eCommerce Checkout Best Practices for Successful Conversions

Imagine this: a customer has browsed your online store, added items to their cart, and is excited to make a purchase. But then, they hit the checkout page and…chaos ensues. A confusing layout, hidden fees, and a clunky process quickly turns them away. They abandon the cart and a potential sale.

That’s why you need a smooth checkout experience with clear CTAs, simple form fields, minimum steps, etc. These practices and more will be the difference between a lost sale and a loyal customer.

In this blog, I’ll tell you about the practices followed by our professional eCommerce development company to ensure the best user experience and outstanding conversions.

What is Checkout Abandonment?

Checkout abandonment is when a potential customer goes through the process of adding items to their online shopping cart, but then exits before completing the purchase.

Here’s a breakdown:

• The Setup: A customer adds items to their online shopping cart, showing clear purchase intent.
• The Stumble: They begin the checkout process, maybe even entering some personal information like their name and email address.
• The Fall: Instead of completing the purchase, they leave the website, abandoning the items in their cart.

It’s a lost opportunity for a sale, and one of the key eCommerce metrics to track. It helps understand where the business is losing customers and how to improve the checkout process.

Common Reasons for Customers to Abandon the Checkout

Checkout abandonment is a major hurdle for eCommerce businesses. The checkout is the bridge between browsing and buying, and any friction at this stage can significantly impact your conversion rate and bottom line.

Unexpected Costs

This is the #1 reason. High shipping fees, taxes, or other unexpected charges that appear only at the checkout stage can make customers feel deceived and lead to immediate abandonment. Nobody likes hidden surprises when they’re ready to buy.

Complicated Checkout Process

A long, multi-step checkout process with too many forms and fields to fill can frustrate customers and make them give up. Insisting that customers create an account before purchasing can be a major barrier. Many people prefer the quick and easy option of guest checkout.

Website Issues

A slow checkout page can test anyone’s patience. In today’s fast-paced world, every second counts. Errors, crashes, or broken pages during checkout can create a negative impression and erode trust.

Trust and Security Concerns

Customers need to feel confident that their personal and financial information is safe. Missing SSL certificates or a lack of trust badges can raise red flags. Ambiguous return policies or a lack of contact information can create uncertainty and make customers hesitant to complete the purchase.

Limited Payment Options

Not offering a customer’s preferred payment method (e.g., PayPal, Apple Pay, specific credit cards) can be a deal-breaker. If your customers are older or more traditional, they may prefer to use credit cards or bank transfers. Unless you offer both, the customers will likely leave the checkout.

You need to proactively address these potential pain points in the checkout and ensure a smoother, more enjoyable experience for your customers. To get an idea on what else is wrong with your checkout, get our eCommerce consulting services.

11 eCommerce Checkout Best Practices

You need to implement a few key practices that prioritize user experience and streamline the eCommerce buyer journey when they reach the checkout. Here are the best practices to follow.

Offer One-click Checkout

One-click checkout allows returning customers to make purchases with a single click. It bypasses the usual steps of entering shipping and payment information. This streamlined process dramatically reduces friction and makes buying incredibly convenient. It leads to higher conversion rates and increased customer satisfaction.

Here’s are a few things you need to do:

• Make sign up easier
• Streamline account creation
• Address autocomplete
• Secure payment info

Simple, one-click checkout ensures increased conversions and improved experience. Plus, the customers won’t be hesitant to come back.

Include Guest Checkout

Guest checkout is all about removing barriers and making it as easy as possible for customers to buy from you. It allows shoppers to complete their purchase without creating an account or logging in, providing a streamlined and frictionless experience.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Make the guest checkout option prominent and easy to find.
• Ensure the guest checkout process is just as smooth and user-friendly as the registered checkout.
• Give customers the option to create an account after they’ve completed their purchase.
• Integrate with services like Apple Pay or Google Pay for faster checkouts.

It ensures speed and convenience like one-click checkout, while reducing cart abandonment.

Optimize for Mobile Checkout

With more and more people shopping on their smartphones, a clunky mobile checkout experience can lead to frustration, abandoned carts, and lost sales. So it’s important to optimize the eCommerce website for mobile experience.

Here’s how you optimize the checkout for mobile devices.

• Adapt the checkout to fit to any screen size.
• Avoid clutter and distractions by focusing on key elements like product summary, form fields, and the “Buy Now” button.
• Reduce the number of form fields and use autofill features.
• Compress images and keep your code clean and efficient to avoid unnecessary delays.
• Use large, easy-to-tap buttons with clear labels like “Proceed to Checkout” or “Pay Now”.
• Present all checkout steps on a single, scrollable page.

These mobile checkout optimization strategies lead to higher conversion rates and reduced cart abandonment.

Don’t Ask for Any Unnecessary Info

Asking for unnecessary information during checkout is a surefire way to increase friction and send potential customers running. Every extra field adds another hurdle for the customer to jump over. The longer the form, the more likely they are to abandon the process.

Lengthy forms are particularly cumbersome on mobile devices. Minimizing information makes the checkout process much smoother for mobile shoppers.

Info to Include:

• Contact Information: Name, email address, and phone number (for delivery updates).
• Shipping Address: Where to send the order.
• Billing Address: If different from the shipping address.
• Payment Information: Credit card details, digital wallet information, etc.

Info to Avoid:

• Unrelated Questions: Avoid asking for information that’s not directly relevant to the purchase, such as date of birth or gender.
• Duplicate Requests: Don’t ask for the same information twice (e.g., asking for billing address when it’s the same as the shipping address).

All in all, keep your checkout forms short, sweet, and focused on essential information for ensuring a smoother, faster, and more enjoyable experience.

Display Key Product Info

This practice is all about giving your customers a final reassuring nod before they seal the deal. It’s a simple yet powerful way to reduce uncertainty, build confidence, and ultimately, increase conversions.

Customers can see a clear summary of their chosen products and ensure they haven’t made a mistake. That means no second-guessing and less chances of returns.

Here’s what you need to include:

• Show high-quality images of each product to remind customers what they’re buying.
• Include the full product name and a brief description to avoid any confusion.
• Clearly display any selected variations, such as size, color, or quantity.
• Show the individual price of each item and the total order value, including any discounts or promotions.

Displaying these reinforce the customer’s purchase decision, reduce any lingering doubts, and create a smoother path to conversion.

Provide a Progress Indicator

A progress indicator in your checkout process acts like a roadmap for your customers. It guides them through each step and shows them how far they’ve come. This simple visual cue can significantly improve the user experience and reduce cart abandonment.

Here are a few best practices for implementing progress indicators.

• Keep the indicator simple and easy to understand.
• Use a design that aligns with your brand and is visually appealing.
• Ensure the indicator is optimized for mobile devices.
• Make sure of the accurate and consistent progress.
• Place the indicator prominently at the top or side of the checkout page.

This will help reduce anxiety, increase engagement, and ultimately lead to more completed purchases.

Allow Multiple Payment Modes

Offering multiple payment gateways and methods ensures that no matter how your customers prefer to pay, you can accommodate them. This flexibility is key to reducing friction at checkout, improving the customer experience, and ultimately, boosting your conversion rates.

If someone walks into your brick-and-mortar store with cash, but you only accept credit cards, you’ve just lost a sale. The same principle applies to your online store.

Here’s all you need to offer:

• Credit/Debit Cards: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover.
• Digital Wallets: Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and PayPal.
• Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL): Services like Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay.
• Bank Transfers: Direct bank transfers or ACH payments.

Other than these, while still niche, accepting Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies can cater to a tech-savvy audience. All in all, try to create a more inclusive and convenient checkout experience for your customers, meaning more chances of conversions.

Remove Any Additional Costs

Unexpected costs are like a surprise punch to the gut during checkout. They erode trust, create frustration, and are a leading cause of cart abandonment. It feels like a bait-and-switch tactic, and it leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

Here’s how you eliminate the surprise by removing the additional costs:

• Show estimated shipping costs on product pages or in the shopping cart.
• Clearly state any applicable taxes and how they’re calculated.
• Don’t sneak in extra charges for things like handling or processing.
• If possible, consider offering free shipping or free shipping above a certain order value.

When customers know the total cost from the start, they’re less likely to abandon their cart due to unexpected charges.

Integrate Upsells and Cross-sells

Upselling and cross-selling are powerful techniques to increase average order value (AOV) and boost revenue without being pushy. It’s about offering relevant products or upgrades that enhance the customer’s purchase, creating a win-win situation for both of you. These strategies are a part of eCommerce product recommendations.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Only suggest products that are genuinely relevant to the items in the customer’s cart.
• Don’t overwhelm customers with too many options or make them feel pressured.
• Show attractive images of the suggested products to make them more appealing.
• Consider offering a small discount or bonus for adding the upsell or cross-sell to the order.
• Use data and customer history to personalize upsell and cross-sell offers.

With these practices, you can increase average order value, enhance customer satisfaction, and drive more revenue for your business. Just remember to keep it relevant, valuable, and customer-centric.

Autofill Shipping and Billing Address

Autofill for shipping and billing addresses is like having a helpful assistant who fills out forms for you. It uses technology to automatically populate address fields with accurate information, saving customers time and effort during checkout.

This seemingly small feature can make a big difference in streamlining the checkout process and improving the overall user experience.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Clearly label address fields to prompt customers to use the autofill feature.
• Allow customers to save multiple addresses for different purposes (e.g., home, work, or gift recipient).
• Ensure autofill works seamlessly on mobile devices, where typing can be more cumbersome.

Make sure to clearly communicate to customers how their address information is being stored and used, and comply with data privacy regulations.

Show Trust Signals

Trust signals are the online equivalent of a friendly and knowledgeable salesperson in a physical store – they help put customers at ease and make them feel comfortable doing business with you. These signals contribute to a positive brand image and foster long-term customer loyalty.

The key types of trust signals to display include security badges, SSL certificate, trust seals (from Better Business Bureau (BBB) or TRUSTe), etc. You should also showcase a good eCommerce return policy along with a privacy policy.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Display trust signals prominently throughout your checkout process, especially on payment pages.
• Only use legitimate trust signals from reputable sources.
• Ensure trust signals are easy to understand and clearly communicate their meaning.
• Make sure trust signals are visible and effective on mobile devices.

These trust signals can create a secure and reassuring experience for your customers, increasing their confidence.

If you need help implementing these best practices for checkout on your eStore, get our eCommerce development services. We’ll help increase sales and revenue for your eCommerce business.

---

FAQs on eCommerce Checkout Best Practices

---

To Conclude

The checkout is the moment of truth where browsing intentions transform into actual sales. By optimizing the checkout, you can significantly reduce cart abandonment, boost conversions, and ultimately, drive business growth.

Key practices include:

• Offer One-click Checkout
• Include Guest Checkout
• Optimize for Mobile Checkout
• Don’t Ask for Any Unnecessary Info
• Display Key Product Info
• Provide a Progress Indicator
• Allow Multiple Payment Modes
• Remove Any Additional Costs
• Integrate Upsells and Cross-sells
• Autofill Shipping and Billing Address
• Show Trust Signals

Need help implementing these and other practices on your eStore? Then talk to our experts today!