Conversion advice for Shopify stores tends to arrive as either platitudes ("build trust!") or a redesign quote. In between sits an unglamorous list of small fixes we make over and over on real stores — each under an hour's work, each attacking a specific, common leak. In rough order of reliability:
1. Put shipping cost and time on the product page
The single most common conversion leak is the shipping surprise at checkout. State it where the decision happens: "Free shipping over $80 · $9.95 flat · ships in 1–2 days from Melbourne." Cart abandonment studies have put unexpected costs at the top of the reasons list for years; this is that fix.
2. Fix the mobile add-to-cart
Most store traffic is on phones. Load your bestseller on yours: is the add-to-cart button visible without scrolling, or buried under a gallery and three paragraphs? A sticky add-to-cart bar on mobile is one of the highest-yield theme tweaks that exists.
3. Cut the checkout to what the law and the courier need
Every optional field costs completions. Company name, "how did you hear about us", separate billing address by default — off unless you truly need them. Shopify's express options (Shop Pay, PayPal, Apple Pay) should be visible on the first checkout screen; accelerated checkouts convert meaningfully better for returning buyers.
4. Show the review count, not just the stars
Stars alone read as decoration; "4.8 (312 reviews)" reads as evidence. Pull the count up beside the product title, and put your two best specific reviews — the ones that mention a result or answer an objection — directly on the product page rather than banished to a tab.
5. Rewrite the product title for the search, not the shelf
"The Hartley" tells Google and a scanning shopper nothing. "Hartley Linen Shirt — Men's, Sage Green" works on the product page, in search results, and in the Klaviyo abandonment email that quotes it. Poetry in the description; nouns in the title.
6. Answer the size/fit/spec question on the page
Whatever your product's version of "will it fit?" is, answer it without a click: size guide next to the size selector, dimensions in the gallery as a diagram, compatibility list above the fold. Every unanswered spec question is either an abandoned session or a support email — and you pay for both.
7. Make the returns policy a selling point
A generous returns policy hidden in the footer is generosity wasted. One line under the add-to-cart button — "30-day returns, no arguments" — converts fence-sitters at the exact moment of doubt. If your policy is stingy, that's the fix; the refund maths almost always favours the policy that closes more first orders.
8. Compress your images
Slow product pages bleed conversions, and oversized images are the usual culprit. Shopify serves modern formats, but a 4MB upload is still a 4MB problem on a train connection. Export at sensible dimensions before upload. While you're there: the first gallery image should show the product in use, not floating on white — the white-background shot is for image two.
9. De-clutter the homepage's first screen
One store, one first impression: what you sell, for whom, one path in ("Shop bestsellers"). Rotating hero carousels test poorly almost everywhere — slide two is a message almost nobody sees, and the rotation steals attention from the only decision that matters: clicking into a product.
10. Add the "quiet reassurance" row
Under the add-to-cart button, a small mono row: payment marks, "Secure checkout", shipping line, returns line. It's furniture — but its absence is noticed on unfamiliar stores, and for a small brand every visitor is meeting you for the first time.
How to actually do this
Don't do all ten this weekend. Pull up your landing-page report, find your highest-traffic product page, and apply fixes 1, 2, and 6 to that page alone. Watch for two weeks. Then work down the list, one change at a time, so you know what moved the number. Conversion work is compounding maintenance, not a makeover.
FAQ
What's a "good" conversion rate? Store-wide, small stores typically land somewhere between 1% and 3%; past 3% you're doing well. But your trend beats any benchmark — a store that goes 1.2% → 1.8% just grew revenue 50% with zero extra ad spend, which is the entire point of this list.
Should I just get a new theme? Rarely for conversion reasons. Modern Shopify themes are all competent; the leaks are in the content and settings, which travel with you to any theme. Redesign for brand reasons, fix conversion with a checklist.
Do apps help? Sparingly. Every app adds script weight (see #8). Reviews and email earn their place; most "conversion booster" widgets add urgency theatre that erodes the trust everything above builds.
Want the list applied to your store as a task — with before/after screenshots to approve? Shopify fixes are our bread and butter.