In the world of eCommerce, where the global market reaches a value of 5.5 trillion dollars, platform performance is a key factor determining business success or failure. An eCommerce site audit examines every aspect of your infrastructure – from frontend performance and user experience to backend operations and security protocols – providing room for improvement. 

Think of these audits as your business’s navigation system, constantly scanning the website for opportunities and potential roadblocks. Companies that make audits a regular part of their strategy not only fix the current issues but also spot new trends and adapt to market shifts to keep the platform running smoothly.

Keeping this in mind, today’s article will describe the main areas of eCommerce platform audits, the benefits of conducting an eCommerce audit, and the main reasons for performing an audit with an experienced eCommerce agency. 

Quick jump

Key areas in eCommerce website audits

The eCommerce platform audits cover several areas of such websites. Before we decide to perform an eCommerce audit, knowing what will be analyzed and discussed is undoubtedly worth knowing. The details described below can slightly differ depending on the agency, but the core areas remain the same. 

Technical aspects

The first area is the technical side of the eCommerce website. This part starts with measuring the performance of the website. Page load times and server response directly impact conversion rates and user engagement, making performance optimization a critical aspect of technical audits. Modern eCommerce platforms should maintain sub-2-second loading times across all critical user journey touchpoints, from product browsing to checkout completion. 

The second part is analyzing the architecture. A robust architecture forms the foundation of scalable eCommerce operations, encompassing database structure, API integrations, and system modularity. Evaluating the platform’s architecture reveals potential bottlenecks in data flow and integration points that may cause performance issues and checking opportunities for implementing modern approaches like the microservices architecture. 

Next, the technical audits can check the website’s SEO (technical SEO). An eCommerce SEO audit enables merchants to detect the store’s aspects that lower its search engine rankings and affect organic traffic and new customer acquisition. On-page SEO audit checks the site structure: URL structure, site performance, internal and external links, broken links, search engine results, search engine visibility, site architecture, page speed, meta descriptions, duplicate content, and content delivery methods. An ecommerce SEO audit checks the technical elements to ensure they align with current search engine requirements while supporting the platform’s organic visibility goals. No matter how good the website is, it must be easy to find online. 

Last but not least, developers examine the code quality. Code quality directly impacts platform maintainability, scalability, and long-term development efficiency. The audit examines code structure, documentation quality, and adherence to development best practices, identifying areas where technical debt may impact future platform evolution. This way, the agency recommends what areas of the website can be improved. 

UX/UI analysis

The second essential area for an eCommerce audit is user experience and user interface. In other words, what customers see and experience on our website. 

Store structure 

The first key element of UX/UI analysis is website navigation and its impact on user engagement. Well-designed navigation directly translates into how easily customers can find products and move around the platform, forming the foundation for online sales success. A well-designed navigation structure can significantly increase conversion rates and reduce cart abandonment rates, making it one of the priority elements in an audit.

Shopping cart 

Next, experts thoroughly analyze the functionality of the shopping cart – a critical point between browsing offers and making a purchase decision. Advanced cart systems must efficiently handle various user interactions while ensuring the following:

  • Clear visibility of selected products
  • Transparent pricing and cost information
  • Intuitive product quantity management

Customer journey analysis 

The final element is comprehensive mapping and analysis of user paths throughout the entire purchasing process. This holistic approach allows for examining how effectively customers progress from their first contact with a product to placing an order. Special attention is paid to:

  • Mobile device responsiveness
  • Consistency of experience across different devices
  • Effectiveness of personalization features

Marketing and sales 

Apart from technical aspects and user experience, do not forget about marketing sales. Comprehensive sales analysis forms the foundation of understanding your eCommerce platform’s effectiveness in driving business outcomes. This evaluation encompasses a detailed examination of sales funnels, average order values, and customer lifetime value metrics that directly impact revenue generation. Modern eCommerce platforms generate vast amounts of transactional data, and through systematic analysis, we can identify patterns, seasonal trends, and opportunities for optimization that drive sustainable growth.

The marketing audit component delves deep into campaign performance across multiple channels, examining how effectively your digital marketing initiatives translate into measurable business results. This analysis covers multichannel campaign tracking, attribution modeling, and ROI assessment across various marketing channels, such as Facebook Ads or Paid Search. 

In today’s eCommerce world, personalization has evolved from a simple feature into an essential part of driving revenue, fundamentally reshaping how online stores engage with their customers. Successful eCommerce platforms must easily integrate sophisticated personalization capabilities, including AI-powered recommendation engines, dynamic pricing systems, and advanced customer segmentation mechanisms that adapt in real-time to user behavior. Naturally, the scope of activities in this aspect varies depending on the type and needs of the store. Each eCommerce business requires a tailored approach to marketing and sales analysis, as different market segments, product types, and customer behaviors demand unique strategies and optimization techniques.

Benefits of conducting an eCommerce site audit

Here are the main benefits that businesses can expect when they decide to conduct an audit with an experienced eCommerce agency: 

  • Improved Performance and Speed
  • Enhanced Security
  • Better Functionality
  • SEO Optimization
  • Better User Experience (UX)
  • Reduced Operational Costs
  • Scalability and Future-Readiness
  • Increased Conversion and Sales
  • Better Customer Understanding

When should you conduct an eCommerce platform audit?

Before wrapping up today’s article, let’s summarize the main reasons for conducting an eCommerce website audit. While specific challenges often trigger the need for an audit, proactive assessment is crucial in maintaining platform health and preventing potential issues. As the saying goes, “Better safe than sorry” – regular audits can identify and address bottlenecks, security vulnerabilities, or performance issues before they impact your business operations. 

1. Before or after major platform changes 

As mentioned, a strategic platform audit before migration is a perfect move that helps evaluate the current technical infrastructure and identify critical improvements needed for a successful transition. Post-implementation audits, in turn, ensure all changes meet performance standards and haven’t introduced technical errors or user experience issues.

2. When facing a decreasing business performance 

Unexpected drops in orders placed despite stable traffic often signal underlying platform issues that require immediate investigation through audits. When metrics like cart abandonment rates increase or organic traffic decreases, a thorough platform analysis can reveal technical bottlenecks.

3. As part of the regular development strategy

Annual platform audits are a strategic time to identify hidden issues, quickly react, and continuously improve the eCommerce site. When expanding store functionality or adding new integrations, preliminary audits help assess system impact and ensure the scalability of the proposed changes.

4. Before peak sales seasons

Pre-holiday audits ensure the platform can handle increased traffic loads during critical sales periods like Black Friday or Christmas without any drop in performance or website crashes. Conducting thorough technical checks before major marketing campaigns helps maximize conversion potential and campaign ROI.

5. During planning for the international market expansion

An eCommerce platform audit before expanding into new markets will assess whether the system is ready to implement multilingual versions and handle multiple currencies and verify its scalability and compatibility with planned integrations. This will give you confidence that the platform can meet new challenges and seamlessly serve new partners and customers.

6. In case of technical issues

An audit also allows you to identify security gaps and avoid serious consequences related to security and performance. Frequent errors and failures can result from technical issues, and analyzing them allows you to find the source and prevent escalation. Slow website performance can discourage customers and negatively affect their experience. Decreased performance is one of the key issues that requires attention.

Summary 

Maintaining optimal performance of an eCommerce platform is a key factor in long-term success. At BitBag, based on our many years of experience building eCommerce stores and the entire infrastructure, we offer comprehensive auditing, focusing mainly on technical analysis. 

Our team of experts combines deep technical knowledge with an understanding of eCommerce industry specifics, allowing us to conduct a detailed analysis of every platform aspect. From key performance indicators, through user experience optimization, to advanced technical aspects, including detailed code analysis, our actions always aim to achieve measurable business results and propose a recovery plan.

Take the first step towards transforming your eCommerce business and schedule a free consultation with our expert.