CRO Audit Template: 12 Checkpoints That Move Revenue

I spent March 2025 inside a checkout that converted at 1.9%. The owner had run 11 button-color tests. Zero lift.

We stopped testing colors. I opened a checklist I now use on every funnel. It has 12 checkpoints. Each one asks one question and gives one measurement. I built it on the four stages I run in order on every revenue job, and I map them in CRO as a Pipeline: From Analytics to Revenue.

1. Where does the user hesitate?

I record 5 sessions and mark the second where the cursor stops. In Porto the shipping form scored 4/5 because the labels were vague and validation ran only after submit. Fix: inline hints + clear error before submit.

2. Can you remove a field?

Count required fields above the fold. We removed company-name for B2C and collapsed address to one autocomplete. One less field.

3. Do trust signals match price?

List every badge near the pay button. At €80 AOV "30-day free returns" near the button lifted 0.4pp. At €2k B2B the same badge does nothing; you need case + SOC2.

4. Does the payment mix match competitors?

If they offer PayPal, Apple Pay, Klarna and you don't, you add friction. Adding PayPal gave +0.3pp in Porto. Check your top 3 competitors first.

5. Is mobile thumb-ready?

I test on iPhone, Android, Pixel. Targets >=48px, fields reflow, promo code link not hidden. Fixing a hidden "Enter promo code" recovered 0.2pp.

6. What almost stopped them?

One-question exit: "What almost stopped you?" (price / shipping time / payment / bug). In Porto 38% said "shipping too long" — we added express upsell and recovered 0.5pp.

7. Is the funnel fully tracked?

Tag every step with UTM and verify in GA4. The shop missed "add-to-cart". Fixing the tag revealed a 70% drop invisible before.

8. Is the hypothesis written?

Problem -> hypothesis -> success metric -> minimum effect -> duration. Without this you get hypothesis drift. Porto ran 4 months without one sentence per test.

9. Do you have power to detect the lift?

Before a test I calculate sample size from baseline, minimum effect, confidence. 150 conversions for 2 weeks cannot detect 0.5pp. You need 500+ for 80% power.

10. What is revenue per visitor?

Don't optimize conversion alone. Build LTV: AOV x repeat rate x referral. On the Porto tent shop those three factors took 180-day LTV from €89 to €120, and I map the cycle in LTV +35% via Funnel Redesign: From One-Off Sale to Repeat Cycle. One Porto test lowered conversion -0.3pp but raised AOV +15%, for +1.1% revenue net.

11. What happens after purchase?

Map confirmation, shipping notice, delivery, review request. We added a "how to get most from your tent" card, and repeat purchase hit +8% in 6 months.

12. For B2B: is the handoff to sales clean?

Longer cycle, more stakeholders. Measure qualified lead, not checkout. On B2B I open the same audit one step earlier, on the page the ad sends people to. I count what that page leaks in Why Your Landing Page Is Losing Money.

How we used it: baseline 9k visits, 1.9% checkout. After fixes 1-6, checkout 3.4% in 4 weeks. No button test gave that.

Want the sheet? Message me and I send the Google Doc with scoring. One CTA: funnel audit.