Boost online conversions with simple ecommerce optimisation tips

Boost online conversions with simple ecommerce optimisation tips

Boost your online store’s performance with simple optimisation tips. Convert more shoppers with accessible design, faster checkout & AI-driven personalisation.

Ecommerce optimisation has always been a cornerstone for online retailers. But i, it has taken on new urgency.  

The European Accessibility Act has set compliance deadlines for online platforms, while customer expectations for speed, personalisation and convenience continue to rise.

In today’s crowded digital marketplace, it is not enough to attract visitors. You need to create an experience that keeps them engaged, removes barriers and drives conversions. That means refining everything from checkout design to accessibility, site speed and personalisation.

Here are some practical ecommerce optimisation tips that can kick-start your strategy.

Why ecommerce optimisation is more critical than ever

Ecommerce has exploded in the past five years, but sheer growth is no longer enough to guarantee success.  

Shoppers now expect fast, accessible and personalised journeys every time they log in, and they will abandon a brand the moment it feels clunky or confusing.

Those who experience success will be the ones who invest in improving the quality of experience, not just the volume of traffic.  

Optimisation is no longer a box to tick. It is the difference between a one-off sale and a loyal customer base.

Practical ecommerce optimisation tips to boost conversions

Let us look at some of the most practical ways you can optimise your ecommerce store today.  

From smoothing out the checkout process to speeding up your site, these are proven tactics that boost conversions and keep customers coming back.

Streamline the user experience with ecommerce accessibility

A clean, user-friendly website is essential, especially for customers with accessibility difficulties.

Cluttered menus, busy layouts and intrusive pop-ups send bounce rates soaring. Just as important is ecommerce accessibility.

As of today, 94.8% of home pages still fail WCAG 2 standards.  

Under the European Accessibility Act (2025), ecommerce platforms must comply with WCAG 2.1 AA standards or face penalties.

Imagine being ready to buy but you cannot read the text on a checkout form or navigate without a mouse. That is the reality for many shoppers, and why accessible online shopping matters.

Practical improvements include:

When you remove friction points, you open your store to a broader audience and signal trustworthiness.

For more guidance on how to make your website accessible, download our free digital accessibility whitepaper.

"There are online retailers that are still struggling to make websites truly accessible to people with certain disabilities and as a consequence are missing out on connecting with a large consumer base and associated revenue."
‍How retailers can improve online accessibility, Sherwen Studios

Manage your cart abandonment issues

Cart abandonment remains one of the biggest conversion killers.

In 2025 alone, UK retailers lost an estimated £34.4 billion to abandoned baskets.

The average abandonment rate is still 70.1%, rising to 85.65% on mobile.

We have all been there. You reach checkout, hit an unexpected delivery fee and close the tab. Now imagine that happening millions of times a day. That is what drives the billions lost to abandoned baskets.

Delivery is a major factor. 40.6% of UK consumers abandoned an order in the past year due to delivery concerns.

To reduce abandonment, remove friction in these areas:

Even small tweaks to the checkout journey can make a big difference.

"35% of mobile cart abandonments are because of shoppers being forced to create an account before checking out with their purchase."
‍Mobile Design Best Practice Guide, Salesforce

Use AI and automation to personalise shopping

AI in ecommerce has moved from a nice-to-have to an everyday reality.  

Think about Netflix recommending your next show, or Spotify queuing up your perfect playlist. Now imagine that in an online store.

AI can anticipate what a customer is looking for, suggest the right product at the right moment and even flag fraud before it happens.

Done well, it feels less like automation and more like a digital shop assistant who knows your preferences better than you do.

For retailers, the result is not only more conversions, but also deeper trust and stronger long-term loyalty.

You can always take a AI readiness assessment to understand your tech maturity and team's capabilities if you don't know where to begin.

"AI-driven personalisation uses machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing to personalise a brand’s marketing messages, content, products and services. This technology reshapes how brands interact with their customers and sets them up for more profitable customer journeys."
‍AI-powered personalisation: The key to unlocking ecommerce growth, Atul Jindal, VentureBeat

Run A/B testing for insightful feedback

Conversion optimisation is not guesswork. A/B testing lets you trial two versions of a page or element to see which performs better with real users.

Start small and test two variations of a call-to-action button, a product image or a checkout layout. You may find that a single wording tweak boosts sign-ups by 10%, or that moving delivery information higher up the page reduces abandonment.

The key is to treat testing as an ongoing habit, not a one-off exercise. Over time, you build a clearer picture of what your audience responds to and why.  

Our conversion rate optimisation services help brands turn these insights into scalable growth strategies.

Improve your page speed and real-user experience

Slow websites destroy conversions. More than half of visitors now abandon sites that take longer than six seconds to load.

Google uses Core Web Vitals to assess how fast and stable your pages feel to real users.

The benchmarks to aim for are:

Studies have found that adding just a single second of delay to your page load can ripple through the customer journey in surprising ways.

A single second may not sound like much, but in the attention-short world of online shopping it can be the difference between a sale and an abandoned basket.

In other words, speed is the invisible salesperson. If your site feels slow, half your customers will walk out before you have had the chance to serve them.

Discover how your website loading speeds could be impacting your bottom line here.

Building a conversion strategy for the long term

Optimisation is not a one-off project. It is an ongoing commitment to improving the customer experience at every touchpoint.  

The real value comes when all the pieces work together.

  1. A site that is fast, accessible and easy to navigate
  2. A checkout that removes friction, AI that personalises the journey
  3. A culture of testing that keeps you learning

When you put all these elements in place, you are not simply chasing conversions.  

You are building relationships with customers who feel seen, understood and valued, and who will repeatedly return.

Ecommerce optimisation FAQs

What is ecommerce optimisation and why is it important in 2025?

Ecommerce optimisation is the process of refining site design, checkout flow and customer experience to increase conversion rates. Modern customer expectations around accessibility, speed and personalisation make it more important than ever.

How does ecommerce accessibility impact conversion rates?

Accessibility ensures no shopper is excluded. With 94.8% of home pages still failing WCAG 2 standards, removing barriers opens ecommerce to more customers and reduces lost revenue.

What is the average cart abandonment rate?

Around 70.1% across industries, rising to 85.65% on mobile. That means most carts never convert, making checkout optimisation essential.

How can AI improve ecommerce personalisation?

AI analyses browsing and purchase data to deliver recommendations, personalised offers and fraud detection in real time, boosting conversions and loyalty.

What tools help improve ecommerce site speed?

Google PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse audits show how well you meet Core Web Vitals like LCP, INP and CLS, with clear steps for improvement.

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