To give back to our wonderful community I created a step-by-step online store page conversion optimisation guide for those of you already in ecommerce or looking to build your first online store.
No, this is not a segway into a course or some coaching offer.
I just want to share my hard won experience with an audience who might find this info useful.
Who is this guide for?
Glad you asked.
This is a guide for multi-product ecommerce website owners who want to optimise for maximum conversions (increase sales).
Guide format
We will go over optimisations for the main page types an ecommerce store typically has:
If some of these page sections don’t apply in your situation, just ignore them - this guide is not a prescription (e.g. some people are really against hero sections and would rather have more products above the fold, which is totally cool).
These tactics have been battle tested and refined over time, and have been proven to work majority of the time for the majority of the online stores (there will always be outliers).
I also threw in some real life examples of wording so you can implement it on your own website today.
Remember that only action will get you results, not just reading guides all day.
Why listen to me?
Another great question.
I’ve been in the web development / digital marketing field for over five years.
I started a digital marketing agency back in 2019 by following steps from a “how to start and scale your digital agency” post on this very forum.
During this time me and my team had the privilege to work with a lot of good folk, ranging from one-page digital product sellers to multi-million dollar online stores (mainly in Australia).
This guide is a mix of my hands-on experience of what actually works and a dose of ecommerce best practices.
However, I am no guru and learn new things every day.
Just sharing my 2c about what has worked for my ecommerce clients.
I'd love to hear your feedback and what has/hasn't worked in your experience.
Updates to this post
My plan is to create a separate post for each page type, starting with the Home page and adding others later (can’t promise regular updates though, as life is busy these days).
A word on the purpose of optimisation
These days the word “optimisation” is thrown around a lot and everyone wants to optimise everything for everything.
Let’s look at some dirt bikes, for a change.
Here’s a Honda CRF dirt bike optimised for Motocross.
And here’s a Honda CRF optimised for Enduro.
They are quite different visually, not to mention the differences in engine and hardware configuration.
The MX version is built to be a cannonball on the racetrack, with fast acceleration and minimal bike weight.
The enduro bike, on the other hand, is tuned for higher top speeds on the open road and for carrying extra weight like a comfy set, a couple of gear bags and a large gas tank to go the distance.
The point?
Every optimisation has a very specific goal, and optimising for one thing may hurt the other.
As a reminder, this is a guide for multi-product ecommerce website owners who want to increase the percentage of visitors to their store who end up making a purchase.
We’re talking sales here.
If you wanted to optimise for visual design appeal, website speed performance or accessibility, then you would need a different guide.
Also, remember that any Conversion Rate Optimisation work you do on your website will have a multiplier effect on sales from existing traffic.
If nobody visits your website, there won't be any sales, even if you can convert 100% of all visitors.
Google Ads are a great way to get that traffic - check out posts by @Andy Black to learn how (his content is outstanding).
Enough theory already, let's go!
No, this is not a segway into a course or some coaching offer.
I just want to share my hard won experience with an audience who might find this info useful.
Who is this guide for?
Glad you asked.
This is a guide for multi-product ecommerce website owners who want to optimise for maximum conversions (increase sales).
Guide format
We will go over optimisations for the main page types an ecommerce store typically has:
- Home page
- Category page
- Product page
- Cart page
- Checkout page
- About page
- FAQ page
- Contact page
- Blog page
If some of these page sections don’t apply in your situation, just ignore them - this guide is not a prescription (e.g. some people are really against hero sections and would rather have more products above the fold, which is totally cool).
These tactics have been battle tested and refined over time, and have been proven to work majority of the time for the majority of the online stores (there will always be outliers).
I also threw in some real life examples of wording so you can implement it on your own website today.
Remember that only action will get you results, not just reading guides all day.
Why listen to me?
Another great question.
I’ve been in the web development / digital marketing field for over five years.
I started a digital marketing agency back in 2019 by following steps from a “how to start and scale your digital agency” post on this very forum.
During this time me and my team had the privilege to work with a lot of good folk, ranging from one-page digital product sellers to multi-million dollar online stores (mainly in Australia).
This guide is a mix of my hands-on experience of what actually works and a dose of ecommerce best practices.
However, I am no guru and learn new things every day.
Just sharing my 2c about what has worked for my ecommerce clients.
I'd love to hear your feedback and what has/hasn't worked in your experience.
Updates to this post
My plan is to create a separate post for each page type, starting with the Home page and adding others later (can’t promise regular updates though, as life is busy these days).
A word on the purpose of optimisation
These days the word “optimisation” is thrown around a lot and everyone wants to optimise everything for everything.
Let’s look at some dirt bikes, for a change.
Here’s a Honda CRF dirt bike optimised for Motocross.
And here’s a Honda CRF optimised for Enduro.
They are quite different visually, not to mention the differences in engine and hardware configuration.
The MX version is built to be a cannonball on the racetrack, with fast acceleration and minimal bike weight.
The enduro bike, on the other hand, is tuned for higher top speeds on the open road and for carrying extra weight like a comfy set, a couple of gear bags and a large gas tank to go the distance.
The point?
Every optimisation has a very specific goal, and optimising for one thing may hurt the other.
As a reminder, this is a guide for multi-product ecommerce website owners who want to increase the percentage of visitors to their store who end up making a purchase.
We’re talking sales here.
If you wanted to optimise for visual design appeal, website speed performance or accessibility, then you would need a different guide.
Also, remember that any Conversion Rate Optimisation work you do on your website will have a multiplier effect on sales from existing traffic.
If nobody visits your website, there won't be any sales, even if you can convert 100% of all visitors.
Google Ads are a great way to get that traffic - check out posts by @Andy Black to learn how (his content is outstanding).
Enough theory already, let's go!
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