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Step-by-Step Guide
to a High Converting Checkout

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We’re all familiar with the ever-important checkout page. For any e-commerce store owner, it makes sense to optimize this part of your website to make the check out a high-converting page. It means your checkout process design must be planned carefully to ensure customers feel comfortable entering their payment and shipping details and complete their orders rather than abandoning their shopping cart.

If you want to maximize every opportunity to earn revenue from your online store, it is vital to alleviate any potential anxiety customers may have about sharing their financial information. Your checkout page strategies should also aim to make the checkout process as speedy and straightforward as possible. The main objective is to motivate as many people as possible to complete the entire process and make their purchases.

Table of Contents

Six Steps to an Optimized Checkout Process

No matter the type of online store, specific steps must be included in the process. Here are the six critical steps

  1. Initiate checkout – the checkout process starts after a customer has added items to the shopping cart and clicks on a call-to-action (CTA) button with words such as “Buy Now” or “Checkout”. When clicking on the CTA, the customer enters the checkout page.
  2. Login or Sign-up – most checkout pages require customers to register for an account before moving on with the purchase; this can be a deterrent. At the very least, it is better to provide a login option specifically for returning customers. Social sign-in, i.e., signing up via customers’ social media accounts, also speeds up the registration process on any e-commerce site.
  3. Billing Information– the sequence of steps in the checkout process becomes most important when considering which stage the customer is asked for billing details. The billing information form should be one of the last steps to avoid distrust or friction in the customer experience.
  4. Shipping (information and method) – the form fields used to capture shipping information should flow and make it easy for the customer to fill in the necessary details. Some e-commerce sites use software that allows auto-filling and validation of addresses, making it faster and easier to complete billing or shipping details.
    A checkbox indicating “Shipping address same as billing address” should be provided to make the process as efficient as possible. The available shipping methods should be varied and clearly outlined; this is the best stage to ask the customer to select a shipping method.
  5. Preview Order – there are specific items that should be included at the preview stage, allowing customers to review details before finalizing the order. Product details, like item names and descriptions, and quantities, are a must. Subtotals and applicable taxes and delivery fees and total costs are also essential pieces of information.
  6. Payment Confirmation – you are likely to find the payment confirmation on the “preview order” screen. The purchase will only be complete when the customer clicks on the call-to-action to confirm the order, so this button should be impossible to miss

Five Methods To Improve Checkout Conversion Rates

Do Some Experimenting (Single Page Checkouts)

Why not try A/B split testing to determine whether your original checkout process works better or worse than a new single-page checkout? You can direct 50% of your traffic to the original and the other 50% to the single-page option.

In an experiment, Google Website Optimizer determined that the single-page checkout performed 21.8% better than the usual checkout process. However, your results will be specific to your business and audience. You will need to conduct some testing to see what works for your business.

Skip the Sign-Up

Most online stores require customers to register before placing an order hoping it will encourage them to shop more. Some store owners don’t seem to consider the fact that forced registration is often a deterrent. There are alternatives. Use “New Customer” or “Guest Checkout” instead of required registration.

After a completed checkout process, on the thank-you page, offer an opportunity for them to create an account quickly.

Quick and Easy Forms

Limit the information that visitors need to enter. If fields that ask for already-entered data are removed or auto-filled, customers will be more inclined to complete the checkout process. You can set up an automatic process that copies the information already asked in other forms so that nothing gets repeated.

Furthermore, only asking for vital personal information and leaving other details out will make a form more likely to be filled out.

Retargeting

Of course, there will always be a percentage of interested individuals who did not convert to customers. If we don’t retarget these website visitors, we’re leaving money on the table. Furthermore, by adding a website pixel, a Javascript tag, to your webpage.

You will be able to track the “cookies” that attach themselves to visitors’ browsers. This tactic results in a higher probability that they will see an ad for your products if they search for similar products.  

Shopping Cart Recovery Emails

After a customer abandons their shopping cart before checkout, an email can be sent to encourage them to return. This follow-up may be the nudge they need if there was a technical glitch that prevented the purchase’s completion, or the page timed out, or the process seemed too complicated.

Several studies have confirmed that recovery emails have proven effective in getting shoppers to return and complete the checkout.

Checkout Pages Best Practices

Certain fundamental best practices can make your checkout page a high-converting one. Nordstrom is one company that has optimized its checkout process, covering all the bases to prevent cart abandonment as far as possible. Registration is not necessary.

Shoppers can use the guest checkout, which is an excellent time-saver, and it is easy to stay focused on your purchase thanks to the clean, distraction-free interface.

What could be simpler than a single-page checkout with minimal fields to fill? Nordstrom achieves this perfectly. Nordstrom also summarizes what you’ve added to your “bag” and the other order details on this page.

What’s more, users can connect with customer service by phone or chat directly from the checkout page. 

Checkout Abandonment Happens To The Best

When a customer leaves the website without completing the checkout process, this is considered checkout abandonment, and there are several potential causes. It has been found that one out of four shoppers abandons their online shopping cart. If you try to force shoppers to create an account or register before placing an order, you’re at risk of driving them to bounce off your page.

Similarly, a checkout process made up of more than five steps or is too complicated may frustrate customers. Additionally, one of the worst things any e-commerce company can do is surprise customers with additional fees or charges towards the end of the checkout process – this is a big no-no.

Online stores also need to run regular maintenance on their sites to avoid performance issues such as errors and crashes.

If an e-commerce site does not provide various payment methods and shipping options, purchase opportunities may be missed. If they avoid these deterrents, online store owners can significantly reduce the percentage of shoppers who abandon their shopping carts.

Conclusion

To improve the number of website visitors and potential customers that complete your checkout process, you must implement best practices. A streamlined, easy-flow, checkout process is an essential aspect and makes much difference. Don’t add unexpected charges to the shopping cart and prevent technical problems as much as possible.

Furthermore, offering a variety of payment and shipment methods is essential for customer satisfaction. The goal is to make your shoppers’ checkout experience as seamless, simple, and speedy as you can, so you have a higher conversion rate and increase your overall revenue.

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Step-by-Step Guide to a
High Converting Checkout

Share the Knowledge