The Yorkshire Foundry CRO Audit
A page by page teardown of The Yorkshire Foundry's home, collection and product pages, with a redesign that guides shoppers to the right brass knocker, knob or decoration.
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What we found.
The Yorkshire Foundry sells brass door knockers, cabinet knobs, hooks and Christmas tree decorations, and the range is attractive. Many of the right ingredients are already on the site: a rotating bar led by the 30 year guarantee, a how it works section, a bespoke option, a shop by type block, and delivery, returns and instalment messaging beside the add to cart button.
The core problem is that the site behaves like a catalogue, not a salesperson. The hero tells a visitor what the store does, but not who it is for or why to trust it. The navigation items open nothing when hovered, so a shopper has to guess whether to start with door knockers, heads or offers. Nothing asks what they are looking for and then points them to it.
The same pattern repeats further down. The collection page has sorting, filters and a useful intro, but its cards show only a picture, a name and a price, so comparing four knockers means opening four pages. On the product page, reviews are a link to follow, then two reviews at the very bottom, and nothing says why to buy here instead of eBay, Etsy or Amazon for a £10 item.
The direction is a guided buying experience built from what already exists. A hero that answers what, who and trust; a menu organised by animal, type, season, budget and recipient; a short finder that recommends products; comparable product cards; reviews placed high; and bundles that lift order value. The idea worth remembering: show shoppers what they are looking for, not what the store wants them to see.
Problem, opportunity, impact
The site works like a catalogue. Visitors get a grid of products, menus that open nothing on hover, and reviews tucked away, so nobody is guided to the right product or given a reason to trust the store.
The Yorkshire Foundry could act like a good shop assistant: ask what a visitor wants, route them by animal, type or budget, recommend products, and answer every doubt on the page where the decision is made.
Shoppers who arrive on ads would find the right product faster, trust the store sooner and buy more per order, so the same traffic produces more sales and the ads can be restarted with confidence.
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, 14 fixes proposed.
Hero Does Not Say Who It Serves
The Shop Door Knockers button makes clear what the store does. It does not tell a visitor whether this is the right shop for them or whether other buyers trust it, so the first screen leaves the key doubts open.
Navigation Opens Nothing On Hover
The main menu items show no drop down or sections when hovered. A visitor has to click to find out whether to begin with door knockers, heads or offers, which hands the routing work to the shopper.
No Guided Path To The Right Product
Nothing on the home page asks what the visitor wants, such as an animal, a finish or a fitting. Shoppers must work out the route themselves, which is the opposite of how a good shop assistant behaves.
Home Page Behaves Like A Catalogue
Below the hero the page is largely a grid of available products. Showing what exists is different from helping someone find the right item, and the shop by type section sits near the bottom of the page.
Reviews Are Missing From The Home Page
Reviews are mentioned elsewhere, such as on Trustpilot, but none appear on the home page. With many brands selling similar pieces, a stranger has no social proof to lean on before they choose.
Trust Signals Sit Where Few See Them
The 30 year guarantee, the how it works section and the featured block are good signals, but they are spread through the page and the featured section can be shown in a stronger place.
Collection Cards Hide Comparison Details
Product cards show only a picture, a name and a price. A shopper weighing four similar knockers cannot see what is included or how they differ without opening each product page, and may leave frustrated.
Filters And Sorting Are Hard To Scan
Sorting, price and filter options exist on the collection page, but they are not laid out to be understood at a glance. The tools are there; the presentation does not make them easy to use.
Product Page Sends Shoppers To Find Reviews
The product page points visitors toward reviews instead of showing them near the title and price. Anyone who does not want to search for proof has no reassurance at the moment of decision.
No Reason To Buy Here Over Marketplaces
The page states that the product is available but not why to buy it from this store. For a £10 decoration, shoppers can compare eBay, Etsy and Amazon, so the price is not yet justified.
Two Reviews Sit At The Page Bottom
Only two reviews appear, and they are at the very end of the product page. Visitors who do not scroll that far never read them, so the best proof is out of sight.
No Upsell Or Bundle On Product Page
Nothing on the product page raises order value. Packs, matching colours or contrasting baubles are not offered beside a £10 hanging decoration, so each visitor buys one item at most.
Rewrite The Hero To Answer Three Questions
Make the first screen say what the store sells, who it is for and why it can be trusted. Keep a clear call to action that leads into the finder or the main collections.
Add A Review Bar To The Hero
Place a visible review rating in the hero alongside the UK made, press mentions, 30 year guarantee and free UK delivery strip, so trust is established before the first scroll.
Rebuild The Menu Around Shopper Needs
Organise the menu by department, then by animal, type, season, budget and recipient. A shopper who knows they want a dog knocker, or has a limit on spend, can go straight there.
Add A Short Product Finder
Offer a few questions, such as the animal, whether they already own a base and the finish they want, then recommend matching products. It is the digital version of asking how can I help.
Route Shoppers Into Animal And Kit Funnels
Give the home page clear steps: pick the animal, then pick the complete kit or the head only. Each choice should lead to a focused collection, so no one has to search.
Show Bestsellers After The Routes
Introduce bestsellers and award winners once the visitor has seen what the store does and how to explore it. Product cards then land on someone who already has some confidence.
Put Key Facts On Every Product Card
Show a badge, the name, what is included, a short description, the rating, the price and a quick add button on each card, so shoppers can compare without opening several pages.
Make Filters Visible At A Glance
Lay out type, animal, season and price tabs, such as under 50, under 99 and under 199, so the choices are obvious. Shoppers with a budget limit should find their range at once.
Show Reviews Beside The Product Title
Display the star rating and review count next to the name and price on the product page, then repeat real customer photos and quotes lower down, not only at the bottom.
Explain Why To Buy From The Foundry
Add a section that compares the store with marketplaces: UK made, a 30 year guarantee, the founder behind it and a bespoke option. Give shoppers a reason to pay here.
Offer Packs And Matching Bundles
Show boxes of 5 and 10 with a lower price per piece, and suggest contrasting or matching decorations beside the item. Selling several products to one person lifts order value.
Add A Free Delivery Nudge For Overseas Orders
Show how much more an overseas customer needs to spend to reach free delivery, with the £65 threshold clearly marked. They get a saving and the store gets a larger order.
Add A See It On Your Tree Preview
Let shoppers pick size and colour and see the decoration on a tree, or on their own photo. The same idea can show a knocker on a door, which makes the choice easier.
Give The Founder Story And Ask Option A Place
Introduce the founder as a source of authority, and add an ask about a bespoke head option for shoppers who have not found what they want, so no one leaves empty handed.
The version we'd build.
The teardown in 7 lines.
- The store's range is strong; the presentation layer is what stops visitors from finding the right product.
- A hero should answer what the store does, who it is for and whether it can be trusted, all before the first scroll.
- A menu that opens nothing on hover gives the shopper the job of finding the route.
- A grid of products is a catalogue; a guided path from animal to kit to product is a salesperson.
- Collection cards should hold enough detail to compare products without opening each page.
- Reviews belong beside the title and price, because that is where the buying decision is made.
- A £10 product needs a stated reason to buy here instead of from a marketplace, and a bundle to raise the order.
Questions this audit answers.
The store already runs ads and brings visitors, but those visitors are not being guided to a product or given enough reasons to buy. Improving the site first means any new traffic has a better chance of becoming sales.
It has a rotating bar with the 30 year guarantee, a how it works section, a bespoke option and a shop by type block. The product page includes delivery, returns, secure checkout and instalment messaging.
It makes clear that the store sells door knockers, but it does not say who the store is for or why a stranger should trust it. A review bar and a short answer to those questions would close that gap.
The menu items show nothing when hovered, so visitors must click each one to learn what it holds. A menu organised by animal, type, season, budget and recipient lets people go straight to what they want.
A catalogue shows what is available. A guided path asks what the visitor wants, narrows the options and recommends products. It works like a shop assistant who asks how they can help.
Product cards show only a picture, name and price. A shopper comparing similar knockers has to open each product page to see differences, and may leave. Cards should show what is included, a short description, a rating and the price.
Reviews are mentioned elsewhere but are missing from the home page, linked from the product page, and only two sit at the bottom of it. Many brands sell similar pieces, so visible proof is what keeps a hesitant visitor on the site.
By saying why to buy from this store: UK made, a guarantee, real reviews and a founder behind it. Packs, matching items and a free delivery nudge also raise the order, so the visit is worth more.
It is a short set of questions, such as the animal and the finish, that ends with recommended products. It is the online version of a shop assistant asking what you are looking for.
It lets a shopper choose a size and colour and see the decoration on a tree, or upload a photo of their own tree. It helps them judge size and look before they buy, and the same idea works for doors.
No. The audit is about what happens when a visitor lands, where they hesitate and where friction stops them buying. The redesign changes the guidance, the placement of proof and the product detail, not the cosmetic look.
The video runs 39 minutes. It reviews the home page, collection page and product page, then walks through a redesigned version of each, and closes with next steps and pricing options.
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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.