It’s 2025, and believe it or not, there are still so many eCommerce sites being built like it’s 2010! It’s time to stop designing primarily for desktop with mobile as an afterthought. That’s a big mistake and it’s costing you sales.
According to a recent article in Search Engine Journal, mobile pages convert at an average rate that’s 8% lower than desktop. That’s a huge gap considering that most online shopping traffic now comes from smartphones. Your customers aren’t waiting to get home to shop; they’re scrolling, searching, and buying from their phones as they sit in traffic, wait for their lunch to arrive, or (gasp) while at work.
So why do mobile pages convert less? Because too many eCommerce sites are designed and optimized for large screens. Fancy fonts that look good on desktop become unreadable on a phone. Buttons that are perfectly placed on a laptop become next to impossible to tap on a touchscreen. And those pages you load up with massive hero images, sliders, and other bandwidth-hogging things? They absolutely destroy mobile load times, which can also impact Google search if your site shows slow Core Web Vitals scores.
The Problem with “Desktop-First” Thinking
Store owners. and even some marketing companies, continue to fall into the trap of designing for how they experience the web on a big monitor with a mouse and keyboard. But in reality, your customers aren’t shopping like that anymore.
Even if your site is built to be responsive, that’s not the same as being mobile optimized. Just because a page fits on a phone’s screen doesn’t necessarily mean it works on a phone.
Mobile-first design means thinking about how fast the page loads, how clear the call-to-action is, and how easy a user can get from an item to the checkout without getting frustrated. Simply put, it’s about building for thumbs, not cursors.
What Makes a Good Landing Page (According to the Data)
The Unbounce Average eCommerce Conversion Rate Benchmark Report highlights what separates high-performing pages from the rest, and the data speaks for itself.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways from Unbounce’s research that you should pay close attention to:
- Speed matters. Faster pages convert better. Unbounce found that conversion rates decline as page load times increase, especially on mobile. Compress images, minimize scripts, and use lazy loading to improve speed.
- Clarity beats creativity. High-converting pages use simple headlines and direct calls to action. When visitors know exactly what they’re getting and what to do next, they’re more likely to make that all-important purchase.
- Personalization works. Tailor your landing pages for specific audiences or marketing campaigns. A page that feels like it’s speaking directly to the shopper outperforms a generic one.
- Less is more. Clean layouts, focused copy (more on that in a bit), and a single goal outperform pages filled with distractions.
- Trust builds confidence. Customer reviews, testimonials, and secure checkout badges make buyers feel safe about completing their purchase.
These aren’t just opinions; they’re insights from thousands of landing pages analyzed by Unbounce, and they’re proven to impact conversion rates.
Write for Real People, Not Marketing Departments
Ok, you may want to sit down for this one. For years, we’ve all heard that “content is king” when it comes to organic search rankings and product descriptions. Well, content is still king, but this research study shows you may need to change up how you write your copy to get a higher conversion rate.
Believe it or not, the most effective landing pages are written at a 5th to 7th grade reading level. That doesn’t mean “dumbing it down”; it means making it easy to understand. Today’s shoppers skim rather than read, especially on mobile. Short sentences, clear benefits, and familiar words make your message stick.
Tools like Grammarly can help you check reading level and simplify your copy. Take a few minutes to click through your store and read some of your landing pages and product descriptions. If they sound like a term paper, it’s time for a rewrite.
The key takeaway: simple, conversational language isn’t just friendlier; it’s what converts.
There’s Still Time to Make a Change
The holiday season is just around the corner, which means there’s still time to optimize your store before the biggest selling season of the year.
Take a few minutes to experience your site the same way your shoppers do, on your phone. Is your add-to-cart button visible without getting a sore thumb from scrolling? Do images load instantly? Can you check out in under a minute?
If the answer is “no,” start making those fixes now. Improve mobile speed, clean up page layouts, and simplify your copy. Even small changes can deliver big results when traffic and competition peak during the holidays.
At Your Store Wizards, we’re here to help you make these meaningful changes to your site. Remember, your eCommerce store is your customer’s first impression of your business. And in today’s mobile-first world, that impression needs to work flawlessly on a 6-inch screen and be written so everyone understands it.
Scott Sanfilippo began his eCommerce journey in 1994 by co-founding one of the Internet’s first online retailers, TheFerretStore.com, which was acquired by PetCo in 2006. In 2001, he co-founded the eCommerce design and marketing firm Solid Cactus, which was acquired by web.com in 2009. Today, Scott is the General Manager of Your Store Wizards and lives in Delray Beach, FL. Scott can be contacted at scott@yourstorewizards.com.