The Conversion Rate Optimisation Checklist
The highest-impact fixes you can make to your website before spending another dollar on traffic. Work top to bottom.
★ · 7 min read · Fix these before you buy more traffic
Why Fix Conversion Before Buying More Traffic
If 2% of your visitors convert, doubling your traffic doubles your leads — but if you lift conversion to 4% first, the same traffic produces twice the result without extra spend. As paid search and SEO costs rise, improving the percentage of visitors who convert is usually the cheapest growth available to you.
Most conversion gains do not require a redesign. They come from removing friction that stops people acting: unclear messaging, competing calls to action, over-long forms, confusing errors, slow mobile pages and missing trust signals. This checklist walks through them in priority order.
The Five Areas That Move Numbers Most
1. Clarity above the fold. In the first screen, a visitor should know what you do, who you help, and what to do next. If they cannot answer those three within seconds, nothing below the fold matters.
2. One clear primary call to action. A page trying to make visitors book, call, download and buy simultaneously converts worse than one asking for a single next step. Repeat the same primary action down the page so the path is unmistakable.
3. Frictionless forms. Ask only for what you genuinely need to quote. Show errors before submission, in text. Make labels permanent rather than disappearing placeholders. Every extra field costs you completions.
4. Trust, placed near the ask. Testimonials, credentials, client logos, guarantees and case-study proof should sit close to the first call to action — not buried on a separate page.
5. Mobile and speed. Most traffic is mobile. If the layout breaks, tap targets are tiny, or the page takes more than a few seconds on a real mobile connection, you are losing people before they ever read a word.
Test, Do Not Just Assume
Conversion opinions are unreliable — the founder, designer and developer can all look at the same page and disagree. The only way to know what works is to run a controlled A/B test against live traffic and measure whether the change produces a real lift in your target conversion.
A good CRO process tests one meaningful change at a time, defines the primary metric upfront, lets the test run long enough to be trustworthy, and only then rolls out the winner. If you cannot run structured tests because traffic is low, prioritise the checklist items above — they are well-established wins regardless.
The Conversion Optimisation Checklist
Work through these in order — the top items usually deliver the biggest lift.
- Your headline clearly states what you do and who you help
- The primary call to action is obvious and repeated down the page
- There is only one primary action competing for attention per page
- Your contact form asks only for what you genuinely need
- Form labels are permanent, not disappearing placeholder text
- Form errors appear before submission, in clear text
- Trust signals — testimonials, credentials, guarantees — sit near the first call to action
- Your phone number is tappable and visible on mobile without scrolling
- Page speed is acceptable on a real mobile connection
- The layout works properly on mobile, with no horizontal scrolling
- Headings and subheadings make the page scannable at a glance
- Your most valuable offer or content sits directly below the hero
- Navigation is simple, and every page is reachable in one or two clicks
- Images are optimised, with descriptive alt text for accessibility and SEO
- There is no distracting pop-up or interstitials blocking the main content
- The tone and proof address the main reason people hesitate to buy
- Any form or CTA asks for a clear, low-commitment next step (not “all the sale”)
- You are tracking conversions properly — form submissions, calls and purchases
- You know your conversion rate baseline before making changes
- You prioritise changes by revenue impact, and test significant ones before rollout
CRO Checklist — FAQ
What is the single biggest conversion fix for most websites?
Usually clarity about what you do and who you help, right at the top of the page, followed by one unmistakable primary call to action. Most visitors leave because they are unsure whether they are in the right place or what to do next — fixing that usually outperforms any cosmetic change.
Do I need more traffic or a better converting website?
Fix conversion first. Doubling your traffic doubles leads, but lifting conversion from 2% to 4% doubles leads from the traffic you already have, at no media cost. Improve conversion to a reasonable baseline first, then scale traffic into a funnel that already works.
How many fields should my contact form have?
Only the ones you genuinely need to quote or start the work — usually name, contact method and a short brief. Every extra field measurably reduces completions. If you need more detail, ask for it after the first enquiry, not before it.
How long does a conversion test take to show results?
It depends on your traffic. Formal A/B tests typically need 4–8 weeks and enough conversions to detect a real lift. Lower-traffic sites can still gain from the checklist quick wins immediately, then move into structured testing as volume grows.
Should I redesign my website to improve conversions?
Not usually as a first step. Most conversion gains come from targeted changes to the pages you already have. Redesign only when testing shows the underlying structure is the real constraint — it is a bigger, more expensive commitment than it first appears.
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