Website conversion checklist
15-point diagnosis framework.
Most websites that don't convert have 2–4 specific, fixable issues — not a fundamental product or market problem. This checklist surfaces them in under 10 minutes.
Go through each item honestly and count your yes answers. Your score tells you which category to fix first — and what kind of improvement to expect. For the full diagnosis including before/after examples and GA4 tests, see why your website isn't converting.
Before you start: Most websites score below 8 out of 15 — mainly due to unclear messaging and weak or missing trust signals. If you're getting traffic but no conversions, there's almost certainly a specific item here causing it.
How to use it: Answer each item yes or no. Count your total yes answers. Score 0–5 means critical issues are present. Score 6–10 means moderate leaks. Score 11–15 means your fundamentals are solid — focus on testing, not fixing.
Traffic quality
/ 5 pointsThe wrong traffic is the most overlooked conversion killer. Before fixing your page, confirm that the right people are arriving.
Your top traffic source matches the intent of your offer
High-intent search traffic (e.g. "conversion rate audit tool") converts dramatically better than broad social or display. Check GA4 → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition and compare conversion rates by channel.
Your top organic search queries in GSC match the words in your headline
Go to Google Search Console → Performance → Queries. If your #1 query is "freelance invoice software" but your headline says "The smarter way to manage your business", you have message mismatch. Mirror the query language in your H1.
You've checked conversion rate by source in GA4 — not just overall
An overall 1.5% rate might hide a 5% rate from email and 0.3% from paid social. Segment before diagnosing — the fix for a traffic problem is completely different from a page problem.
You're not sending cold and warm traffic to the same landing page
Cold traffic (first time hearing of you) needs more context and reassurance than warm traffic (they already know you). Sending both to the same page means neither converts well.
Your paid ads (if any) use the exact language of the page they point to
Ad says "free CRO audit" → page should say "free CRO audit" in the headline. Even paraphrasing ("free conversion analysis") creates hesitation. Mirror, don't translate.
If you fix issues here: If you score poorly here, fixing traffic quality alone can double your conversion rate without touching the page.
Clarity & value proposition
/ 5 pointsIf visitors don't immediately understand what you offer and why it matters to them, nothing else on the page will save you.
A stranger can explain what your product does within 5 seconds of landing
The 5-second test: show your page to someone who's never seen it. After 5 seconds, ask: "What does this do, and who is it for?" If they can't answer clearly, your above-the-fold section is failing. This is the single most diagnostic test you can run.
Your headline names who the product is for and what outcome they get
"Welcome to our platform" fails this. "Get your freelance invoices paid 2x faster" passes. Your headline should name the audience (freelancers), describe the outcome (paid faster), and create enough curiosity to scroll.
Your above-the-fold section answers: What is it? Who is it for? What do I click?
Three questions, all answerable without scrolling. Headline answers what + who. Subheadline expands. CTA answers "what do I click". If your page requires scrolling to understand the offer, you're losing the majority of visitors before they decide.
Your copy leads with outcomes, not features
"Automated reporting" is a feature. "Get your Friday afternoons back" is an outcome. For every feature you describe, ask "so what?" until you reach the outcome a buyer actually cares about. Then lead with that.
There is one primary CTA — not three competing actions
Every additional action you ask for dilutes the primary one. "Sign up", "Book a demo", and "Watch the video" on the same screen split attention. Pick the one action that matters most and make everything else secondary or remove it.
If you fix issues here: Clarity improvements affect 100% of visitors — not just a segment. A typical lift when this is the root issue is 15–30% more conversions.
Trust & friction
/ 5 pointsEven visitors who understand your offer need to trust you enough to act. And even motivated visitors abandon if the path to conversion is unclear or effortful.
You have at least one specific testimonial or proof point visible above the fold
Generic proof ("great tool!") is almost worthless. Specific proof converts: numbers, outcomes, recognisable names. "We went from 1.2% to 3.9% conversion after running the audit" placed next to your CTA intercepts the visitor at exactly the moment they're deciding whether to trust you.
Your CTA button is high-contrast, specific, and visible without scrolling
"Get started" tells visitors nothing about what happens next. "Start my free audit →" is specific. High contrast means it's impossible to miss — test it by squinting at your page. If you can't find the button immediately, your visitors can't either.
Your sign-up or conversion flow requires 3 or fewer fields / clicks
Every additional form field reduces completions. Email only beats email + name. Adding a phone number cuts conversions by up to 50%. Collect only what's needed to deliver the first value. Get everything else progressively, after trust is established.
The page loads in under 3 seconds on mobile
Check with Google PageSpeed Insights. Every second of load time costs you conversions — research puts it at roughly 7% per second after 2 seconds. Mobile is where most of your traffic lands and where most sites fail on performance.
There are no broken elements, confusing navigation, or layout shifts on mobile
View your page on a real mobile device — not just a browser resize. Look for text overlapping, buttons that are too small to tap, images that break the layout, or navigation that obscures content. Each one is a silent conversion killer.
If you fix issues here: Trust and friction fixes are often the fastest wins — adding one specific testimonial above the fold or removing form fields can move conversion rates 10–25% within days.
Your score — what it means
Most sites that don't convert score below 8 out of 15 — usually due to unclear messaging and weak or missing trust signals. Here's how to interpret your result:
0–5 — Critical issues
Your conversion problem almost certainly has a clear root cause. Look at which category has the most no answers — that's where to start. Don't A/B test headlines before fixing these. Fix first, test later.
6–10 — Moderate issues
You have some leaks in your funnel but your fundamentals are in reasonable shape. Identify which category has the most gaps and fix the highest-impact items first — typically clarity and trust before friction.
11–15 — Optimised
Your page is solid. The conversion lever at this stage is usually traffic quality — getting higher-intent visitors — and targeted A/B testing of specific elements rather than structural fixes.
For a fully scored automated diagnosis — which of these items your page is failing and in what order to fix them — paste your URL into the conversion audit tool.
What to do with your score
Don't try to fix everything at once. The most common mistake after running a checklist is treating every item as equally urgent — then making a dozen small changes, not knowing which one moved the needle.
The right sequence: fix the category with the most gaps first. Traffic problems are fixed at the source (ads, targeting, messaging). Clarity problems are fixed in your headline and above-the-fold copy. Trust and friction problems are fixed in your proof points and conversion flow.
For the detailed breakdown — what each issue looks like, before/after examples, and specific fixes — see:
Get a scored diagnosis for your specific page
The checklist tells you what to look for. The audit tells you exactly what's wrong with your page — scored, ranked by impact, with specific fixes for each issue.
✓ Free audit · No signup · Results in 30 seconds
Common questions
What should a website conversion checklist include?
A good conversion checklist covers three areas: traffic quality (are the right people arriving?), clarity and value proposition (do they immediately understand what you offer?), and trust and friction (do they believe you and find it easy to take action?). Most non-converting websites have gaps in at least two of these areas.
How do I know if my website conversion rate is good?
Benchmarks vary by industry. SaaS free trials average 3–5%, ecommerce averages 1–4%, and lead generation pages average 5–10%. More important than the overall rate is segmenting by traffic source — warm traffic (email, direct) typically converts 3–5x higher than cold traffic (paid ads, social).
What is the most common reason websites don't convert?
The most common single reason is an unclear value proposition above the fold — visitors don't understand what the product does or who it's for within the first 5 seconds. This is followed by weak or vague CTAs and missing social proof. Most sites that struggle have at least two of these issues simultaneously.