Top 10 Shopify Audit Mistakes That Could Be Costing You Sales

Having a successful online business means more than just having quality products and an eye-catching design. Many components bring it all together, and conducting regular Shopify website audits is like combing through all your business assets, going over what’s going right and what might be lagging in performance or missing from your store.

Every Shopify online store needs to do website audits, and that’s because, over time, even the best stores can develop hidden issues that impact performance, making a thorough Shopify audit essential.

Unfortunately, many merchants unknowingly overlook  Shopofy audits, which causes them, in turn, to overlook common issues that cost them visibility, conversions, and their bottom line. Below are ten Shopify audit mistakes that can quietly sabotage your store—and how to fix them during your next site audit.

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1. Ignoring Mobile Optimization

Every year, mobile shopping becomes more dominant, and in 2025, more than half of ecommerce traffic will come from mobile devices. Yet, with these stats, many stores still aren't optimized for smaller screens and are failing to audit their mobile experience, leading to high bounce rates and lost revenue. Imagine this, you’re a mobile shopper visiting an ecommerce website with a clunky and awkward mobile shopping experience, would you go as far as the checkout page? This is why a Shopify audit matters.

During your next Shopify audit, test your site on multiple screen sizes, load times, and navigation flows. Make sure buttons are tappable, text is readable, and checkout is smooth on mobile.

A Shopify site audit should include mobile speed performance, responsive image checks, and functionality tests, checking the experience from the landing page to checkout.

2. Overlooking Broken Links and 404 Errors

Broken links and 404 errors negatively impact SEO and user experience, not to mention that a site with broken links projects a lack of professionalism and care. Customers who hit dead ends may leave your store completely, damaging your brand's credibility and revenue-making abilities. Tools like Ahrefs Broken Link Checker can help you identify broken URLs so that you can fix them or remove them altogether.

In your next Shopify site audit, ensure all internal and external links are updated and redirect broken ones to relevant pages. With the help of a link checker tool, don’t forget to review product URLs, blog posts, and collection pages—especially if you've done a redesign or removed items from your catalog.

3. Poor Product Page SEO

SEO is a top priority for many online businesses that want to boost visibility, and a major mistake in many audits is overlooking SEO on individual product pages— that’s right, each page needs dedicated time and attention for SEO. This includes missing meta titles, weak and lackluster product descriptions, and no alt text on images altogether. During your Shopify audit, review each product for unique metadata, optimized headlines, and keywords.

A solid Shopify site audit evaluates how well each page targets user intent and search queries. You should also check for structured data, which can help your products appear in search results like Google Shopping!

4. Ignoring Site Speed and Performance

Speed is a crucial SEO ranking factor and user experience metric. More online shoppers are coming to expect faster and faster load times, as technology moves on to quicker speeds. This means that if your Shopify store takes more than 3 seconds to load, you risk losing potential customers. Unfortunately, many store owners don't prioritize performance during their Shopify audit.

Common speed killers? These include oversized images, too many apps weighing down your store, and unnecessary scripts. A well-executed Shopify site audit will identify these performance bottlenecks and recommend fixes.

You can use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to measure speed across devices.

5. Weak Checkout and Cart Optimization

You know what they say, the checkout process is where sales happen—or are lost. Thankfully, Shopify has the world’s fastest checkout, because a confusing or lengthy checkout can cause cart abandonment, but that doesn’t mean nothing can go wrong in your Shopify checkout process. One of the biggest Shopify audit mistakes is assuming your checkout works just because it’s functional. Instead, assess it from the buyer’s perspective.

Your Shopify site audit should evaluate checkout steps, guest checkout availability, payment options, and autofill capabilities. Also, make sure cart abandonment emails are set up correctly, rolling them out to remind customers that they left something in their cart. Even minor issues here can cost you thousands in lost potential revenue.

6. Not Auditing App and Plugin Usage

Shopify has its host of native apps that Shopify store merchants come to rely on for added functions and customization. However, this reliance on stacks of third-party apps can come with the drawback of slowing down your store or even conflicting with each other.

A good Shopify audit includes an evaluation of all installed apps on your store, evaluating whether they are necessary, optimized, and up to date. A Shopify site audit should highlight redundant tools and recommend lighter or native alternatives.

7. Poor Navigation and Information Architecture

Nothing kills user experience faster than poor navigation. If users can't find what they're looking for in under a few clicks, they'll leave, opting to shop with your competitors. Navigation is often overlooked during a Shopify audit, but it directly affects both UX and SEO—arguably, it’s one of the most important elements to a successful online store.

During a site audit, it's important to check that your menus are structured logically and that categories make sense. Breadcrumbs, filters, and search functionality should be tested during every Shopify site audit. A streamlined experience encourages customers to stay longer, browse more, and ultimately convert. Customers will check out from your store, having had a good shopping experience that they’ll be more likely to come back for.

8. Unclear Branding and Messaging

A strong brand voice builds trust and loyalty, yet many Shopify stores suffer from inconsistent messaging or unclear, messy value propositions. During your Shopify audit, review homepage content, banner copy, product descriptions, and your About page.

Your Shopify site audit should assess how your brand communicates its value. Are your offers compelling? Is your voice consistent across all channels? If not, it's time to refresh your messaging to align with your target audience. A good agency that offers more than just site audits can also come up with a solid strategy to bring your branding message together.

9. Inadequate Tracking and Analytics Setup

You can’t improve what you can’t measure, and making decisions unguided by data means going in blind. Many store owners perform a Shopify audit without verifying if their tracking tools are set up correctly. This includes Google Analytics 4 (GA4).

A comprehensive Shopify site audit should confirm these tools are firing correctly and that key events, such as add-to-cart, initiate checkout, and purchase, are being captured. This data is essential for optimizing ad campaigns and site performance. A good Shopify audit should also include an overall Shopify website performance analysis by top pages and products.

10. Skipping Regular Audits Altogether

Perhaps the biggest mistake of all is only doing a Shopify audit once, or never at all. Ecommerce is a very dynamic field where technology and customer preferences tend to change quickly. So, with frequent changes in user behavior, SEO algorithms, and tech updates, a one-time Shopify site audit isn’t enough.

Make audits a regular part of your business process, at least a couple of times a year or every quarter. Setting a quarterly or biannual schedule can help you stay well ahead of performance issues, SEO drops, or UX pain points.

Remember to treat your store like a living asset that needs constant tuning, and you’ll be able to stay optimized and running at top performance.

Design matters. Speed matters. SEO matters. Let’s audit your Shopify store and optimize it for success! Get in touch with Eecommerce Pro.

Ecommerce Pro Shopify Website Audit

Want to improve your Shopify store’s conversion rates and overall performance? Sign up to get your website audited by Shopify Experts, Ecommerce Pro. Our team of experts will identify barriers in your online store’s ability to convert customers before helping you make the informed decisions that will change your website for the better. Check out our Ecommerce Website Audit Services, ranging from Basic to PRO.