Out of the Ark · Ecommerce audit 2026

What we'd stop, start
and continue

The full set of recommendations from the audit of outoftheark.co.uk, organised by the same journey stages as the Key Findings document, so you can take them one theme at a time.

Read the Key Findings document ↗ View the full audit in Mural ↗

148
recommendations
33
things to stop
102
things to start
13
things to keep
The shape of it

Five stages, 18 themes

The stages are the ones set out in the Key Findings document, so every theme here can be traced straight back to it. Each theme gathers everything we found in one place. Click a stage to jump in.

1
Arriving and finding
Getting in, and finding the thing you came for
Proposition · Content and campaigns · Finding products
2 stop16 start2 continue
2
Choosing
Understanding what you are buying and what it costs
Product pages · Pricing and licensing · Sparkyard
4 stop20 start5 continue
3
Buying
Who you are, and who is paying
Offers · Buying context · Accounts and login · Checkout · Payment · The handover
18 stop33 start2 continue
4
After buying
Using it, and sharing it with colleagues
After buying · Help
3 stop11 start2 continue
5
Across the whole experience
What runs through every stage
Page design · Language · The moments nobody has designed · Measurement
6 stop22 start2 continue
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1

Arriving and finding

Getting in, and finding the thing you came for

20 recommendations
3 themes
1. Arriving and finding

Proposition

5
Stop0
Nothing in this column
Start4
ST8Tell a first time visitor what OOTA is
ST8One line at the top of the home page, aimed at schools
ST8Show prices on product cards so it reads as a shop, not a brochure
ST8Make product titles links as well as the images and buttons
Continue1
C11Keep the trust signals: Trustpilot, awards and reviews
1. Arriving and finding

Content and campaigns

6
Stop0
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Start5
ST10Make content earn its keep
ST10Link every piece of content to the products it mentions
ST10Design each email and its landing page as one thing
ST10Write CTAs that name the destination
ST10Reuse the Early Bird fact panels on product pages
Continue1
C7Keep campaign banners that carry through to the landing page
1. Arriving and finding

Finding products

9
Stop2
S11Stop burying products beneath banners, blurb and carousels
S11Stop leaving age, format and price off product cards
Start7
S11Put products at the top of listing pages, in a three column grid
S11 / ST7Put age, format and price on every card, with bigger images and titles
ST7Add filters to listing pages: age, type, season, speaking parts, price
ST7Show a product count on every listing page
ST7Once filters work, retire or absorb the separate finder tools
ST7Fix search so the results match the category pages
S11Merge the two competing Musicals pages
Continue0
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2

Choosing

Understanding what you are buying and what it costs

29 recommendations
3 themes
2. Choosing

Product pages

13
Stop2
S5Stop hiding the buying decision inside tabs
S5Stop repeating the same overview twice on one page
Start7
S5Lay the page out top to bottom: what it is, listen, what you get, price, reviews
S5Merge the two overviews into one
S5Fold "what's available" into "what's included" inside the buying panel
ST9Finish the listening experience
ST9Add a persistent mini player with track name, position and length
ST9Move the song list up the page and keep a buying action visible while listening
ST9Fix the pages where listening fails and no songs appear
Continue4
C1Keep "Look Inside", and put it on every product
C2Keep letting people listen to every song
C3Keep the facts that help teachers choose: duration, speaking parts, age, stock, reviews
C13Keep the About WOS video, and the clear form error handling
2. Choosing

Pricing and licensing

10
Stop2
S4Stop selling the licence instead of the thing people actually get
S4Stop using the word "licence" in the buying journey, except for performance rights
Start7
ST3Show one price per format, with everything included
ST3Three cards everywhere: digital only, book and digital, book only
ST3In each card: what you get, who can use it, what it costs, how long you have it
S4 / ST3Put postage and the site licence inside the headline price
S4Say what you get: "everyone at your school can use it"
ST3Treat multi title value as a nudge in the basket, not a fourth product
S4Get a decision from OOTA on whether school wide use is a one off or an annual cost
Continue1
C10Keep going in the direction of the newer tick list pricing panel
2. Choosing

Sparkyard

6
Stop0
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Start6
ST6Explain Sparkyard in one sentence, everywhere
ST6"All 1000+ Out of the Ark songs for your whole school from £180 a year"
ST6State the nativity and musical exclusions before someone subscribes
ST6Do the value maths on the product page: about four eSongbooks pays for a year
ST6Show one resolved price, not the nine tier grid
ST6Sell it in the normal basket and show it in the account
Continue0
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3

Buying

Who you are, and who is paying

53 recommendations
6 themes
3. Buying

Offers

6
Stop2
S8Stop making customers assemble the offer themselves
S8Stop making people find, copy and paste long discount codes
Start4
S8Apply promotions automatically at basket level
S8Show the linked promotion products together on the promotion and the product page
S8Say plainly which version is the free one
S8If a code must exist, make it one click to copy and pre-apply it from the campaign link
Continue0
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3. Buying

Buying context

10
Stop3
S2Stop asking who people are buying for at the checkout
S2Stop asking the same question again on the next order
S2Never ask a returning user who already has an organisation set up
Start7
ST2Set the buying context once, up front
S2 / ST2Ask at the first Add to basket, in the page, not in a modal
ST2Plain words: for my school or setting, for a different school, or just for me
ST2One school lookup field with autocomplete, not four dependent dropdowns
ST2Always offer "can't find your school" and "just for me"
S2 / ST2Show it in the header and basket: "buying for Critchill School, change"
S2Remember the answer on the customer record so it survives sessions and devices
Continue0
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3. Buying

Accounts and login

13
Stop4
S3Stop making people create an account in the middle of a purchase
S3Stop the age gate unless there is a legal reason for it
S3Stop the captcha in the middle of the form
S3Stop breaking the flow to verify an email in a new tab
Start9
ST4Let people identify themselves rather than register
S3 / ST4Ask for an email address and nothing else to start
S3Send a sign in link if the address exists, create the account quietly if not
S3Move marketing questions and the Sparkyard survey to the confirmation page and welcome email
S3Add inline validation so mistakes are caught as they are made
ST4Add SSO with Google and Microsoft 365
ST4Add a passwordless sign in option, and offer 2FA
ST4Make login one prominent front door, not "My Account" and "Login" competing
ST4Let someone buy first and attach the purchase to their organisation afterwards
Continue0
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3. Buying

Checkout

10
Stop4
S7Stop running a six step checkout
S7Stop the separate postage step
S7Never ask for anything already stored on the account
S7Never ask a digital only order for a delivery address
Start4
S7Collapse checkout to a single page with progressive sections
S7Merge postage into delivery
S7Make the terms and conditions a proper link, not a hover
S7Fix the Place Order button so it reads as a button, not a banner
Continue2
C5Keep the basket, it is the most comfortable part of the experience
C6Keep address lookup and stored details at checkout
3. Buying

Payment

4
Stop2
S9Stop offering a payment method you are going to refuse
S9Never show a disabled option that explains why someone is not allowed to use it
Start2
S9Work out purchase order eligibility silently from the organisation record
S9Take the eligibility rule back to OOTA as a commercial decision, with the numbers behind it
Continue0
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3. Buying

The handover

10
Stop3
S1Stop breaking the purchase when one person chooses and another pays
S1Never log anyone out as part of a purchase
S1Never let a basket be emptied by a session change or a device switch
Start7
S1 / ST1Let a teacher hand a ready made order to whoever pays
ST1Teacher enters the budget holder's name, email and an optional note
S1 / ST1Save the basket as a named request against the school, not the browser session
ST1Buyer gets a short email: one button, read only summary, card or purchase order
ST1No account needed to pay, and nobody gets logged out
ST1On payment, access lands on the school and the teacher is granted access automatically
S1Offer a lost basket back the moment someone returns
Continue0
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4

After buying

Using it, and sharing it with colleagues

16 recommendations
2 themes
4. After buying

After buying

11
Stop3
S10Stop presenting the account area as admin
S10Stop contradicting yourself about what people own
S10Stop the duplicate panels and repeated options in My Account
Start7
ST5Make the account area about content, not admin
S10 / ST5Rebuild it as "your school's resources": what has the school got, who can use it, what next
ST5One primary action: open the player
S10 / ST5Two labelled blocks: owned titles, and Sparkyard with seats and renewal date
ST5Invite colleagues by pasting a list of email addresses
ST5Show who is an admin, and how many colleagues can be invited
S10Hide the account settings behind one clearly labelled place
Continue1
C9Keep inviting colleagues, and the purchase order note in the invitation email
4. After buying

Help

5
Stop0
Nothing in this column
Start4
ST12Put help where the questions are
ST12Surface the top FAQs on the account dashboard and product pages
ST12Answer "where's my script?" in the interface itself
ST12Keep the request form and link to it from those places
Continue1
C8Keep the Help Centre and the support request form
5

Across the whole experience

What runs through every stage

30 recommendations
4 themes
5. Across the whole experience

Page design

11
Stop4
S12Stop overwhelming the page with small, low contrast, high volume text
S12Stop using green for buttons, tabs and minor actions all at once
S12Stop using pink for links, it reads as a warning
S12Stop the navigation covering half the page on hover
Start5
S12Halve the words on every commercial page
S12Set a minimum text size
S12Bring contrast up to pass basic accessibility, in emails as well as on the site
S12Give colour a job: one colour for the primary action
S12Open the navigation on click, or add a delay
Continue2
C4Keep the imagery and the personality
C12Keep mobile email layouts and the responsive blog
5. Across the whole experience

Language

8
Stop2
S6Stop putting internal language on the shop front: eSongbook, WOS, ADSL, DL, perpetual
S6Stop calling the player Singchronize on any user facing screen
Start6
ST14Speak one language across the whole site
S6 / ST14Agree one customer facing term per thing, and give the rename an owner
ST14Write a plain English word list for content, design and development
S6Lead with what a thing does: "songs, scores and lyrics on your whiteboard"
ST14Fix the duplicate pages and overlapping menu items the different words created
ST14Test the words with real teachers, especially "assemblies" and "resources"
Continue0
Nothing in this column
5. Across the whole experience

The moments nobody has designed

5
Stop0
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Start5
ST11Design the moments nobody has designed
ST11Specify how quickly access appears after payment
ST11Design what the confirmation page says while people wait
ST11Design the failure state if access does not arrive
ST11Make baskets survive a device switch, a logout and a session timeout
Continue0
Nothing in this column
5. Across the whole experience

Measurement

6
Stop0
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Start6
ST13Measure what we currently cannot see
ST13Turn on cart abandonment tracking, split by step
ST13Count abandonment at the customer selection step, by organisation type
ST13Get Hotjar scroll and click data for Early Bird and the main product pages
ST13Ask OOTA for print, CD and fulfilment costs, and the current pack mix
ST13Ask OOTA for the attach rate on the Annual Digital Site Licence
Continue0
Nothing in this column