Frederick Johnson CRO Audit
A pre-launch apparel and wall art store, reviewed page by page to map the buying journey a first-time visitor should see once the password comes off and ads begin.
Watch the full 23-minute recording.
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What we found.
Frederick Johnson's homepage already carries a real design sensibility; our CRO strategist was clear that nothing about it looks amateur or under-built. The product page handles cross-sells, free-shipping incentives, and reassurance copy well, and the collection page already has the right building blocks in place. The foundation for a strong store is already here.
The trouble is that the sections don't connect. One part of the homepage builds toward an idea and the next starts over on something unrelated, so a first-time visitor can't form a clear picture of what the store sells or why they should stay. Within the first three seconds, they need an answer to what this is, who it's for, and whether to trust it, and right now that answer doesn't come.
That same gap shows up further down the funnel. The collection page presents T-shirts and art prints as one plain grid with no way to switch between formats and no help narrowing the choice. Product cards list only a name and a price, so a shopper has to open the product page just to learn if their size is even in stock, or what the print actually says.
The fix is to replace the catalog with a guided path: greet visitors with a clear answer of what this is and who it's for, route them with a quick style quiz, show sizes and print details on every card, and let a model's height anchor the size decision. A store that removes the hunting removes the hesitation, and that's the one idea worth carrying into launch.
Problem, opportunity, impact
Frederick Johnson's homepage moves through sections that each feel like a different site: one part builds one idea, the next starts over, so a first-time visitor never forms a clear sense of what the store sells or who it's for.
Answer what this is, who it's for, and why to trust it within seconds, then hand shoppers a guided path, a style quiz, size-ready product cards, and a pack discount, so the buying journey works before the first ad dollar is spent.
With a connected homepage, visible sizing, and a guided path to product, first-time visitors should find what they want faster and hit fewer reasons to abandon the cart before checkout.
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.
12 issues found, 15 fixes proposed.
Homepage Sections Feel Disconnected
Each section of the homepage builds toward a different idea, so a first-time visitor can't form a clear sense of what the store sells or why they should keep scrolling.
No Quick Answer To What This Store Is
The homepage doesn't establish what this is, who it's for, and why to trust it within the first few seconds a visitor is on the page.
No Guided Path From Homepage To Product
There's no way for a visitor to immediately choose between T-shirts and art prints; they're left to scroll and piece the offer together on their own.
Collection Page Reads Like A Plain Catalog
The T-shirt collection lists products with no way to narrow the choice, so shoppers have to open and compare items themselves instead of being guided to the right one.
No Switch Between Art Prints And T-Shirts
The collection page offers no toggle between the wearable and wall-art versions of the same design, even though both formats exist.
Product Cards Hide Available Sizes
Sizes only show up once a shopper opens the individual product page, so someone looking for an extra-large has to click through just to find out it isn't there.
Product Cards Don't Explain The Print
The grid shows a name and price but not what's actually printed on the shirt, leaving shoppers to open multiple tabs to figure out what they're looking at.
No Model Shot To Anchor Sizing
The product gallery has no photo of a model with a stated height and size worn, so shoppers have nothing to compare their own size against.
No Reviews Or Testimonials Yet
Products are new and carry no star ratings or testimonials anywhere, so a shopper has no social proof that someone else has bought and been satisfied.
No Bundle Or Pack Purchase Option
Shoppers can only buy one product at a time; there's no fast way to build a multi-piece order and unlock a volume discount.
No Quiz Or Finder Tool Anywhere On Site
There's no way to help a shopper narrow down to the right product by taste or style; everyone has to browse and decide entirely on their own.
No Live Traffic Has Tested The Journey Yet
The store is still password protected pre-launch, so none of these friction points have been felt by a real shopper before ads begin.
Connect Homepage Sections Into One Narrative
Rewrite the homepage flow so each section builds on the last: what this is, who it's for, why to trust it, then a path into product.
Open With Two Guided Entry Paths
Let visitors choose T-shirts or prints right above the fold instead of scrolling to figure out what the store offers.
Add A Style-Finder Quiz
Build a short quiz, such as picking the moment they sound most like, that routes shoppers to products matching their taste instead of a plain grid.
Show Available Sizes On The Product Grid
Display in-stock sizes directly on each card so shoppers don't have to open the product page just to learn their size isn't there.
Add A One-Line Print Description To Each Card
Explain what's printed on the shirt or shown on the print right on the collection grid, so shoppers don't need to open multiple tabs.
Add A Format Switch To The Collection Page
Let shoppers toggle a design between its T-shirt version and its wall-art print version without ever leaving the collection page.
Add A Finder Tool Inside The Collection Page
Give shoppers who land on the collection page and still can't decide a guided way to narrow the grid down to the right product.
Show A Model Wearing The Product With Height Noted
Add a reference photo stating the model's height and the size they're wearing so shoppers can size themselves with confidence.
Add A Live Free-Shipping Progress Bar
Show shoppers in the cart how much more they need to add to unlock free shipping, which nudges them toward a second item.
Offer A Tee-Plus-Canvas Bundle On The Product Page
Let shoppers add the matching canvas print at the product page with free shipping as the incentive to buy both.
Build A Pack Page With Volume Discounts
Create a build-your-pack page offering 10% off for three or more pieces and 15% off for five or more, with a fast way to add multiple items.
Collect Testimonials Before Launch
Ask friends, family, or early testers to leave reviews now, so new products don't launch with zero social proof.
Use Store-Wide Reviews Where Product Reviews Don't Exist
Show global store ratings on new products instead of leaving the review section empty until individual reviews accumulate.
Keep Related Products On Every Product Page
Show items from the same category on every product page so a shopper who isn't sold on one item sees an alternative before leaving.
Test The Full Buying Journey Before Removing The Password
Walk through the site as a first-time visitor from homepage to checkout to confirm the guided path actually works before ads start.
The version we'd build.
The teardown in 7 lines.
- A store can look professionally designed and still lose buyers if its sections don't connect into one story.
- Answer what this is, who it's for, and why to trust it within the first few seconds a visitor is on the page.
- Hiding available sizes behind a product page click is enough friction to send a shopper away.
- A guided quiz can do more for conversion than a bigger product grid.
- Showing a model's height next to their size removes the guesswork that keeps people from buying wearable products.
- A pack discount works best when shoppers can build it in seconds, not piece it together themselves.
- The best time to fix a buying journey is before the password comes off, not after the first ad runs.
Questions this audit answers.
No. The store is currently password protected and has not launched yet, which is why this audit focuses on the buying journey a first-time visitor will see rather than existing traffic or sales data.
The sections don't connect. One part of the page builds toward an idea and the next starts over on something unrelated, so a visitor never forms a clear sense of what the store sells.
A shopper who likes a product but can't tell if their size is in stock has to click through to the product page to find out. If the size isn't there, the frustration of that extra click is often what sends them away.
It's a short set of questions, like picking the moment a shopper sounds most like, that routes them to products matching their taste instead of leaving them to browse a plain grid on their own.
A simple toggle would let a shopper move between the wearable and wall-art version of the same design without leaving the page, instead of having no way to see both formats side by side.
Sizing is one of the biggest hesitation points for wearable products. If a shopper can see that a six-foot model is wearing a medium, they can compare that to their own height and feel more confident choosing a size.
It's a dedicated page where shoppers can add three or more pieces for 10% off, or five or more for 15% off, with a fast way to select multiple items instead of buying one product at a time.
Collect a handful of testimonials from friends, family, or early testers before launch, and use store-wide ratings on new products until individual product reviews build up.
No. It's described as a strategic design put together to demonstrate the buying journey, not a finished version of the site. It's meant to show what's possible, not to be shipped as is.
A custom Shopify build like the one discussed runs about four weeks, built as a custom theme rather than a marketplace template.
A custom theme can be built specifically around this store's products and audience, which also means it can be optimized for search and for how AI tools surface products, rather than carrying the generic structure of an off-the-shelf theme.
The 23-minute recording walks through the homepage, the collection page, the product page, and a proposed build-your-pack page, comparing the current store to a redesigned version of the buying journey.
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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.