Checklist · 11 min read
Published June 25, 2026
The CRO Audit Checklist: 23 Things to Check Before You Ship
This is the exact checklist we run when we audit a site. No theory, no fluff — just the 23 specific things that quietly cost conversion, with the fix for each. Bookmark it, run it before your next launch.
How to use this checklist
Open the page you're auditing in an incognito window on a phone and on a laptop. Go through each item below and give yourself a verdict: pass, fail, or needs work. At the end, sort fails by estimated revenue impact and ship the top three this week.
Time-box yourself to 30 minutes. The goal is a prioritized fix list, not a perfect report.
Above the fold (the 5-second test)
1. The headline names the outcome, not the product
Bad: "BurnRate — AI-powered conversion analysis." Good: "See what's killing your conversions in 60 seconds." The headline should describe what the visitor gets, not what you built.
2. The subhead names who it's for
One short line that lets the right visitor self-identify ("For founders, marketers, and DTC stores") and the wrong visitor leave. Removing the wrong audience is a feature.
3. One primary CTA, written in the visitor's words
"Run my free audit" beats "Get started." Demote secondary actions to text links so the eye lands on one button, not three.
4. Social proof in the first viewport
Logos, a quote with a real name and photo, a star rating, or a usage count ("2,341 sites audited this week"). Without one, you're asking strangers to trust you on vibes.
5. Hero loads in under 2.5 seconds
Run PageSpeed Insights. If LCP is over 2.5s, compress and preload the hero image, add explicit width/height, and kill render-blocking scripts.
Page structure & messaging
6. Sections are ordered the way buyers decide
Problem → solution → proof → how it works → pricing → CTA. Not features → features → features → CTA. Mirror the buyer's mental flow, not your org chart.
7. Every H2 is benefit-led, not feature-led
"Cut audit time from 4 hours to 4 minutes" beats "AI-powered analysis." Skim your H2s alone — do they sell the outcome?
8. No jargon a 12-year-old wouldn't get
If your copy says "holistic conversion intelligence platform," rewrite it. Plain words convert. Always.
9. The page tells one story, not five
Pick the single most important visitor action and orient every section toward it. "And also we do X" sections steal attention from the main CTA.
Trust & credibility
10. Testimonials use real names, photos, and titles
"Sarah K., Founder" is not a testimonial — it's a placeholder. Full name, headshot, company, and ideally a metric ("+34% trial signups").
11. Trust signals appear next to every CTA
A guarantee, security badge, refund policy, or testimonial within 100px of every conversion button. Friction at the moment of conversion costs more than anywhere else.
12. Pricing is visible without a form
Hidden pricing kills conversion for everyone except enterprise. Show tiers; if you can't, name a starting price ("From $19/mo").
13. "About" and contact info are easy to find
Real humans behind the product, a real address, a real email. Anonymous SaaS converts worse than SaaS with a face on the About page.
Forms & friction
14. Every form field has been earned
Each additional field cuts conversion by ~5%. Ask only what you need to deliver the next step. Phone number on a free trial? Cut it.
15. Single-column layouts, inline validation
Two-column forms are 15% slower to complete. Inline validation (green check, red error) beats end-of-form error walls.
16. No CAPTCHA unless you're being attacked
CAPTCHAs cost 3–10% conversion. Use invisible bot detection (hCaptcha invisible, Cloudflare Turnstile) until you have a real abuse problem.
17. Password rules are humane
"Min 8 chars" is enough. "1 uppercase, 1 number, 1 symbol, 1 hieroglyph" is conversion suicide on signup forms.
Mobile experience
18. Tested at 375px wide (iPhone SE)
Open DevTools, drop to 375px, and walk through the funnel. The smallest common viewport is the worst common viewport — design for it first.
19. Tap targets at least 44px tall
Apple's accessibility minimum. Buttons smaller than 44px tall cost mobile conversion to fat-finger taps and missed clicks.
20. Primary CTA visible without scrolling on mobile
If a visitor has to scroll to see your main button on a phone, you've already lost the impatient half.
Performance & accessibility
21. LCP under 2.5s, CLS under 0.1
Google's Core Web Vitals affect rankings AND conversion. Slow sites lose ~7% conversion per second of delay.
22. Text contrast passes WCAG AA (4.5:1)
Low-contrast "elegant" gray-on-white kills readability for everyone, not just users with low vision. Run a contrast checker on every body-text style.
23. Every image has alt text, every form has labels
Accessibility isn't a checkbox — screen-reader users convert too. And alt text is free SEO.
What to do with your results
Count your fails. If you have fewer than 5, you're in good shape — fix them and re-audit in a quarter. If you have 10+, don't try to fix everything. Pick the three with the highest estimated revenue impact (usually: above-the-fold clarity, CTA strength, and form friction) and ship those first.
Want the deeper explainer on what a CRO audit actually is and when to run one? Read: What Is a CRO Audit? The Complete 2026 Guide.
Don't want to run 23 checks by hand?
BurnRate runs the entire checklist on your site in about 60 seconds and returns a prioritized list — with the specific fix for each fail.
Run my free CRO audit →