Combat Build Supply CRO Audit
A CRO teardown of Combat Build Supply, a combat sports and strength equipment store with a deep catalog, covering the homepage, collection pages, product pages and a guided redesign of all three.
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What we found.
Combat Build Supply sells combat sports and strength equipment, from cable machines and benches to bags and stands, with a catalog that covers almost everything in the niche. The homepage already carries trust factors, a guarantee section and a short brand story, and it routes visitors to brands and collections earlier than most stores we review. It is well ahead of many sites audited before it.
The problem is discovery. A newsletter pop-up lands before the page does, and the homepage then shows brands and collection tiles before explaining what the store is, who it serves and why it can be trusted. With a catalog this large, that puts a cap on what a visitor can find. The site points at the aisle instead of walking the shopper to the right product.
The same gap repeats on the collection page, where a plain grid of image, name and price forces a shopper to open several tabs and compare from memory. On the product page, shipping, returns and warranty sit folded away from the add to cart button, nothing answers whether the machine will fit the room, and a four figure price is shown as one upfront number with no instalment framing.
The redesign turns the site into a guided buying journey: a hero that answers the three questions, a quiz that asks what brings the visitor in, routes by brand, category and buyer type, product cards that carry the decision summary, and a product page that removes every reason not to buy. The one idea worth remembering is that the website is the store's salesman, and right now it only points.
Problem, opportunity, impact
The store carries almost everything in its niche, but the site caps discovery. The homepage shows brands and tiles before it explains itself, and collection grids and product pages leave the shopper to do all the comparing alone.
Turn the site into a guided buying journey that asks what the visitor needs, routes them by brand, category and buyer type, and puts the decision summary, instalment pricing and fit information in front of them before they ask.
Visitors who already arrive would find the right machine faster, compare without opening five tabs, and reach add to cart with their price, fit and delivery questions already answered. Kits would lift
Scored across five dimensions.
Five dimensions, each scored out of ten.
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01
Homepage & PDP review Where attention leaks and buyers hesitate, section by section.
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02
Mobile UX audit 70% of your traffic — judged on its own terms.
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03
Trust & credibility check The signals that make first-time buyers convert.
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04
Collection & discovery Filtering, merchandising and guidance from browse to buy.
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05
Prioritized CRO roadmap Ranked by impact vs. effort, ready to ship.
Every issue, paired with its fix.
14 issues found, 19 fixes proposed.
A Newsletter Pop-Up Interrupts The First Visit
The first thing a visitor sees is a stay in the know overlay, before the page itself. It adds friction at the exact moment the store should be earning attention, and it does nothing to help the sale.
The Homepage Does Not Answer The Three Questions
In the first few seconds a homepage should say what the store is, who it is for and why it can be trusted. Combat Build Supply has the raw material for all three but presents it in a way that is hard to digest quickly.
Brands Appear Before The Store Introduces Itself
The browse our brands block arrives before the visitor knows anything about the business. It is a useful route, but it is offered too early, like a salesman pushing products at someone who has just walked through the door.
Trust And Guarantee Content Is Present But Buried
The authority section, the guarantee and the short about block are genuinely good elements. They sit lower on the page and in a format that does not let them do the trust building job the top of the page needs.
A Huge Catalog Is Hidden Behind Limited Discovery
The store stocks almost everything in its niche, which is a real advantage. The homepage never shows the visitor that depth, so the site itself puts a cap on what people can find and sort through.
Collection Pages Are A Bare Grid Of Products
Each collection is image, name and price. Nothing on the card tells the shopper what the machine is best for, how big it is or how it differs from the one next to it, so the grid does not help anyone decide.
Shoppers Must Compare Machines From Memory
To choose between cable machines a visitor has to open each product, remember the details, then open the next one. That is a lot of work for the shopper, confusion builds, and confusion kills the conversion.
High Prices Are Shown As One Upfront Number
Equipment at this price point is a hard decision to make from a photo. Showing only the full upfront figure, with no instalment option, holds people back at the exact point where they are deciding.
The Product Page Acts As A Catalog, Not A Salesman
The page confirms the product exists and lets you buy it. It does not explain why this machine is the better choice, what it is for, or address the reasons a visitor might have for not buying.
Shipping, Returns And Warranty Are Folded Away
Delivery times, the return policy and warranty cover are all on the product page, but hidden under collapsed information blocks far from the add to cart button where the visitor actually needs them.
Nothing Tells The Buyer Whether It Will Fit
The single biggest worry for someone buying a rack or cable machine for a spare room or garage is whether it will fit. The page gives dimensions but never translates them into a plain yes or no for their space.
No Path For Home, Gym, School Or Team Buyers
A person outfitting a backyard needs different gear from a coach equipping a team or a facility buying in volume. The site offers one path for all of them, so each has to work out on their own what applies.
No Starter Kits For People Who Do Not Know What To Buy
Many visitors want a complete home combat or training setup but do not know which pieces make one. With no kits, they either piece it together across several stores or leave without buying.
Bulk And Facility Orders Have No Dedicated Funnel
Gyms, schools, studios and teams are a distinct audience for this store. There is no page that asks them the right questions and turns their requirements into a quote request.
Remove The Newsletter Pop-Up Immediately
Take the stay in the know overlay off the homepage. It is the one change that needs no design work and removes friction from the very first second of every visit.
Rebuild The Hero To Answer What, Who And Why Trust
Open with a plain statement of what Combat Build Supply sells, who it serves and the trust signals that back that up, so a stranger has all three answers before scrolling.
Show Shop Pay Instalments Beside Every Price
Shopify already offers financing through the Shop app at no extra build. Surface the starting from monthly figure next to the full price on cards and product pages so a large purchase reads as a manageable one.
Add A Guided Quiz That Asks What Brings The Visitor In
Replace the rush of products with a short get my match flow. Ask what the visitor is training for and where, then show the machines that fit, so the site does the finding instead of the shopper.
Feature A Complete Kit In The Hero Instead Of One Product
Lead with a combat kit or similar bundle that groups three products people typically buy together. The store knows best which kit that should be, but a kit sells more than a single item in the same space.
Introduce Each Brand With Context And Credibility
Move the brand block below the hero and give each brand a line on what it is known for and which serious gyms already use it, so browsing by brand becomes a trust signal as well as a route.
Give Every Category Its Own Clear Route
Lay out shop by category tiles so a visitor who came only for baseball or only for cable machines takes one click to the right collection instead of scanning everything the store thinks they should want.
Add Shop By Buyer Routes For Home, Gym, School And Team
Create three or four entry paths based on who is buying and where the gear will live. A backyard setup needs smaller equipment than a facility, and the route should reflect that before the grid does.
Redesign Product Cards As Decision Summaries
Each card should carry category, name, rating, price, the instalment figure, three key decision points and a best used for line, so comparison happens on the collection page rather than across five tabs.
Show Best Sellers With Trust Elements Around Them
Add a most trusted this season block of top products using the new card format, framed by the guarantee and authority signals the store already has.
Build Starter Kits For Home, Combat And Team Practice
Package the products a beginner needs into named kits with a clear list of contents and any customisation options. This raises average order value and saves the shopper from buying across several stores.
Add A Why Buy From Here Section
Close the homepage with the reasons to choose this store over others: the guarantee, delivery, expertise and support. This is where remaining hesitation is removed before the visitor moves on.
Open Each Collection With Guidance, Quick Picks And Filters
Start the cable machines and benches collection with a short intro, a not sure which machine quiz, delivery and trust notes, three quick picks, then the full grid with filters by type, need, brand and price.
End Each Collection With A Buying Guide And FAQs
Add a comparison guide that explains which machine suits which use case, plus collection specific FAQs, so the page educates and recommends rather than acting as a dead catalog.
Move Reassurances Next To The Add To Cart Button
Place free shipping, secure checkout, the refund if it arrives different promise and the change of mind return terms directly beside add to cart, where the buying decision actually happens.
Add A Will It Fit Module To Every Large Product
State plainly which ceiling heights and floor spaces work and which do not. The recording gives the example of a seven foot ceiling not fitting while eight feet works, which is far clearer than a spec table.
Suggest The Natural Add-On Politely
When someone buys a stand, ask whether they want the bag with it. One polite question on the product page sells the pair without pushing.
Repurpose Store Wide Reviews On Every Product Page
Where a product has no reviews of its own, show reviews from across the store. Shoppers mainly want to know that others have bought here and were looked after, not that the review is for this exact item.
Create A Bulk Orders Page With A Quote Request
Build a dedicated page for gyms, schools, studios and teams that asks about their facility and needs, then turns the answers into a quote request the team can follow up on.
The version we'd build.
The teardown in 7 lines.
- The biggest opportunity is not more traffic, it is helping the traffic already arriving feel confident enough to buy.
- A homepage has three jobs: say what the store is, who it is for and why it can be trusted, within the first few seconds.
- A large catalog is only an advantage if the site makes it easy to discover, sort and compare.
- A collection grid of image, name and price forces shoppers to compare from memory, and confusion kills the conversion.
- Showing an instalment figure next to a four figure price changes how manageable the purchase feels without changing the price.
- The product page should remove every reason not to buy, because what is left is every reason to buy.
- The website is the salesman of the ecommerce business, not the business itself, and it has to sell rather than point.
Questions this audit answers.
Combat sports and strength training equipment, including cable machines, benches, bags, stands and related gear from several brands. The catalog covers almost everything in the niche, which the audit treats as a real strength of the store.
Product discovery. The store has a very large catalog, but the homepage, collection grids and product pages leave the visitor to find, compare and reassure themselves alone. The site points at the aisle instead of walking the shopper to the right machine.
It is the first thing every visitor sees, before the page itself. It interrupts the moment the store should be earning attention and does nothing to help the sale. Removing it is the quickest fix in the whole audit.
Yes. It has trust factors, an authority and guarantee section, a short about block, and it routes to brands and collections earlier than most stores we review. Our CRO strategist estimated it does roughly 40 percent of what a homepage should, which is better than many audited before it.
What is this, who is it for, and can I trust this business. The audit says these need to be answered within the first few seconds. Combat Build Supply has the material to answer all three but does not present it in that order or that clearly.
By surfacing the instalment financing that Shopify already provides through the Shop app, so a large purchase shows a starting from figure next to the full price. The recording cites earlier clients selling high ticket furniture and dresses where this made the decision much easier.
They are a plain grid showing only image, name and price. A shopper choosing between cable machines has to open each product and compare from memory. The redesign puts a decision summary, instalment price and a best used for line on every card.
Shipping, returns and warranty move next to the add to cart button instead of sitting under collapsed blocks. A will it fit module answers the biggest worry for home buyers. A polite add-on prompt suggests the bag with the stand, and store wide reviews fill any gap where a product has none of its own.
Instead of rushing products at the visitor, the site welcomes them, builds trust, then asks what brings them in. A short quiz routes them to the right collection, and routes by brand, category and buyer type do the same for people who already know what they want.
Many visitors want a complete home combat or training setup but do not know which pieces make one. Kits for home gym goers, team practice and home combat answer that in one go, raise average order value and stop people buying pieces across several stores.
Yes. A dedicated bulk orders page asks facilities, schools, studios and teams about their needs and turns the answers into a quote request. The audit treats this as a separate audience from home buyers that currently has no funnel of its own.
The recording runs 37 minutes. It opens with an introduction, then audits the homepage, collection page and product page in turn, and finishes with a Figma redesign of each of those pages plus a bulk orders page and starter kits, before setting out next steps.
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5-minute video teardownA personalized walkthrough of your store, recorded by Eva.
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Homepage & PDP reviewWhere attention leaks and buyers hesitate.
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Mobile UX audit70% of your traffic — judged on its own terms.
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Trust & credibility checkThe signals that make first-time buyers convert.
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Prioritized CRO roadmapRanked by impact vs. effort, ready to ship.