product page
The product page does the job of the sales assistant in a shop. It has to answer questions before they are asked: dimensions, materials, care, delivery time, return conditions. Photos that show the product worn or in context, not only on a white background. A clear price, with delivery costs stated.
A page that forces people to write to customer service to find out a delivery time or a size loses some of those who had already decided to buy.
5. Reassurance
On a store they do not know yet, shoppers look for proof before taking out their card: verifiable customer reviews, a readable returns policy, terms of sale and legal notices that are easy to find, a real way to get in touch. These elements must be visible where doubt arises — on the product page and in the basket — not only in the footer.
Knowing where you stand
Each of these five points can be checked. Some in a few minutes, by hand; others mean cross-referencing your analytics, your platform and your pages. What matters is to measure first, then fix in order of impact.
Our e-commerce page runs a first free analysis of your store in a few seconds: detected platform, speed, and the points holding back your sales.