// Original data · updated 12 November 2026
What 123 website audits found
Across 123 websites ClearAudit audited up to 12 November 2026, the most common conversion problem was weak or missing proof: few reviews, testimonials or attributed claims, flagged in 72% of audits. Next came unclear delivery, returns or refund terms (63%) and missing trust signals such as security badges or a guarantee (63%). The median site scored 6.0 out of 10.
Tanuj Rajput · 123 audits · 1,065 issues · ClearAudit's own audits excluded
// The issues
The conversion issues audits raise most often
Share of the 123 audits that raised each issue at least once, and how many listed it among their critical issues. An audit can raise several. Issues that appeared in fewer than 8 audits are left out.
| Issue | Share of audits | As critical |
|---|---|---|
| Proof missing or weak (testimonials, reviews, attributed claims) | 72% | 51 |
| Delivery, returns or refund terms unclear | 63% | 29 |
| Trust badges, security or guarantees missing | 63% | 54 |
| Contact route or support hard to find | 55% | 39 |
| Title, meta description or structured data missing | 52% | 17 |
| Pricing hidden or unclear | 50% | 27 |
| Company identity, team or address not shown | 43% | 28 |
| Mobile usability or accessibility problems | 40% | 26 |
| No WhatsApp or chat channel | 38% | 12 |
| Local payment options not shown (UPI, COD, EMI) | 37% | 6 |
| Registration, licence or legal disclosure missing | 33% | 10 |
| CTA wording or hierarchy is weak | 32% | 24 |
| Images missing alt text | 31% | 11 |
| Primary call to action missing or below the fold | 29% | 32 |
| No offer, urgency or risk reversal | 26% | 21 |
| Headline or value proposition unclear | 24% | 22 |
| Navigation or search hard to use | 22% | 5 |
| Broken links, slow pages or technical faults | 19% | 17 |
| Heading structure broken (H1, H2) | 15% | 12 |
| Friction before value (long forms, walls, pop-ups) | 12% | 14 |
| FAQ missing, empty or buried | 11% | 2 |
| Copy lists features, not outcomes | 9.8% | 6 |
| No lead capture or email sign-up | 8.9% | 6 |
| Differentiation or ROI not made clear | 8.1% | 3 |
| Cluttered, repeated or placeholder content | 6.5% | 1 |
| Language, currency or market fit mismatch | 6.5% | 0 |
Proof, trust and policy problems dominate. They are also the issues a visitor notices before reading a word of copy: whether anyone else has bought, whether the site is safe, and what happens if it goes wrong.
// Best vs worst
What separates the best-scoring sites from the worst
We split the audited sites into thirds by overall score (41 sites in each) and compared their average score on each of the eight dimensions. The widest gap is headline clarity: 7.6 for the best third against 4.7 for the worst. The narrowest is mobile readiness (5.5 against 4.7), so a site rarely wins or loses on that alone.
| Dimension | Best third | Worst third | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headline clarity | 7.6 | 4.7 | +2.9 |
| Trust signals | 6.5 | 3.8 | +2.6 |
| First impression | 7.2 | 4.7 | +2.5 |
| CTA effectiveness | 6.4 | 4.0 | +2.4 |
| Conversion flow | 6.2 | 3.8 | +2.4 |
| SEO basics | 6.4 | 4.4 | +2.1 |
| Page speed perception | 5.8 | 4.6 | +1.2 |
| Mobile readiness | 5.5 | 4.7 | +0.9 |
Scores are out of 10. How each dimension is scored is published in the ClearAudit CRO rubric.
// Scores
How the average site scores
The median overall score is 6.0 out of 10, and half of all sites fall between 5.2 and 6.4. By dimension, sites do best on headline clarity and worst on mobile readiness.
| Dimension | Average score |
|---|---|
| Headline clarity | 6.3 |
| First impression | 6.0 |
| SEO basics | 5.5 |
| CTA effectiveness | 5.3 |
| Trust signals | 5.3 |
| Mobile readiness | 5.1 |
| Page speed perception | 5.1 |
| Conversion flow | 5.1 |
// Ecommerce
Ecommerce stores: 35 audits
Online stores show the same proof and trust gaps, with policies and payment signals pushed higher: a shopper deciding whether to pay wants to know how it arrives, how to return it, and whether their payment method works.
| Issue | Share of ecommerce audits |
|---|---|
| Delivery, returns or refund terms unclear | 69% |
| Proof missing or weak (testimonials, reviews, attributed claims) | 66% |
| Local payment options not shown (UPI, COD, EMI) | 54% |
| No WhatsApp or chat channel | 54% |
| Title, meta description or structured data missing | 54% |
| Trust badges, security or guarantees missing | 46% |
| Pricing hidden or unclear | 43% |
| Contact route or support hard to find | 37% |
// The sample
Who is in the sample, and how it was counted
The sample is every external audit run on ClearAudit up to 12 November 2026: audits by signed-in users and free audits on the public audit page. ClearAudit's own test audits are removed. The sites are the ones people chose to audit, which skews toward businesses already worried about conversion, so read the shares as “how often this comes up when someone checks”, not as a census of the web.
By category
- Not categorised39
- Ecommerce35
- SaaS28
- Agencies9
- Local businesses8
- Real estate3
- Portfolios1
By market
- Global46
- Not recorded42
- India15
- European Union6
- Brazil5
- United States4
- Australia2
- United Kingdom1
- France1
- Germany1
Each audit scores the page on eight dimensions against the published rubric and lists its critical issues, quick wins and market checks. Every issue is filed under one of 27 issue types by a fixed set of rules; 96% of the 1,065 issues matched one. A figure is shown only when at least 30 audits stand behind it, and an issue only once it has come up in 8.
Withheld until they reach 30 audits: SaaS (28), Agencies (9), Local businesses (8), Real estate (3), Portfolios (1).
// Your site
See which of these your site fails
A free audit of one page, about 90 seconds, scored on the same rubric.
Audit my page →Frequently asked questions
What is the most common conversion problem on websites?
In ClearAudit's audits it is weak or missing proof: few reviews, testimonials or attributed claims: 72% of 123 audits up to 12 November 2026 raised it at least once. Next came unclear delivery, returns or refund terms (63%) and missing trust signals such as security badges or a guarantee (63%).
What does the average website score in a conversion audit?
The median ClearAudit score across 123 audits is 6.0 out of 10. Half of all sites score between 5.2 and 6.4. Scores are produced by the published rubric at /methodology, not by the model.
Where do these numbers come from?
From every external audit run on ClearAudit up to 12 November 2026: signed-in audits and free audits on /try, with ClearAudit's own test audits removed. Each critical issue, quick win and failed market check is filed under one of 27 issue types; 96% of issues matched a type. A share is the percentage of audits that raised the issue at least once.
Why are some categories missing?
Every figure here needs at least 30 audits behind it, and an issue must appear in at least 8 before its share is quoted. Ecommerce has 35 audits and is shown on its own. SaaS has 28, Agencies has 9, Local businesses has 8, Real estate has 3, Portfolios has 1, so those breakdowns wait until they reach 30.
How often is this updated?
Monthly. The figures are a dated snapshot so that a number you quote stays on this page until the next refresh; the date at the top says which snapshot you are reading.
5 years building DTC & Shopify stores. Founded EcomLifters. Built ClearAudit.