The fastest way to work out how to increase conversion rate is to find out exactly where and why visitors give up, then fix that first. Most failed fixes, like brighter buttons, new badges or a full redesign, skip that step and treat the symptom instead of the cause.

Barbeque Nation is a good example. The restaurant chain had a strong brand and steady traffic, but its online booking flow was losing people. The reservation process asked for information in the wrong order, key details like menus and outlet locations were hard to find, and pages loaded slowly on mobile.

We started with an audit to pin those problems down, then redesigned around what it found: a simpler booking flow, clearer navigation and faster mobile pages. Booking conversion rose 45% and bounce rate fell 38%.

That's the approach this guide follows: diagnose first, then fix what matters most.

What Is Conversion Rate?

Conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who complete an action you care about. The formula is simple:

Conversion rate = (conversions ÷ visitors) × 100

What counts as a conversion depends on the business:

• an ecommerce store might count completed purchases

• a SaaS company might count free trial sign-ups or demo requests

• a restaurant might count completed reservations

There's no single conversion rate for a whole website, so define the action and the audience you're measuring.

It also helps to split conversions into two kinds. The final purchase is the macro conversion. The steps leading to it, such as product views, add-to-cart clicks and checkout starts, are micro-conversions. A store with plenty of product views but few add-to-carts has a very different problem from one where people add items and then abandon checkout. Calling both "low conversion" hides the real issue.

Set the Goal and Map the Funnel First

Before you change anything, decide which conversion matters and map the steps people take to reach it. Conversion optimization without a defined goal turns into random page edits, and without a funnel map you'll fix the last step when the real problem sits three steps earlier.

Define what success means

• Name the primary conversion. Calls, leads, purchases, bookings, demo requests or another specific action.

• Define quality. A form full of the wrong people isn't a win. Note what makes a lead or sale valuable, such as budget, location or need.

• Pick the micro-conversions to track. Form starts, pricing page views, add-to-carts or call button clicks.

• Record the baseline. Current conversion rate, traffic sources, device mix and drop-off points, before anything changes.

Map the funnel

Most funnels follow the same five stages:

1. Traffic source: an ad, search result, email, social post or referral sets the visitor's expectations.

2. Landing: the first screen, where they decide whether they're in the right place.

3. Evaluation: benefits, proof, pricing, details and FAQs reduce doubt.

4. Action: the form, checkout, booking tool or phone number.

5. After the conversion: confirmation, follow-up email, onboarding or the sales call.

When conversion is low, the problem isn't always at the final button. The headline might not match the ad that brought people in, or the page might not answer the question that matters before the form asks for details.

Why Your Website Isn't Converting

A website with traffic but few conversions usually has one of seven problems. Some are about who arrives, most are about what happens once they're there.

• Weak traffic quality. The visitors don't actually intend to buy.

• Message mismatch. The ad or search result promises one thing, and the page delivers another.

• Unclear value. People can't quickly tell why they should choose you.

• Friction. Too many steps, confusing navigation, long forms or a difficult checkout.

• Trust gaps. Pricing, policies, reviews or security cues are missing or hard to find.

• A weak mobile experience. Small buttons, broken forms and slow pages on phones.

• Unknown drop-off points. The overall rate says you're losing people, but not where or why.

So start by finding the step where the journey breaks, before you change anything on the site.

The 5 Friction Points That Cost the Most Conversions

Across the audits we run, the same five problems turn up again and again. Baymard Institute puts the average documented cart abandonment rate at around 70%, and these are a big part of why.

1. A checkout that asks too much

Baymard's checkout research found the average checkout shows more than 23 form elements by default, while a well-designed one can manage with 12 to 14. Remove every field that doesn't help complete the order. You don't need a one-page checkout, just a shorter one. Our guide to the ecommerce checkout process walks through each step.

2. Navigation that makes people think

When pricing, features or contact options sit behind vague menu labels, people leave. Make sure every key action leads where it says it will. A "Get started" button that opens a generic contact form instead of a sign-up flow quietly loses people.

3. Mobile as an afterthought

Buttons too small to tap, forms that break on narrow screens and overlapping elements all add up. Test the main flows on a real phone, using mobile data rather than office Wi-Fi.

4. Missing trust signals

Shoppers hesitate when they can't find a returns policy, reviews, security cues or contact details. Put that reassurance where people hesitate, next to prices, forms and payment.

5. Surprise costs

Baymard lists extra costs that appear late, like shipping, taxes and fees, as the top reason shoppers abandon checkout. If people drop off between the cart and payment, hidden costs are the first thing to check. Show them on the product page.

How to Improve Conversion Rate: Message, Forms, Trust and CTAs

Once you know where people drop off, most fixes fall into four areas. Start with whichever one sits closest to the step that's leaking.

1. Make the message match the visitor

The first screen should say what you offer, who it's for and what happens next. If someone arrived from an ad or search result, repeat the language that brought them there so the page feels like a continuation. Specific CTAs help too. "Book a consultation" or "Compare plans" tells people what they're committing to. "Get started" often doesn't.

2. Cut form friction without losing lead quality

Shorter forms usually get more submissions, but not always better ones. Remove fields you don't need, group related questions, mark required fields clearly and use the right mobile keyboard for each input. If you need more detail to qualify a lead, explain why you're asking. Multi-step forms work well when the first step is easy and the progress is visible.

3. Put trust where people hesitate

A privacy note next to a form often does more than a trust section at the bottom of the page. Use only signals that are real: genuine reviews, actual case studies, clear policies and honest pricing guidance. Too many badges and claims can look desperate.

4. Match CTAs to intent

Someone ready to buy responds to "Start checkout". Someone still comparing needs "See plans" or "Get a recommendation". Use one primary CTA for the main goal and a lighter secondary option for people who aren't ready yet.

5. Don't forget phone leads

For service businesses, a call is often the conversion. Show a tap-to-call button on mobile where intent is high, say when someone will answer, and track call outcomes, not just clicks. A missed call is a lost conversion, however good the page was.

Diagnose Before You Design

Analytics tells you where people drop off. A UX audit tells you why. Put the two together before you redesign anything, and you'll fix the problems that actually cost conversions instead of the ones that look obvious.

Start with free tools. GA4 funnel reports show which step loses the most people, and session recordings show what they did right before leaving. Our roundup of conversion rate optimization tools compares the options for analytics, recordings, testing and feedback.

Then look at the experience itself. A proper audit covers:

• user journeys, to see where the flow breaks down

• a review against established usability principles

• forms, checkout and mobile, tested separately

• accessibility basics like contrast, labels and keyboard use

• trust cues and how they compare with competitors

The output should be a short, ranked list of fixes, so your team knows what to do first. Our guide to CRO audits explains how an audit focused on conversion steps works.

Case study: Barbeque Nation

Barbeque Nation runs more than 200 restaurant outlets, and its booking site was holding it back. Our audit found:

• a cluttered, multi-step booking flow that asked for information in the wrong order

• menus, offers and outlet locations buried in the navigation

• slow pages and poor mobile usability, especially during peak hours

• accessibility gaps, including missing alt text, low contrast and unclear CTAs

The redesign that followed simplified the booking flow, brought reservations, menus and offers to the front, and rebuilt the site mobile-first on Next.js.

Read the full Barbeque Nation case study.

Test, Prioritize and Keep Learning

To optimize for conversions over time, rank your ideas by impact, effort and confidence, test the important ones with a clear hypothesis, and write down what you learn. That turns a list of fixes into a repeatable process.

Prioritize before you build

Confidence is the easiest column to overlook. An idea backed by analytics, recordings and an audit deserves more attention than one based on taste.

Test with a hypothesis

A good test starts with a sentence like: "If we explain the consultation process before the form, more visitors will complete it, because they'll know what happens next." Then define:

• the audience: which page, traffic source or device

• the change: exactly what will be different

• the main metric: the conversion that decides success

• a guardrail metric: what mustn't get worse, such as lead quality or revenue per visitor

Low-traffic sites often can't reach a reliable A/B test result. There, fixing obvious problems found in recordings and audits, then watching the numbers over a few weeks, is usually the better use of time.

Measure in context

Compare conversion rates within segments, not against one universal benchmark. Look at mobile and desktop separately, paid and organic separately, and new and returning visitors separately where you can. Track lead quality or revenue per visitor alongside volume, so a rise in conversions doesn't hide a drop in value.

Keep a shared record

Write down every test: the hypothesis, what changed, the result and what it taught you. Without that record, teams repeat failed tests and undo changes that worked.

Conclusion

Pick the one conversion that matters most to your business and find the step where most people give up. Watch ten recordings of visitors who left at that step, and write down every moment they hesitate or get stuck.

That list is your starting point. Fix the top three items, measure the change, then move to the next step. If you'd like expert eyes on it, talk to our team.

FAQs