One of the most useful things I do when I start working with an ecommerce client is sit down with their homepage and look at it the way a customer would. Not as a client who’s proud of their brand, not as a developer looking for technical issues – but as a customer who’s landed on the page for the first time and is deciding, in about three seconds, whether to stay or leave.
It’s remarkable how much you see when you look at it that way. And it’s usually not the things the store owner expects.
To make this concrete, I’ve put together a fictional but realistic example: a homeware brand called Hearth & Home. The kind of store I see regularly – genuinely lovely products, a real brand, and a homepage that’s quietly working against them. Here’s what I’d fix, and why.
The store: Hearth & Home
Hearth & Home sells considered, sustainable homewares: candles, ceramics, textiles, and a small range of kitchen goods. They’ve been trading for three years, have a loyal following on Instagram, and get a steady stream of traffic. Their conversion rate sits at just under one per cent. They’ve tried running ads but haven’t seen the return they expected.
They’ve been told they need a redesign.
They don’t. They need a clearer homepage.
Issue 1: The hero says nothing useful
What I see: A full-width lifestyle photo – beautiful, warm, well-shot – with the words “Live beautifully” overlaid in a thin serif font. Below it, a button that says “Explore.”
The problem: A first-time visitor has no idea what this store sells. “Live beautifully” could be a wellness brand, an interiors magazine, a clothing label, or a candle company. “Explore” tells them nothing about what they’re exploring or why they should bother. Within one second, the homepage has failed its most basic job.
What I’d fix: Replace the headline with something that tells the visitor exactly what Hearth & Home is and why it’s worth their time. Something like: “Handpicked homewares for people who care about how their home feels.” It’s not poetry, but it’s clear. And clear beats clever every single time.
The button should tell people what they’ll find when they click it. “Shop the collection” or “Browse new arrivals” gives someone a reason to click. “Explore” does not.
Issue 2: There’s no reason to trust them yet
What I see: After the hero, there are four category tiles and then a grid of featured products. No reviews. No press mentions. No indication of how many customers have bought from them or what they thought.
The problem: Hearth & Home has three years of happy customers and a loyal following. None of that is visible on the homepage. A first-time visitor (especially one who’s come from an ad rather than a personal recommendation) has no social proof to reassure them. They’re being asked to trust a brand they’ve never heard of with nothing to go on but how the site looks.
What I’d fix: Add a simple review strip early in the page e.g. a star rating and a short, specific quote from a real customer. Something like: “The ceramics are even more beautiful in real life! So I bought the whole set!” One line in real words. It changes the feel of the page immediately.
If they’ve had any press coverage, even a small mention, that belongs on the homepage too. Third-party validation is far more persuasive than anything a brand says about itself.
Issue 3: Delivery and returns information is invisible
What I see: Delivery and returns information is linked in the footer. There’s no mention of it anywhere in the main body of the page or on product pages.
The problem: Delivery cost and returns policy are two of the most common reasons people abandon an ecommerce purchase. If a customer has to go hunting for that information, many won’t bother. They’ll assume the worst (expensive delivery, complicated returns) and leave.
What I’d fix: Add a simple reassurance bar just below the hero – three icons with short labels. Free delivery over £50. Easy returns within 30 days. Sustainably sourced. That kind of thing. It takes up minimal space and does a huge amount of work in terms of reducing the barriers to purchase.
Issue 4: The mobile experience is an afterthought
What I see: On mobile, the hero image crops, cutting off the headline. The category tiles stack into a single column and feel very long to scroll through. The featured products grid shows one item per row, which means a lot of scrolling before you see any variety.
The problem: The majority of Hearth & Home’s Instagram traffic is coming from mobile. These visitors are landing on a homepage that wasn’t really designed with them in mind. The experience feels effortful rather than enjoyable, which is a problem for a brand selling products people are supposed to feel good about buying.
What I’d fix: Review every section of the homepage on a phone before anything else. Fix the hero crop so the headline is always visible. Show products in a two-column grid on mobile so visitors can browse without excessive scrolling. Test every button and link with a thumb, not a mouse.
Issue 5: There’s no way to stay in touch
What I see: The only email capture on the site is a generic “Sign up for our newsletter” form in the footer, which offers no reason to subscribe.
The problem: Most visitors to an ecommerce store aren’t ready to buy on their first visit. If there’s no mechanism to capture their details and stay in touch, that traffic is gone. Hearth & Home is spending money driving people to the site and then giving them no reason to come back.
What I’d fix: Add a properly positioned email capture with a genuine incentive e.g. ten per cent off a first order, early access to new collections, a short guide to sustainable homeware. Something that gives a visitor a real reason to hand over their email address. Then make sure there’s an automated welcome sequence in place that introduces the brand, shares some social proof, and brings them back to the store.
The fix list, in order of priority
If I were working with Hearth & Home, this is the order I’d tackle things:
- Rewrite the hero headline to tell visitors exactly what the store sells and why it’s worth their time
- Fix the mobile experience, starting with the hero crop and product grid
- Add a reassurance bar with delivery, returns, and brand values
- Add customer reviews or a press mention near the top of the page
- Replace the footer newsletter signup with a properly incentivised email capture
None of these requires a redesign. Most of them don’t even require a developer. They require an honest look at the homepage and making it do the job it’s supposed to do.
Does any of this sound familiar?
Hearth & Home is fictional, but the issues aren’t. I see versions of this homepage every single day on stores with great products, real customers, and genuine potential that’s being held back by a page that isn’t doing its job.
If you’re not sure what your homepage is telling visitors, the best thing you can do is look at it through their eyes rather than yours. Or let someone else look at it for you.
If you’d like an honest review of your homepage, get in touch and I’ll tell you what I see – the good and the not so good – and where I’d start if it were mine to fix.
