Why filters and search matter on the homepage
Many homepage visitors already know roughly what they want. A category filter or slider near the top lets them skip the brand story and get to products in one tap, which matters most for stores with many SKUs.
Measured results
Category filter sections
Dave Diederen tested a homepage category filter section on two stores. The first won +5.33% conversion rate (+1,017 orders/month), +7.09% revenue per visitor and +1.68% AOV, for +$141,401/month. The second, with no text above the section, won +6.37% conversion rate, +8.08% revenue per visitor and +1.62% AOV, for +A$165,018/month.
Category tabs
Dave moved the most-clicked category to the first homepage tab and removed the Best Sellers tab. It won +14.17% conversion rate, +14.40% revenue per visitor and +14.76% profit per visitor, with no AOV change. Click data chose the order, not opinion.
Story-style category bubbles
Oliver Kenyon added Instagram-style category bubbles above the mobile hero: +10.9% revenue per visitor, +7.7% AOV and +2.9% conversion rate, for +$25,440/month.
@oliverkenyon
@DaveDiederen@DaveDiederen@DaveDiederen@DaveDiederenLosing or flat tests
Dave Diederen hid the Instagram-style category slider on a client's homepage because it looked like clutter. Conversion rate fell -2.9% and revenue per visitor -2.95%, so the control with the slider won.
This is the useful kind of loss. It runs the other tests in reverse and points the same way: category shortcuts on the homepage earn their space.
Untested ideas
Dave Diederen suggests placing a category filter directly under the hero, so shoppers can filter without scrolling, with a CTA to the matching category page. Both measured filter sections support trying this, but the exact placement has not been tested here.
Placement and design patterns that won
- Category navigation near the top of the homepage, above the fold on mobile.
- Little or no copy above the filter section.
- The most-clicked category first, ordered by data.
- Visual bubbles or tiles rather than plain links.
None of these tests involved a search bar. If you want to test homepage search, the evidence for it sits in the navigation menu tests.
Related tests elsewhere on the store
See search bars in navigation menus, collection page filter tests, homepage hero tests and the full filters and search collection.