CRO Audit Report
⚠️ No Mega Menu for Category Navigation
Navigation uses a standard top nav without mega menu dropdowns. For a store with multiple product categories (pulls, knobs, by finish), a mega menu would help users navigate directly to specific segments and reduce time to purchase.
✅ Sticky Header Active
Header remains visible on scroll (position: sticky/fixed). This keeps navigation and search accessible at all times, reducing friction for users who scroll deep.
✅ Predictive Search Implemented
Both a search form and predictive search component are present. This helps users find specific products quickly, especially important for a catalog with many SKUs.
✅ Wishlist & Account Links Present
Header includes account and wishlist functionality, enabling logged-in experiences and save-for-later behavior that supports return visits.
🔴 Slideshow Autoplay Active
Hero slideshow is set to autoplay. Research consistently shows autoplay carousels reduce conversions — users cannot control the pace, key messages get skipped, and it creates visual noise. Consider a static hero or user-controlled slides.
⚠️ No Value Proposition in Hero Copy
CTA text reads "Shop the Collection" which is generic. Adding a specific value proposition (e.g. "Free shipping on orders over $50 · 300+ premium brass styles") would strengthen first-impression conversion intent.
⚠️ No Trust Signals Above the Fold
Hero section has no visible trust signals (star ratings, review count, press mentions, or "X orders shipped"). Adding a trust bar below the hero is a proven conversion lever.
✅ CTA Button Present
"Shop the Collection" CTA button is visible in the hero. The placement is correct — ensuring the primary action is accessible without scrolling on desktop.
✅ Slideshow with Multiple Slides
Hero features multiple slides enabling showcasing of different product categories or seasonal promotions, providing visual variety for returning visitors.
⚠️ No Star Ratings on Product Cards
Product cards display no review star ratings or count. Social proof at the card level significantly increases click-through rate and purchase intent. Judge.me is installed — integrate star ratings onto cards immediately.
⚠️ Quick View Modal Too Short — "Add to Cart" Hidden
When a product card's Quick View opens, the modal shows the image, title, price, description and dimensions — but the "Add to Cart" button is pushed below the visible area, so users must scroll inside the popup to buy. Increase the modal height (or pin a sticky "Add to Cart" bar at the bottom of the popup) so the primary CTA is always visible without scrolling.
⚠️ No UGC / Instagram Gallery on Homepage
No user-generated content or shoppable Instagram gallery is present on the homepage. A "Shop the look" / #BrassHomeSupply feed of real customer photos (hardware installed in kitchens and bathrooms) is one of the most persuasive forms of social proof — and the homepage is the best place to surface it. Consider a Loox / Okendo gallery or a shoppable Instagram feed.
✅ Quick Add Button Present
Quick Add functionality is active on product cards. This reduces friction for repeat buyers and users who already know what they want.
✅ Hover Second Image
Cards have a second image on hover showing alternate product views. This helps users evaluate products without navigating to the product page, reducing decision friction.
✅ Product Badges Active
Sale/New/Bestseller badges are displayed on product cards. These visual cues drive attention and create urgency/social validation.
🔴 No FAQ Link in Footer
No FAQ page linked from footer navigation. FAQ pages are high-converting trust builders, especially for hardware/home supply purchases where customers have questions about sizing, installation, and compatibility.
✅ Privacy Policy Link Present
Privacy policy link exists in page HTML. GDPR/CCPA compliance is maintained.
✅ Terms of Service Link Present
Terms of service page is linked. Legal compliance pages are accessible to customers.
✅ Refund & Shipping Policies Present
Refund policy and shipping policy pages exist and are linked. These are key trust builders that reduce pre-purchase anxiety.
✅ Social Media Links Present
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter links are present in the footer area, enabling social proof through follower visibility.
🔴 Collection H1 Shows Generic "Products"
The main collection page title is "Products" — a generic, SEO-unfriendly heading. Collection pages should have descriptive H1s (e.g., "Brass Cabinet Pulls") for both SEO performance and user orientation.
⚠️ No Infinite Scroll / Load More
Collection uses pagination rather than infinite scroll or "Load More" button. For a large catalog (1200+ products), pagination forces extra clicks and page loads. Infinite scroll or a prominent Load More button keeps users in flow.
✅ Filters Available
Filter facets are present on the collection page. Users can narrow down by relevant attributes, reducing time to finding the right product.
✅ Sort By Functionality
Sort dropdown is present, allowing users to sort by price, relevance, or newness — a standard expectation for e-commerce users.
✅ Pagination Present
Pagination allows navigation through the large product catalog. Works functionally even if not optimal for engagement.
🔴 Only 1 Product Image Detected
The product page shows only 1 image in the gallery. For brass hardware, customers need multiple angles: front view, side profile, installed in context (kitchen/bathroom), detail of finish texture, and size comparison. Low image count is a primary cause of product page abandonment.
🔴 No Product Video
No product video is present. Short lifestyle videos showing hardware installed in a kitchen/bathroom setting dramatically increase purchase confidence for home decor items. Videos increase conversion rates by 80% on average for home goods.
🔴 No Breadcrumb Navigation
No breadcrumb trail (Home › Collection › Product) is present on the product page. Breadcrumbs improve SEO (BreadcrumbList structured data) and help users understand the site hierarchy, reducing bounce rates and improving navigation back to category pages.
✅ Image Zoom Functionality
Zoom capability exists on product images, allowing users to inspect finish detail and quality — important for premium hardware purchases.
✅ Compare Price / Sale Price Display
Sale prices show with crossed-out compare-at prices, clearly communicating savings to drive purchase decisions.
✅ Size Guide Available
Size guide link is present on product pages. This reduces returns and pre-purchase hesitation for customers comparing dimensions.
🔴 No Inventory / Scarcity Signals
No "Only X left in stock" indicator is shown. Scarcity messaging is one of the most powerful conversion levers in e-commerce. For specialty hardware items with limited stock, showing inventory levels creates urgency and reduces hesitation.
⚠️ Back-in-Stock Notification (Future Improvement)
A "Notify me when back in stock" widget can recover lost demand on sold-out SKUs — but it's only worth adding if products actually go out of stock. With a large finish/variant catalog where out-of-stock SKUs are typically just hidden, this is a lower-priority future enhancement rather than a critical gap. Add it on the specific items that genuinely sell out.
✅ Add to Cart Button Present
Clear "Add to cart" CTA button is present. The primary conversion action is accessible and properly labeled.
✅ Sticky Add to Cart on Desktop
Sticky ATC bar is present on product pages, ensuring the buy action remains accessible as users scroll through description content.
✅ Trust Badges Present
Trust badge elements are visible in the buy section — including elements addressing secure checkout and purchase guarantees.
No issues found in this block — the description is well structured.
✅ Accordion / Collapsible Sections
Product details use accordion/collapsible sections to organize shipping, materials, and care information. This keeps the page clean while making detailed info available on demand.
✅ Cross-sell / Related Products
Product recommendations section is present. Cross-selling related hardware (matching knobs with pulls, same finish accessories) drives AOV significantly in home decor categories.
⚠️ No Review Photos
Judge.me is installed but review photos are not enabled or customers have not been prompted to add photos. Photo reviews showing hardware installed in real homes are the highest-converting social proof for home goods. Enable photo reviews and create a post-purchase email campaign encouraging customers to share installation photos.
⚠️ Review App Not Prominently Identified
While Judge.me is referenced in page source, the review widget selector is not matching standard classes. Verify Judge.me is fully integrated and that star ratings are displaying on both product pages and collection cards.
✅ Star Ratings Present
Star rating components are visible on product pages. Social proof via ratings is one of the most impactful trust signals available.
✅ Review Section Exists
A reviews section/widget is present on product pages, giving customers a platform to read and submit reviews.
✅ Judge.me Integration
Judge.me review platform is integrated — a solid choice for Shopify stores. The platform supports automated review request emails, star ratings, and photo reviews when properly configured.
🔴 No Free Shipping Progress Bar
No "You're $X away from free shipping" progress bar exists in the cart. This is one of the highest-ROI cart features — it increases AOV by encouraging customers to add more items to reach the threshold. Average AOV lift: 15-30%.
🔴 No Cart Upsell / Cross-sell
No product recommendations appear in the cart ("Frequently Bought Together," "You May Also Like"). For brass hardware, recommending matching pieces (a knob with pulls, hinges to match) in the cart is highly relevant and can increase AOV by 10-20%.
🔴 No Discount Code Field in Cart
No promo/coupon code field is visible on the cart page. This is a standard conversion element that also supports promotional campaigns. Customers who receive discount codes need a visible place to apply them.
🔴 No Trust Badges in Cart
No payment icons, security badges, or guarantees appear in the cart view. Cart abandonment often occurs due to last-minute trust concerns — this is the most critical place for trust reinforcement.
✅ Cart Page Accessible
The /cart URL is reachable and renders. The basic cart architecture is in place for improvement.
✅ Shop Pay Integration Available
Shop Pay is integrated, offering one-click checkout for returning Shopify buyers. This significantly reduces checkout friction for repeat customers.
⚠️ Some Tap Target Size Issues
1 button/link element was detected with tap target dimensions below the 44x44px recommended minimum. Small tap targets cause accidental misclicks and frustration on mobile, particularly in header/navigation areas.
✅ Hamburger Menu Present
Mobile navigation uses a hamburger menu button, providing a familiar pattern for mobile users to access full navigation without cluttering the header.
✅ Readable Font Size (16px)
Body font size is set to 16px — the minimum recommended for mobile readability. Text will not trigger iOS zoom on form field focus.
✅ Mostly Accessible Tap Targets
The majority of interactive elements meet minimum tap target size requirements, ensuring comfortable mobile usability.
⚠️ Single Product Image Issue Carries to Mobile
The low image count issue from desktop (Block 6) is equally impactful on mobile. Mobile users especially benefit from multiple swipeable gallery images since they can't hover to see details.
✅ Sticky Add to Cart on Mobile
Sticky ATC button is present and active on mobile product pages. This is crucial for mobile conversions where users scroll extensively before deciding to purchase.
✅ Swipeable Image Gallery
Touch/swipe gallery functionality (Slideshow/Flickity) is implemented for mobile product image viewing. Users can swipe through available product images naturally.
🔴 No Marketing Pixels Detected
No Meta Pixel (Facebook/Instagram ads), Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics 4, TikTok Pixel, or Snapchat Pixel was detected. This means ALL advertising campaigns are running blind — no conversion tracking, no retargeting audiences, no lookalike audiences. This is the single highest-priority fix: without tracking, ad spend cannot be optimized and revenue attribution is impossible.
⚠️ Heavy JavaScript — ~1.6 MB Across ~140 Files
The homepage loads roughly 1.6 MB of JavaScript across ~140 files (46 script tags plus dynamically-injected scripts). This is significant JS weight that delays Time to Interactive and inflates Total Blocking Time, especially on mobile. Audit third-party apps and defer or remove unused scripts.
⚠️ Large Page Weight — 3.9 MB / 319 Requests
The homepage transfers ~3.9 MB across 319 requests (images ~2.0 MB over 91 files, JS ~1.6 MB). First Contentful Paint is ~1.6s and full load ~3.1s on a fast desktop connection — on real mobile/3G this will be materially slower. Compress and lazy-load images (serve WebP/AVIF), cut request count, and trim JS to lift mobile performance.
✅ Lazy Loading Images
24 of 31 images on the homepage use native lazy loading (loading="lazy"). This defers off-screen image loading, improving initial page load performance significantly.
✅ Shopify CDN Used
Assets are served from Shopify's global CDN (cdn.shopify.com), ensuring fast delivery across geographic regions.
✅ Shopify Web Pixel Manager
Shopify's Web Performance Manager (WPM/trekkie) is active, providing first-party analytics data even without third-party pixels.
🔴 No Email Capture Mechanism
No Klaviyo, no Privy, no Omnisend, no newsletter form, and no email popup exists anywhere on the site. This means the store is building ZERO email list. Every visitor who doesn't convert is lost forever — no re-engagement possible, no abandoned cart emails, no welcome flow, no promotional campaigns. Email marketing typically generates $36 ROI per $1 spent. This is likely the highest-revenue missed opportunity on the site.
🔴 No Loyalty / Rewards Program
No Smile.io or equivalent loyalty/rewards app is installed. Repeat purchase rate is critical for hardware stores (customers renovate multiple rooms, bathrooms, kitchens). A loyalty program incentivizes repeat buying and referrals.
🔴 No Referral Program
No referral program exists. Interior designers and contractors who purchase brass hardware regularly are high-value referral sources — a referral program with trade discounts could unlock a significant B2B revenue channel.
✅ Klarna Available (In Source)
Klarna is referenced in the page source, indicating BNPL integration is configured even if not prominently displayed. Once surfaced on product pages, this will support higher AOV purchases.
✅ Shop Pay Integration
Shop Pay accelerated checkout is available, reducing checkout friction for Shopify ecosystem users.
🔴 No Email Marketing Platform
Klaviyo, Omnisend, Mailchimp, and Privy are all absent. The store has no email marketing infrastructure. The following revenue-generating automations are impossible without one: Welcome series, Abandoned cart recovery, Browse abandonment, Post-purchase sequences, Win-back campaigns, Promotional broadcasts. Industry average: abandoned cart emails alone recover 5-15% of lost revenue.
🔴 No Paid Advertising Tracking
With no Meta Pixel, no GTM, and no Google Analytics, the store cannot: track conversions from ad campaigns, build retargeting audiences, run dynamic product ads, optimize campaigns with conversion data, or attribute revenue to channels. Add Meta Pixel + GA4 via Google Tag Manager immediately.
⚠️ No SMS Marketing
No SMSBump or Postscript SMS marketing app is installed. SMS has 98% open rates vs 20% for email. For flash sales on specific hardware finishes, SMS is highly effective.
✅ Judge.me Review Automations
Judge.me handles automated post-purchase review request emails. This passively builds social proof without manual intervention.
✅ Shopify Native Analytics
Shopify's built-in analytics (Trekkie/WPM) provides basic sales data, conversion rates, and traffic sources even without third-party tracking.
✅ Shop Pay Accelerated Checkout
Shop Pay stores customer information for future purchases, reducing friction for repeat buyers across the Shopify ecosystem.
Implementation Estimates
🔴 Critical Priority — Immediate Revenue Impact
| Task | Description | Est. Hours | Est. Cost ($30/hr) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Install Klaviyo + Email Capture Popup | Set up Klaviyo, create 10% off welcome popup, configure abandoned cart flow (3 emails), welcome series (3 emails), and browse abandonment trigger | 8 | $240 |
| Meta Pixel + GTM + GA4 Setup | Install Google Tag Manager, configure Meta Pixel with standard events (ViewContent, AddToCart, InitiateCheckout, Purchase), add GA4 with e-commerce tracking | 5 | $150 |
| Cart Page Full Rebuild | Add a free shipping progress bar, upsell recommendations, discount code field, and trust badges to the /cart page | 6 | $180 |
| Scarcity / Low-Stock Signals | Add an "Only X left in stock" inventory counter to product pages to create urgency on limited-stock items | 2 | $60 |
| Product Image Expansion | Add 4-6 images per product (multiple angles, lifestyle/installed shots, finish detail close-up). Prioritize top 50 products. Includes photography brief creation. | 4 | $120 |
⚠️ Medium Priority — Conversion Optimization
| Task | Description | Est. Hours | Est. Cost ($30/hr) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quick View Modal — Show "Add to Cart" | Increase the Quick View popup height (or pin a sticky Add-to-Cart bar at the bottom) so the buy button is visible without scrolling inside the modal | 2 | $60 |
| Judge.me Photo Reviews Enable + Card Stars | Enable photo reviews in Judge.me settings, create post-purchase email requesting photo uploads, integrate star rating widget onto collection page product cards | 3 | $90 |
| Hero Section Optimization | Disable autoplay or reduce to 5-second interval, add trust bar below hero (ratings count, orders shipped, free shipping threshold), improve CTA copy with value prop | 3 | $90 |
| Collection H1 Tags Fix | Update all collection page H1 headings to descriptive names (Brass Cabinet Pulls, Antique Brass Hardware, etc.) for SEO and user orientation | 2 | $60 |
✅ Low Priority — Enhancement & Growth
| Task | Description | Est. Hours | Est. Cost ($30/hr) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loyalty / Rewards Program (Smile.io) | Install Smile.io or similar, configure points for purchases and reviews, create referral program for repeat customers and contractors/designers | 5 | $150 |
| FAQ Page Creation | Create comprehensive FAQ page (sizing guide, installation instructions, finish care, return policy details, shipping times) and link from footer and product pages | 3 | $90 |
| Back-in-Stock Notifications (Future) | Install a "Notify me when back in stock" widget on the specific SKUs that genuinely sell out, to recover lost demand and grow the email list | 2 | $60 |
| Breadcrumb Navigation | Add breadcrumb trail to collection and product pages for improved navigation and SEO structured data (BreadcrumbList schema) | 3 | $90 |
| SMS Marketing Setup (Postscript) | Install Postscript or SMSBump, create SMS opt-in during checkout and post-purchase, set up abandoned cart SMS sequence | 4 | $120 |
| Infinite Scroll / Load More on Collections | Replace pagination with "Load More" button or infinite scroll for improved catalog browsing experience on collection pages | 3 | $90 |
| Mega Menu Implementation | Build dropdown mega menu showing product categories by finish type (Polished Brass, Antique Brass, Chrome, Brushed) and product type (Pulls, Knobs, Hinges) | 5 | $150 |
Stores on our CRO approach grew Total Sales +19%
The fixes in this report aren't theory — they're the same conversion levers we implement for the stores we work with. Here's the Total Sales curve from a store running our approach versus the previous period:
Total Sales over the period: $168,636 — +19% vs the prior period. Solid line = current (our approach), dotted = before.