An ecommerce catalogue audit checks whether shoppers can find the right product and understand what they are buying. It also reveals information problems that staff otherwise answer repeatedly by phone or email.
Start with a representative sample rather than changing the whole store at once. Include a popular product, a complex product, an unavailable item and something customers often ask about.
Check the product information
Compare the page with the approved source information. Review the name, dimensions, materials, compatibility, included components and any installation or care requirements relevant to the item.
Record missing information rather than inventing it. Supplier descriptions may need clearer language, but rewriting is not a licence to add performance claims.
Check that variant labels are meaningful. A shopper should understand whether changing an option changes size, quantity, finish or the product itself.
Inspect images and availability
Confirm that the selected variant matches the photographs. Look for misleading scale, missing detail views and images that are too small to examine.
Check availability messages across the product page and checkout. A vague “available” label can leave customers unsure whether the item is in stock or ordered from a supplier.
For a hypothetical lighting shop, the review might reveal that pendant dimensions appear only in an image. Adding those measurements as readable page text makes comparison easier.
Follow the shopping path
Start from a category, use the filters and open a product on a phone. Check whether the filter values are consistent and whether related products are genuinely relevant.
Review search results for ordinary customer terms, not just internal stock codes. Note where customers reach an empty result despite a suitable product being present.
Use the broader website visitor questions to check confidence and contact information. Product detail and business reassurance work together.
Turn findings into a queue
Use columns for product URL, issue, evidence, customer impact, owner and status. Prioritise incorrect purchasing information before cosmetic inconsistencies.
Fix a small sample, verify the changes and use the approved pattern for similar products. Where information comes from a feed, correct the source so the next import does not undo the work.
DonutLabs’ ecommerce management service can help organise this review. The outcome should be a maintainable catalogue and fewer unanswered buying questions, not merely a longer description on every page.
For the wider planning context, read Shopify or WooCommerce: a practical choice for Australian businesses.
