How to improve your Shopify store: the checklist we use ourselves
Team Tenlingo · last updated on 29 October 2026 · about 8 minutes to read
Short answer. If you want to sell more with your Shopify store, the gain is usually not in more visitors, but in four things, in this order:
- Conversion: get more of your visitors to order.
- Revenue per customer: bigger orders and a second purchase.
- Email: automated emails that sell while you do something else.
- Europe: only then new languages and countries.
Below, for each step: what to check, what you can do yourself and when it pays to have it done. Want to know right away where your store stands? Scan your store for free on 36 points; you see the result after about 30 seconds.
First, see where you stand
Improving without measuring is guessing. Two figures give a first idea:
- In an average Shopify store about 1.7% of visitors order; the best quarter reaches 3.4% or more (745 Shopify stores, 2026, Shogun via Blend). With the same visitors, the gap between average and good is almost double.
- About 7 in 10 carts are not checked out, averaged over 50 studies (Baymard Institute).
Before you change anything, write down your conversion rate, your average order value and your revenue per channel. Compare after 30 days. That way you see what really made a difference.
1. Conversion: more visitors who order
For most stores this is where the fastest money is. Check these points on your phone, the way a customer would:
- Shipping costs clear up front. Unexpected extra costs at checkout are the most cited reason to drop off (Baymard). Show the shipping costs, or the free-shipping threshold, on the product page already.
- Delivery time and returns next to the buy button. "When will I have it?" is one of the first questions after the price. One line under the button ("Order before 4 pm, delivered tomorrow", "30 days free returns") removes doubt.
- Fast checkout. Shop Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay on the product page, so a customer pays in two taps.
- Paying the way they are used to at home. Bancontact in Belgium, iDEAL in the Netherlands. People who don't see their usual payment method hesitate.
- Real reviews with the product. Stars and the number of reviews next to the title, not only on a separate page. Never make up reviews.
- Enough photos. At least four per product: in use, close up and to scale. With a description (alt text) for Google and screen readers.
- A description that answers questions. Material, size, care, what's in the box. A short text leaves questions open, and open questions become abandoned carts.
- Fast on mobile. Every app that loads code slows your store down. Often there are apps running that nobody uses any more: removing them helps right away.
- Who is behind your store. An about page, a contact page and your company details. With a brand they don't know, people want to know there is a real person behind it.
- A search function and an alternative for sold-out products. People who know what they want don't want to click through menus.
Do it yourself or have it done? You can change most points yourself in your theme and settings. Have it done if you are short on time, if your theme doesn't allow it without code, or if you first want to know which points cost your store the most.
2. Revenue per customer: bigger orders and a second purchase
- A free-shipping threshold just above your average order value, with a bar in the cart ("€12 to go for free shipping").
- Sets and bundles of products that belong together, and a discount for multiple items.
- "Frequently bought together" on the product page and one fitting suggestion in the cart.
- A post-purchase offer, without the customer having to check out again.
- A gift card, especially around the holidays.
- A subscription or repeat purchase, if you sell products people need again.
3. Email: selling while you do something else
Most visitors don't buy on their first visit. With their email address you get a second chance. Set up these six automated flows (for example in Klaviyo or Shopify Messaging):
- Welcome, for new subscribers.
- Abandoned checkout and abandoned cart.
- Viewed product.
- Post-purchase, with a request for a review.
- Win-back, for customers who haven't bought in a while.
Ask for email addresses with an honest reason to sign up, and test every flow with test addresses before it goes live.
4. Europe: new countries only after that
A store that converts well at home can keep growing in other countries. Three in four consumers prefer product information in their own language (CSA Research, 2020). What it takes:
- Your store translated, including checkout and emails, in natural language and proofread.
- Currency, shipping and returns per country, and the payment methods people there are used to.
- Legal pages per country (have the content checked by a lawyer, the VAT by your accountant).
- Findable in Google per country and visible for free in Google Shopping.
- Campaigns on the right day per country (Mother's Day, Black Friday, sales), within each country's rules.
Start with one or two countries where there is already demand for your product, and expand when the numbers are good.
Don't forget the EU rules of 2026
- Withdrawal button: under the EU rules that apply from 19 June 2026, a webshop selling to consumers must have a clear button that lets a customer withdraw from a purchase online (Directive (EU) 2023/2673).
- Discount prices: with a discount, show the lowest price of the past 30 days (Omnibus Directive).
- Accessibility: since 28 June 2025 accessibility requirements apply to many webshops (European Accessibility Act); micro-enterprises providing services (fewer than 10 employees and at most 2 million euros in turnover or balance sheet total) are exempt, but an accessible store also sells better.
- AI images and AI chat: say that they were made with AI, and let a chatbot say that it is an AI.
This is not legal advice: have the content of your legal pages checked by your lawyer.
Having it done: what Tenlingo does
Tenlingo is a Belgian agency from Hasselt that helps existing Shopify stores sell more, in Dutch, English and French. We follow the same four steps as above, and we also build it ourselves:
- Free scan: your store checked automatically on 36 points, result after about 30 seconds.
- Growth Scan: a thorough check on 64 points, on mobile and desktop, with a report of the 10 best improvements and a 20-minute video. Ready in 3 working days.
- Conversion Package: the leaks plugged, so more visitors order. Test version in 10 working days.
- Revenue Engine: bigger orders and a second purchase, with 6 automated email flows. Test version in 15 working days.
- EU Expansion Engine: your store in 8 to 10 languages, with payment, shipping and returns per country. First countries in 15, all countries in 30 working days.
- Total Engine: everything together, plus three sales channels outside your store (Google Shopping, bol.com, and TikTok Shop or Ankorstore). Action plan on day 10, test version in 15 working days.
- After delivery: Growth Partner (follow-up every working day) or Maintenance, both cancellable every month.
How we work: we build everything in a copy of your store and walk through the test version with you. It only goes live after your yes. The delivery date is guaranteed: if we run late through our own fault, you get €100 off per full working day, up to €500. You never give your password: we work through a collaborator account in Shopify. We don't promise revenue, because nobody honestly can; we do promise everything built, tested and live, with before-and-after numbers.
| Who it fits | Who it doesn't |
| Existing Shopify stores with their own brand and physical products, in Belgium and the Netherlands (French-speaking too) | Stores on WooCommerce, Lightspeed or Wix: we only work with Shopify |
| Stores that already sell and want more out of their visitors | A store that still has to start: building a new store is not part of our packages |
| Brands that then want to sell in other countries | Anyone looking for a revenue guarantee |
Frequently asked questions
What does it cost to have your Shopify store improved?
That depends on what needs to be done and how far you want to go. The scan on tenlingo.com is free. Which package suits your store and what it costs, we discuss in a 20-minute call, with your own numbers; then you get a quote on paper.
How long does it take?
The Growth Scan is ready in 3 working days. The Conversion Package has a test version in 10 working days, the Revenue Engine in 15. With the EU Expansion Engine the first countries are ready in 15 working days and all countries in 30.
Can I do this myself?
Yes. The checklist above is what we check ourselves. Start with the free scan, tackle the points that cost you the most and measure after 30 days.
Does this work for a small store?
The free scan and the checklist are useful for every store. Bigger packages mainly pay off for stores with enough visitors; we work that out together with your own numbers, and we advise against a package if it doesn't pay off.
Sources
- Baymard Institute, Cart Abandonment Rate (average of 50 studies and buyer research): baymard.com
- Blend, Ecommerce conversion rate benchmarks 2026 (745 Shopify stores, data from Shogun): blendcommerce.com
- CSA Research, Consumers Prefer their Own Language (2020, 8,709 consumers in 29 countries): csa-research.com
- Directive (EU) 2023/2673 (withdrawal button): eur-lex.europa.eu
- Directive (EU) 2019/2161 (Omnibus, discount prices): eur-lex.europa.eu
- Directive (EU) 2019/882 (European Accessibility Act): eur-lex.europa.eu
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