When you manage an online store, one of the most common issues you face is having customers who do not complete the checkout flow and leave in the middle of the process. The previous year’s data shows that the checkout page abandonment rate was over 70.19%. 

But, you can avoid these issues very simply if you optimize checkout experience for customers. Are you wondering how to accomplish it? Let’s check them out.

What Is Checkout Page Optimization?

Before we get into all of the tried and true methods for optimizing the checkout experience, let us first define what it means. Optimization of an online store’s checkout page aims to improve its design, functionality and user experience in order to increase conversions and reduce cart abandonment. The goal is to make the checkout experience as seamless, fast and user-friendly as possible so that more customers complete their purchases.

Key Aspects of Checkout Page Optimization:

1. Simplified Checkout Flow – Minimize unnecessary steps and distractions to ensure a quick and smooth checkout process.
2. Auto-Fill & Address Validation – Enable auto-fill for form fields and validate addresses to speed up the process; this leads to happier return customers.
3. Mobile Optimization – Ensure the checkout page is fully responsive and easy to use on mobile devices as well as other screens.
4. Multiple Payment Options – Offer various payment methods like credit cards, digital wallets, PayPal and BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) options.
5. Trust Signals & Security – Display trust badges, SSL certificates and secure payment gateways to reassure customers of authenticity.
6. Transparent Pricing & Fees – Clearly show total costs, including taxes and shipping, before the final purchase step.

How to Optimize Checkout Experience for Customers (5+ Tested & Proven Tips)

To improve your eCommerce business’s user experience and conversion rate, you must first optimize the overall checkout experience. If customers find your checkout process simple, they will return to your store to purchase additional products. Here are a few tips to help you optimize checkout experiences for customers on your business website.

1. Implement 1-Click Checkout Process

Is a one-page checkout better than a multi-page checkout? There is no right or wrong way to approach the situation. Some stores use a single-page checkout, while others utilize multiple checkout pages (using the redirected gateway method). 

Researchers, however, have discovered that a large number of potential customers do not complete purchases seeing multiple checkout pages and abandon mid-way through. It wastes time and fails to retain the attention of customers. A 1-click checkout process, particularly for eCommerce stores selling physical products, is more widely accepted.

When you implement a 1-click checkout process, your customers can skip navigating through additional pages and purchase from your store easily. This eliminates unnecessary delays, expedites transactions and reduces cart abandonment rates. 

This method is especially useful for returning customers because it provides a seamless and convenient shopping experience, allowing them to quickly make purchases every time they shop at your store. And this results in higher conversion rates and customer satisfaction.

💡With the Better Payment plugin for WordPress, you can easily implement a 1-click checkout process. This ever-growing plugin is quickly gaining popularity in the ecosystem for implementing one-click payment options in Elementor-built WooCommerce stores without hassle for providing customers with a simple and optimized checkout experience.

2. Allow Guest Checkout

According to a recent Baymard study, 24% of online stores lost sales after requiring customers to create an account before making a purchase. Typically, having to create an account causes an added friction that does not result in a sale. What you can do is provide a guest checkout option so that customers do not have to create an account or log in to one just to purchase from your store.

It would be more productive to offer customers the option of creating an account or proceeding with guest checkout. Another way to speed up conversion is to offer express checkout, as mentioned earlier. Using quick payment methods like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, or Samsung Pay gives you the most flexibility, which should lead to more sales.

3. Offer Multiple Payment Options

Every customer will have their own payment preferences. If they don’t find a payment method they use, you’ll likely lose the sale. It is possible to overcome this blocker by offering a variety of payment options. These can include credit cards, debit cards, PayPal and other digital wallets.

Just to give you an idea, 432 million people use PayPal worldwide. Similarly, Canada, Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom are among the top countries that use credit cards for payments.

💡In case of managing checkout on the WordPress website, you can consider Better Payment. Here, you will get integration of popular payment options like PayPal, Paystack, Stripe, etc. So you can easily provide all the suitable payment options for your customer and optimize the checkout experience.

4. Monitor Cart Abandonment & Stay In Touch

Monitoring, tracking and taking action – these are the three basic pillars to succeed in any business. You must implement this strategy in order to optimize checkout experiences on your eCommerce store. As a starting point, you can begin by monitoring the number of cart abandonments in your online store. After that, you must devise a strategy to reclaim them. 

One of the most popular strategies is to send the customer an email a few days later to complete the checkout process. There are practices to provide subtle discounts in completing checkout as well. Also, you must get in touch with your customers to hear their side of the story about abandonment and how you can streamline the customer experience better – and this can be done using follow-up emails or surveys. 

5. Set Up Forms in a Logical Flow

When customers arrive in their carts to checkout, they are ready to share a lot of information. However, their willingness to complete the process is determined by how logically you collect the information required to make a successful purchase. Online customers typically follow a checkout flow that includes collecting contact information first, then shipping information and finally, billing information.

Most other checkout processes entail additional steps, but this is the core information required by any eCommerce site, provided in the order that most of us expect. If a user enters incorrect credit card information, they should not have to restart the entire process. Instead, start by asking for their phone number, then ask for their billing address and then, well, you get the picture. Remember that this flow should be bidirectional, with a “back” button that allows them to undo a step.

💡 With the Better Payment plugin, you can easily design the form fields to flow seamlessly by dragging and dropping. You can add or remove fields as needed. 

6. Create FOMO with Growth Alerts

It’s pretty common to cancel the order even after adding them to cart. This way, your online store will lose a large portion of its customers. To optimize the checkout experience, you can create a FOMO by highlighting growth alerts. The alert can trigger anyone based on your business and customer behavior. Here are some of the most successful growth alert templates:

1. [X] People purchased this product [X] within [X] days
2. High in demand, only [X] left
3. Only [X] numbers of products are in stock
4. Globally, [X] have added it to their carts

💡 Using the NotifixationX plugin on a WordPress website, you can easily display growth alerts and set it up with the Checkout button. This way, your customers will feel the urge to complete the checkout process by being inspired by all the valuable data.

Skyrocket Your Sales with an Optimized Checkout Process

An optimized checkout experience can make or break an online sale. By optimizing your checkout page, you not only make the purchasing process easier for your customers, but you also increase your chances of converting visitors into loyal customers. From instilling urgency to providing multiple payment options and enabling one-click checkout, every step toward optimization leads to higher conversion rates and revenue. 

So do not let complexity be the demise of your sales funnel. To get more tips on achieving eCommerce success, subscribe to our blog.