Ecommerce optimization can feel like standing at the foot of a mountain. Where do you even start? Shopping cart tweaks? Checkout design? Mobile responsiveness? Don’t worry—we’re going to take the “eat the elephant” approach: one bite at a time.
By the end of this post, you’ll have the tools and ideas to fine-tune your eCommerce site into a high-converting, customer-friendly machine—with help from Crazy Egg along the way.
Step 1: Know Your Users Before You Sell to Them
Most brands start with keyword tools like Google Ads Planner, but that’s only scratching the surface. Real success comes from understanding who your customers are and what they care about.
Try This:
- Spy on competitors: Check their “Our Promise” or “About Us” pages for values and messaging.
- User testing: Use platforms like UserTesting.com or UsabilityTools to gather real-time, qualitative feedback.
🧠 Pro Tip: Use Crazy Egg!
Crazy Egg’s heatmaps, scrollmaps, and confetti maps let you visually see where users click, how far they scroll, and what source they came from. It’s a goldmine of insight without lifting a finger on dev work.
Step 2: Stop Shopping Cart Abandonment in Its Tracks
Did you know over 67% of shoppers abandon their carts? Shipping costs, hesitation, or even just curiosity all play a role.
Your Toolkit:
- Offer transparent shipping info and tracking upfront.
- Let users save items to wishlists (so they don’t forget).
- Use retargeting ads through platforms like AdRoll or Retargeter to bring them back.
🧠 Crazy Egg Insight: Track where users fall off your cart process using scrollmaps. See if they’re quitting on the pricing, form fields, or final CTA.
Step 3: Make Checkout Foolproof
Checkout is your moment of truth. It’s where good intentions turn into completed sales—or vanish.
What Works:
- Let users edit cart items at the last step.
- Show progress bars through the checkout flow.
- Use a clear, visible call-to-action with a forward-moving visual (like an arrow on the button).
- Eliminate unnecessary form fields—especially for digital products.
Last-Minute Hesitations? Reassure Them:
- Add trust badges, privacy promises, and FAQs.
- Offer live chat or an email contact option.
Step 4: Master Social Media the Right Way
Your customers are hanging out on social platforms. But are they shopping?
Social Channel Tips:
- On Facebook: Use beautiful photos, clear buttons, and responsive cover art like Molly’s Cupcakes.
- On Twitter: Share value-driven content, spotlight customers, and keep hashtags relevant (not spammy).
- On Pinterest: Organize boards by theme or emotion (e.g., “Cozy Fall Must-Haves”) instead of just products.
🧠 Crazy Egg Bonus: Use confetti maps to see where traffic from Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter is clicking once they land on your site.
Step 5: Design for the Mobile Experience
By 2025, mobile commerce will dominate online shopping. If your site isn’t mobile-optimized, you’re leaving money on the table.
💡 Must-Have Features:
- A responsive website using Bootstrap or drag-and-drop tools like Jetstrap.
- Test responsiveness with Browserstack or performance with Mobitest.
- Implement lazy-loading social buttons (via Socialite) to speed up mobile loading.
- Use icon fonts like IcoMoon to cut down on image bloat.
And yes—your emails need to be responsive too. Nearly half of all emails are now opened on phones!
Bonus: Personalized Offers (Without the Creep Factor)
Want to personalize the shopping experience? Use behavioral targeting—like browsing behavior or location—not sensitive data like device type or income.
💡 Example: Don’t show higher prices to Mac users like Orbitz did. Instead, tailor your value proposition—like “free shipping” or “fast delivery”—based on past behavior.
Crazy Egg in Action
Throughout every stage—research, cart optimization, social targeting, and mobile performance—Crazy Egg arms you with the data you need to act. From knowing where users click to understanding scroll behavior, it’s like having x-ray vision into your customer’s journey.
Final Thoughts: Optimization Is a Journey, Not a Checkbox
Improving your eCommerce site isn’t something you “do once.” It’s a continual process of testing, analyzing, tweaking, and optimizing.
With tools like Crazy Egg and the strategies above, you’ll not only increase conversions but also create a more intuitive and enjoyable shopping experience for your customers.