Listing and category page conversion rate optimization checklist

When it comes to ecommerce optimization, it is hard to know where to start and what are the right questions to answer to. In order to help you evaluate your website we are creating a series of articles to tackle each page. 

Discover hereunder the category page conversion checklist and few examples to inspire you: 

General:

• Is your category URL optimized? Is it clean and short? Does it include your most important keywords (e.g. https://mywebsitelink.com/women-bags)?

• Do you have a visible banner or text with the category name?

• Is your category name clear and simple (e.g. Home accessories instead of easy living, Gift sets instead of “Celebrating with …”)?

• Do you use breadcrumbs to help your visitor understand his position ang get easily to higher level categories?

• If you have a technical product that needs extensive information (e.g. TV, hardware, electronics, etc.) do you use a list view template? Otherwise do you use a grid view?

• Are the products well categorized (e.g. having a shoe in a scarves page)?

• Does your product listing page include filters to narrow down the results?

• Does your page include appropriate product information?

• Is your first row of products visible above the fold?

• Is your category page SEO optimized?

• Does your page include a lazy loading option allowing the browser to display only the products that are visible on the user’s screen?

• During sales, do you have a dedicated SALES page?

• Are out of stock products only shown towards the end of the listings?

Product information:

• Does each product have at least an image, a title and a price?

• Do you show color options (with color thumbnails or “more colors available” information)?

• Do you display a maximum of 4 products per row on desktop and 2 on mobile?

• Are your product images large enough to see the product?

• Are alternative product shots shown on hover (do you show worn pictures for fashion products)?

• Do you offer the possibility to add products to wish list without signing in?

• Is the product star ratings visible?

• Do you use red as prominent color for prices during sales?

• Is the price for discounted products struck through and have you included the percentage of the discount? 

Filters:

• Have you included sub-category filters on your listing page? 

• Can products be filtered by category (sizes, colors, price, product shape, gender etc.)?

• Is it possible to sort/rank products by price, best sellers, popularity, relevance or new arrivals?