What is conversion rate optimization (CRO)?

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is the technical term for making it easier for customers to complete a desired action on your website. In most cases, that desired action is buying something from you, but it can also refer to signing up for an email list, submitting a form, and so forth. When a customer “converts,” they’ve followed your entire customer flow all the way to the end (e.g., they bought something). The word rate is present because CRO is usually measured as a percentage of how many people actually buy something in relation to how many people are on your website. And the optimization part…that’s where I come in. We want to make it as friction-less as possible for the customer’s journey to the checkout screen—and beyond. Let’s look at some principles to keep in mind.

Make your value proposition clear

Visitors should quickly understand what you offer and why they should care. If that isn’t clear above the fold¹, you’re asking them to work (i.e., scroll or click/tap) before they’ve decided you’re worth their time. Getting that message right starts with knowing what problem you’re actually solving for the customer. The customer doesn’t want to know about your business (at least not on the home page; save it for an ‘About’ section). They want to know what your product or service can do for them…how it will enrich their life, solve a problem, or otherwise make their day.

Your site must work on all devices

Have you ever seen a well-put-together website as viewed from a computer that becomes essentially unusable when viewed from a phone? It happens. A lot. Even in 2026, where “mobile-first development” theoretically is the standard (and theoretically has been for over a decade), this is not the case in reality. Websites can be constructed in multiple ways: a web developer can code a site for you; you can build your website via some sort of drag-and-drop platform (Wix, Squarespace, etc.), and you can even tell an AI website building tool to build a site for you based off key criteria you provide. But herein lies the problem: most website design occurs on a computer which has a much larger screen than a phone.

Now, it’s not wrong to make a site on a computer; I do it all the time. But whoever is making the website must consider how it will look across all screen sizes (large monitor, laptop, tablet, phone). For many professionals, ensuring this continuity of design across devices is second nature. But only a few drag-and-drop site builders truly do mobile well—worth keeping in mind if you go that route. What usually ensues otherwise is a great-looking desktop site that gets awkwardly crammed onto a phone screen: it’s a square peg in a round hole. It’s not enough to shrink the content from a computer screen to a phone. Layout shifts. Order shifts. Content must stack. The entire nature of the site must be revamped for the mobile experience. And since most people will be viewing your website from their phone, the phone experience should receive the greatest treatment and attention.

Don’t make the customer wait (page speed and performance)

The average consumer’s digital attention span is brutally short. How fast (or slow) your page loads (at least the part visible above the fold) is crucial. Milliseconds² matter. Huge image and video files can take a few seconds to load, and you need to carefully ensure this is managed appropriately. If you make the customer wait, they’ll find someone else with a faster site. You might want to consider whether that amazing new video is worth the load time or not. Now, there are certainly strategies to essentially have your cake and eat it too, but you won’t just fall into that scenario; it must be deliberately planned out and executed well.

Your site should make it simple for customers to buy

This sounds rudimentary and bordering-on-insult obvious. Nevertheless, this simple concept is oft-acknowledged in meetings yet forsaken in implementation. A great example: the famous (or infamous?) CTA: the Call-to-action button. This is the “Buy now,” “Shop new arrivals,” or “Sign up” buttons you’ve seen hundreds or thousands of times. A CTA is a place where a customer actively engages with your website in a meaningful way…a step up from browsing. You are leading them down a path (to buy, usually), and this is the first step. So why do I bring up CTAs? Because they need to be visible to your customer—and not just visible on the site but visible without scrolling or navigating to find it. The attention span of the average consumer is extremely low, and most folks will give up or go somewhere else if they can’t quickly find what they’re looking for on your site. So don’t make them go hunting! Ensure that the most meaningful CTA is right there on the screen as soon as they get to your website. How many CTAs to show is case-specific—a single landing page often benefits from one clear primary CTA, while a product grid might have many. Either way, decision fatigue is real, so consider whether your choices help or distract.

Don’t interrupt the checkout process

If your website allows purchases, honor that checkout flow, and get out of the way. Why would you put any speed bumps or obstacles in your customer’s journey to making a purchase? If the customer leaves the checkout flow, that’s bad. It’s the little things:

• Is the cart easy to use and understand? If the cart is confusing, contradictory, or doesn’t allow for easy item adjustments like quantity or removing an item, why would the customer continue? Make the process effortless.
• Does the checkout screen show the customer what they’re getting? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bought things, only to be at the final checkout screen and have no way to do one last verification that I ordered the correct items and quantities. This is a poor user experience. A cautious buyer will then back out of the checkout flow to verify. Who’s to say they won’t get cold feet?
• It’s pretty normal to see a box for coupon codes, but even this practice is controversial, as some customers upon seeing that box will leave your site to hunt for a coupon code. Will they return? Maybe. Maybe not. Again—don’t give the customer a reason to leave the checkout process.

Trust and social proof

This aspect of CRO is an interesting one. It’s definitely a double-edged sword. When used well, such as including legitimate Google Business reviews and the like, it is a powerful conversion tool, as it increases the customer’s confidence in your ability (and integrity) to deliver as promised. And they can verify the reviews externally, i.e., see the Google reviews on the business’s Google page. Third party trust works powerfully in this manner. But social proof can also be detrimental. For example, FOMO³-style messaging works by actively displaying (usually at the bottom of the screen) the customers who have just completed a purchase. There’s often a name plus the product, and sometimes there’s even room for a customer image or avatar (an image the customer chooses instead of their photo). The idea is to show you that the product or service can be trusted and therefore that you should have no fear in making the purchase you’re considering. But how does the customer know the social proof is real and not fake? Privacy obviously dictates they can’t reach out to the people being shown. And let’s talk about interruptions: seeing a constant stream of little FOMO boxes on a laptop screen is annoying. But on a phone screen? It is maddening and takes up a tremendous amount of valuable screen space. Is it wrong to use this sort of tool? No, but if you do, wield it wisely. FOMO tactics are emotional manipulation, and the line between that and so-called dark patterns⁴ is blurry—whether the proof is fake or the design simply pressures or shames users into a choice. Stay on the right side of it.

Use links intentionally

A link is simply some item on the website (text, image, logo, etc.) that, when tapped or clicked, takes the customer elsewhere or causes something else to show on the screen. Links are nothing new—but even today, they aren’t always leveraged as well as they could be. Case in point: contact info. I have seen many, many websites where an email address or phone number is listed, but clicking/tapping on it does nothing. Now, I’m forced to manually type in a phone number or copy and paste the information into my email or phone. It is near-effortless to ensure these links are actionable: When tapping the email, it should immediately open (or offer to open, depending on how your device is configured) your email service. When tapping the phone number, it should offer to call that number. Remove the blockers…let your customers come to you! It’s these little things that can sometimes be the most detrimental.

Accessibility

When it comes to websites, accessibility (also notated as a11y in certain settings) relates to how someone can (or cannot) interact with your site using alternative technologies (like a screen reader), how a vision-impaired customer can view the content, and how navigable your website is without a mouse (i.e., someone navigating solely by keyboard). Think of this as the digital version of ADA. Websites shouldn’t favor only those with great vision and phenomenal dexterity. Things like color contrast, font size, and the order in which website elements are selected by pressing ‘TAB’ on the keyboard matter—and they matter greatly. A beautiful, artistically-designed website may be museum-worthy, but if certain visitors can’t even read it, then what’s the point? In addition, not making a good faith effort to be accessible can invite legal suits. The ambulance chasers of today are now chasing inaccessible websites. If they can get enough folks interested in a class-action lawsuit…watch out!

Measure and improve

CRO involves data-driven decisions, i.e., decisions made from hard and repeatable facts, not conjecture, emotion, or what feels best. This also means considering that what worked in the past might not work today—that anecdotal evidence (while still valuable) cannot take precedence over what’s current. Consumer behavior can be erratic and changes often. Use the right analytics to ensure you’re making decisions based on sound logic and useful data.

In closing

This article barely scratches the surface on CRO. There are so many more factors to consider. But my point in writing this is not to create the full list but to influence how you see your website in relation to your customers. Think through their eyes. Pretend you are red-green color blind or can’t use a mouse. Think about your own checkout screen frustrations and audit your website accordingly. Do you offer a streamlined, consistent experience? Do you make it easy for customers to give you money? Can they find your contact info and get a hold of you easily without being a tech whiz? Craft an experience that thrills your customers. And let me know how I can help!

---

Footnotes

1. Above the fold means the content visible on the screen without scrolling—what visitors see first when the page loads. The term comes from print newspapers, where the most important headlines were placed above the physical fold of the paper so they were visible on the newsstand. ↩

2. A millisecond is one-thousandth of a second (0.001 seconds). This is usually how page loading times are measured. ↩

3. FOMO stands for “fear of missing out”—the anxiety that others are having an experience or opportunity you are not. ↩

4. Dark patterns are design choices that trick or manipulate users—e.g. deception (fake scarcity, hidden opt-ins), or non-fake but manipulative design (a “close coupon” link that says “I want to spend more than I have to,” or a red “No thanks” button that associates declining with danger). When social proof is fabricated, or when the user interface pressures or shames users into a choice, you’re in that territory. ↩