WhakaSports CRO Audit
A 22 minute teardown of WhakaSports, a baseball and softball training gear store, covering the homepage, shop page, product page and a full strategic redesign concept.
Watch the full 22-minute recording.
What we found.
WhakaSports opens with a video of the product in action, and it does more in a few seconds than a page of copy would. The product page is the strongest asset on the site: it carries reassurances, UGC, a comparison, review content and an average order value play. The reviews exist, the video content exists, and the store has a real product worth explaining.
The problem is order. After the hero, the homepage jumps straight into the product grid with no heading and no introduction. Nothing tells a first-time visitor what the gear is, what problem it solves, what it is made of, or where the idea came from. The reviews, the single strongest trust asset on the page, sit at the bottom instead of near the top.
The shop page repeats it. Two balls are presented side by side with no explanation of the material, no explanation of what separates one from the other, and no help choosing. The visitor is expected to work it out themselves or to go and find it on the product page. A first-time visitor who cannot tell the two apart does not pick one; they leave and buy a standard ball elsewhere.
The direction is to make every page do its share of the selling. Explain first, then show the product, then let the video back up the claim. Give the shop page the decision points so the choice is made there. The product page is not the problem here; it is the proof that this store can sell, and the rest of the site should be built to match it.
Problem, opportunity, impact
The homepage shows products before it explains them. Visitors meet the grid before they learn what the gear is, who made it, what it is made of, or why anyone already trusts it.
The product page already sells well. Carrying that same work backwards into the homepage and the shop page would give the store one continuous buying journey instead of one strong page carrying every other page.
More of the traffic already arriving would reach the product page already convinced, so the product page stops doing the persuading on its own and starts closing visitors who are ready.
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.
15 issues found, 18 fixes proposed.
The Hero Never Answers The Trust Question
The hero video answers what the product is and what it is for. The third question a visitor asks, whether this product and this store can be trusted, goes unanswered at the point where it matters most.
Reviews Sit At The Bottom Of The Homepage
The store has reviews and they are the strongest conversion asset on the homepage, but they are placed below everything else instead of being used as the introduction to the brand.
The Product Grid Arrives With No Introduction
Straight after the hero the homepage drops into products with no heading and no lead-in, asking visitors to browse before they have been given any reason to care.
The Product Is Never Explained In Words
The homepage shows the gear but never states what it is, what problem it solves, what it is made of, or what the idea behind it was. Visitors see the product without seeing its value.
Video Carries Claims That Were Never Made
The quality video is strong, but it runs without any written claim in front of it. The standard pattern is to state the claim in words and use video as the backing, not as the claim itself.
No Founder Story Anywhere On The Site
Nothing on the homepage says who built this or what prompted them to build it. Buyers connect with the person behind a product, and that emotional layer is missing entirely.
The Shop Page Explains Nothing
The shop page presents two balls and asks the visitor to pick one. There is no material description, no use case and nothing that separates the two options.
The Choice Is Pushed Onto The Product Page
Comparison is left for the visitor to do by opening each product in turn and holding the differences in their head. Most people do not finish that job; they leave instead.
The Site Assumes The Visitor Already Knows
The store is written for someone who has seen these products before. A first-time visitor has none of that context and is given none of it on the way through.
Seven Reviews Are Hidden Below The Fold
The product page holds seven reviews but only reveals them after the visitor has scrolled. The social proof arrives after the decision moment rather than before it.
No Guidance For Choosing Between Products
Nothing on the site helps a visitor work out which setup is right for their player or their sport. They are left to guess, and a guess feels like a risk worth avoiding.
Products Are Sold Individually, Never As A Setup
The gear works together as a full station, but the site sells one item at a time. The larger, more useful purchase is never put in front of the visitor.
The Comparison Has No Monetary Anchor
The product page comparison shows the difference between options but does not put the benefit in money terms, so the visitor cannot see what the spend actually returns.
The Homepage Ends On An Email Signup
A visitor who has read the whole homepage is asked for an email address instead of being sent toward a product. The most engaged visitor on the page is given the weakest next step.
The Pages Do Not Work As One Journey
The product page is doing the selling almost alone. The homepage and shop page hand it visitors who have not been warmed up, so it starts every conversation from zero.
Put Trust Elements Into The Hero Section
Place the review count, star rating or a short customer line directly in the hero beside the video, so the trust question is answered in the same view as the product.
Open The Homepage With What Customers Say
Move the reviews up to serve as the introduction to the brand. Lead with what buyers liked and how the gear performed for them, before any product is shown.
Write A Short Introduction Before The Grid
Add a section between the hero and the products that states what the gear is, the problem it solves and who it is for, in plain words a first-time visitor can follow.
State The Quality Claim Before The Video
Write out the material and build quality in text, then run the existing video underneath it as proof. The words make the claim; the video confirms it.
Tell The Story Behind The Product
Add a section on why these products were created, what the founder was trying to solve and how they arrived at the solution. Buyers trust a product with a person behind it.
Structure The Homepage As Problem, Then Solution
Order the page so the visitor meets the problem, then the proof that you understand it, then the products as the answer. Value has to be built before the grid appears.
Add A Find My Setup Quiz
Ask two or three questions about the player, the sport and the level, then recommend a specific setup. Asking the right questions is what makes the recommendation believable.
Split The Journey By Sport Up Front
Let the visitor pick baseball or softball as an early step, then show them only what applies. A narrower path is easier to walk than a full catalogue.
Explain The Products On The Collection Page
Give the shop page an introduction that says what these products are and what separates them, so the page teaches rather than just lists.
Add Decision Points To Every Grid Card
Put the material, the use case and the key difference on each card so the choice can be made on the collection page instead of across four browser tabs.
Put The Monetary Value Into The Comparison
Reframe the comparison so the visitor sees what they get back for the spend, not just which option has which feature. Show what the investment returns.
Raise The Review Count Above The Fold
Lead the product page with the review count and rating rather than holding them until after the scroll. Proof works best before the price is read.
Sell The Full Station As A Package
Present the complete setup alongside the individual products, with the saving stated plainly. Buyers get more value and the order value rises with it.
Add A Frequently Bought Together Block
Pair the items that naturally go together on the product page. The tendency to buy them as a set already exists; the page should make acting on it easy.
Show The Setup Process In Three Steps
Add a short section covering how the gear is assembled and how long it takes. Removing the fear of a complicated setup removes a real reason not to buy.
Add A What Is In The Box Section
List exactly what arrives so nobody has to guess what a purchase includes. Ambiguity about the parcel contents delays the decision.
Answer Shipping And Warranty On The Page
State shipping timelines, returns and warranty terms on the product page itself so the visitor never has to leave to find the answer.
Replace The Email Signup With A Real Next Step
End the homepage with find my setup or shop all gear instead of a newsletter box. A visitor who reached the bottom is ready for the product, not a mailing list.
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.
- Every visitor arrives asking three questions: what is it, what is it for, and can I trust this.
- The homepage jumps into the product grid before it has explained a single thing about the product.
- The reviews are the strongest conversion asset on the homepage and they are sitting at the bottom of it.
- State the claim in words, then use the video to back it up, not the other way round.
- The owner has seen this store a thousand times; the visitor is seeing it for the first time.
- A good product page cannot carry a site where the pages before it do none of the selling.
Questions this audit answers.
Baseball and softball training gear, including training balls and the equipment that makes up a full practice station. The store currently lists a small range, with two balls shown side by side on the shop page. The audit covers how that range is presented rather than the range itself.
No, the video is one of the best things on the site. It shows the product in action and does more in seconds than a paragraph would. The issue is what surrounds it: the hero never answers whether the store can be trusted, and the quality video later on runs without any written claim in front of it.
It carries reassurances, user generated content, a product comparison and an average order value play, which is the material a converting page is built from. The audit scores it eight out of ten. The recommendations there are about presentation and sequence, not about fixing something broken.
Because it is doing the selling alone. The homepage and shop page hand it visitors who have not been told what the product is or why it matters, so every sale starts from zero at the last step. Warming visitors up earlier means the product page closes people who already want to buy.
A visitor who has not been told what the gear is, what it is made of or why it exists has no reason to browse. It is the equivalent of a shop assistant pointing at a shelf without saying a word. Some explanation and some salesmanship have to come first.
Reviews answer the trust question, which is the one thing the hero currently leaves open. Putting what customers said near the start introduces the brand through other people rather than through your own claims. At the bottom of the page they only reach visitors who were already convinced.
It asks the visitor about their player, their sport and their situation, then recommends a specific product. The audit compares it to a doctor who prescribes without asking any questions; the pills might be right, but nobody trusts the prescription. Asking first is what makes the recommendation credible.
Because comparison across product pages means opening each one, reading it, and holding the differences in your head. Most people do not finish that. Putting the deciding details on the grid cards lets the choice happen on one screen.
No. It is a strategic concept showing the structure and the buying journey, not a final product. Some sections are deliberately over explained to make the reasoning visible, and elements like the background video are placeholders. The structure is the part that matters.
It presents the full station alongside the individual products, adds a frequently bought together block for the items that naturally pair, and offers a kit with the tee at a saving. The buyer gets more gear for less than buying separately, so both sides gain.
The value is in implementing the structure, and the studio can build it out in Shopify. The next step is a call with the founder and the strategist who recorded the audit, covering scope, timeline and investment. A booking link sits on this page.
The recording runs 22 minutes. It covers the homepage, the shop page and the product page as they are today, then walks through a strategic redesign of the homepage, the collection page and the product page. It closes with the recommended next steps.
More teardowns from the library.
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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.
-
Trust & credibility checkThe signals that make first-time buyers convert.
-
Prioritized CRO roadmapRanked by impact vs. effort, ready to ship.