The Problem
Most websites hemorrhage potential customers—losing over 95% of their traffic without a single conversion. It's not a traffic problem. It's a conversion problem. And the good news? Small, systematic improvements compound fast when you know where to look.
The issue isn't that your product is bad or your offer is weak. It's that your site is full of friction points you've stopped noticing. Visitors arrive with intent, but they leave confused, unconvinced, or simply bored. Every second of delay, every unclear headline, every missing trust signal is costing you revenue.
This checklist is the exact system we use to diagnose and fix conversion leaks for our clients. It's not theory—it's the playbook that took multiple businesses from barely converting to doubling their conversion rates in weeks, not months.
The 15-Point Checklist
Above the Fold
The first three seconds determine everything. If a visitor can't immediately understand what you do and why they should care, they're gone. Your above-the-fold real estate is the most valuable space on your entire site.
Clear value proposition — Within three seconds, a visitor should know exactly what you do, who it's for, and why it matters. No clever taglines. No jargon. Just clarity. If your grandmother can't explain your value prop after seeing your homepage, rewrite it.
Strong CTA — One primary action. Not three. Not five. One. Make it visually distinct, use action-oriented copy, and place it where the eye naturally lands. Multiple CTAs create decision paralysis. A single, clear next step creates momentum.
Trust signals — Logos of recognizable clients, testimonials with faces, or concrete metrics (users, revenue, time saved) need to be immediately visible. Social proof isn't a nice-to-have—it's a conversion multiplier. Place it where skepticism is highest: right next to your value prop and CTA.
Navigation & Flow
Most sites are built for desktop when 70%+ of traffic comes from mobile. Your navigation and flow need to respect how people actually browse and make decisions.
Mobile-first design — If your mobile experience is an afterthought, you're losing the majority of your potential customers. Design for thumbs, not cursors. Make buttons large enough to tap without zooming. Ensure text is readable without pinching. Test on actual devices, not just browser emulators.
Load time under 3s — Every second of delay costs you 7% of conversions. A five-second load time can cut your conversion rate in half. Compress images, minimize scripts, use a CDN. Speed isn't a luxury—it's a conversion lever.
Minimal navigation — More choices equal fewer conversions. Strip your nav down to essentials. If a visitor has six places to click, they're more likely to choose none. Reduce cognitive load. Guide them to one clear next step.
Forms & CTAs
Forms are where most conversions die. Every field you ask for is a barrier. Every unnecessary question is a reason to leave.
Progressive disclosure — Only ask for what you absolutely need at each stage. Email first. More details later. Multi-step forms convert better than long single-page forms because they feel less intimidating and create micro-commitments. You can always ask for more information after the first conversion.
Social proof near CTAs — Put testimonials, ratings, or user counts directly next to your CTA buttons. This is where doubt is highest and where social proof has maximum impact. A testimonial above the fold is nice. A testimonial right next to "Get Started" is conversion fuel.
Exit intent offers — If someone's about to leave, give them one last reason to stay. A popup offering a discount, a free resource, or a compelling case study can recover 10-15% of abandoning visitors. Yes, some people hate popups. But data doesn't lie—they work.
Trust & Clarity
Confusion kills conversions. Jargon kills conversions. Anything that makes a visitor think too hard or question your credibility kills conversions.
Remove jargon — Industry terms might make you feel smart, but they make your visitors feel stupid. Write like you're explaining your product to someone who's never heard of your industry. If your grandmother wouldn't understand it, rewrite it. Clarity beats cleverness every time.
Show pricing or ROI — Hiding your pricing doesn't create mystery—it creates suspicion. If you can't show exact pricing, show value. ROI calculators, before-and-after comparisons, or transparent case studies build trust. Transparency converts. Secrecy repels.
Live chat or bot — Objections are conversion killers. The fastest way to overcome objections is to answer them in real time. A live chat widget or well-configured chatbot can catch visitors right before they bounce, answer their one blocking question, and turn a "maybe" into a "yes."
Technical
Broken experiences destroy trust instantly. If your site feels buggy or unreliable, nothing else matters.
Fix all 404s — Broken links signal neglect. If a visitor clicks something and hits a 404, they're not just annoyed—they're questioning whether you're a legitimate business. Audit your site regularly. Fix every dead link.
Mobile form testing — Forms that work perfectly on desktop often break on mobile. Autofill fails. Dropdowns don't open. Submit buttons hide under the keyboard. Test every form on actual devices—iPhone, Android, different browsers. If the form doesn't work, the conversion doesn't happen.
A/B test everything — Guessing is expensive. Testing is cheap. Don't assume you know what will work. Test your headlines, CTAs, layouts, and offers. Small changes—like rewriting a CTA from "Submit" to "Get Started"—can lift conversions by 20%+. Measure everything. Test constantly.
Implementation
Don't try to fix everything at once. Start with items 1-3: value prop, CTA, and trust signals. These are the fastest wins and the highest leverage. You can implement all three in a day and see results within a week.
Then, systematically work through the rest. Pick one item. Implement it. Track baseline metrics first—record your current conversion rate, bounce rate, and time on page. Make the change. Wait a week. Measure again. Rinse and repeat.
This isn't a one-time project. It's a system. Conversion optimization is a continuous process of finding leaks, fixing them, and measuring impact. The businesses that win aren't the ones with perfect sites—they're the ones that improve relentlessly.
Results
This exact checklist took one of our clients from 1.8% to 4.2% conversion rate in six weeks. Another went from 2.1% to 5.3% in eight weeks. The difference? They followed the system. They didn't skip steps. They tested every change.
Your mileage will vary depending on your starting point, but the pattern is consistent: systematic improvements compound fast. A 0.5% lift here, a 1% lift there, and suddenly you've doubled your conversion rate without spending an extra dollar on ads.
Stop guessing. Start testing. Follow this checklist, track every change, and watch your conversion rate climb.