Eight Ways of Optimizing Your eCommerce Checkout Process

The checkout process is the final process of online shopping that includes the billing statement. However, statistically, seven out of ten visitors to your eCommerce platform leave the checkout page without purchasing anything.

This issue is frustrating to most Ecommerce website owners. Fortunately, here are some best practices that’ll optimize your checkout process and smoothly lead your clients to the final billing stage. So, familiarize yourself with these best practices.

Why is a Checkout Process Needed?

A checkout process, as stated earlier, is the final stage of online shopping. It’s fundamental for purchasing and acquiring your client’s shipping and billing information. In other terms, it’s the ultimate determinant of whether a visitor will choose to buy items on your website or not. As such, this process ought to be fluid and user-friendly.

Provide a guest checkout

Most eCommerce websites lose clients due to the mandatory registration required in most checkouts. Some visitors only buy an item once, and creating an account for a one-time visit might not suit most clients well.

If it’s necessary to include registration, then make it as smooth as possible by incorporating guest checkout or registration through third-party applications like social media accounts.

Also, avoid asking for registration details before checkout. It’s far much better to request for the same after checkout when getting the shipping address.

Have a responsive checkout

A responsive website offers an ambient user experience; the same applies to a responsive checkout. A responsive checkout eases the checkout process. In this case, the checkout hassle is minimized by including a responsive back button, microcopies that give the user hints on what to type, and auto search that aids in finding a location.

So, when choosing a checkout provider, find one that’ll ease your customers’ checkout process by making the checkout responsive. Also, with the right responsiveness comes good loading time, which is among the main components of a good user experience.

One page indicates safety

Redirecting your customers to a different page when checking out is not suitable for your business. Most people feel violated when redirected to other pages from external links. Redirecting to multiple pages indicates the spreading of data to more than one page, which may create distrust between you and the user.

Keep it simple

In software engineering, there’s a rule known as ‘keep it simple, stupid’ (KISS). This rule states that, in the most abstract level of development, make sure the components used keep your program simple and easy to use. An easy-to-use checkout simplifies the checkout process.

To make sure your checkout is simple and easy to use, incorporate tools designed to simplify the user experience. These tools include software programs like Google Maps for geolocation.

For instance, you should provide an auto-type feature when the user is filling his shipping location. Components like the auto-type feature reduce the chances of filling in the wrong information like location.

Another way to keep it simple is through the user interface. A complicated user interface turns most visitors away from the website, and some may even question the credibility of your website.

Bring Value

Whether your checkout process is smooth or not, if you don’t incorporate bonuses like return policy, discount, good shipping policy, then you’re bound to lose. These values motivate the customer to continue with the checkout process and finish the purchase. A website that lacks these is a turn off for most visitors.

Your tone

They say that the customer is always right and how you treat him determines whether your product is right or wrong. One of the ways to be cordial with your eCommerce visitor is through your website’s tone. If the tone is demanding and strict, your client will leave. Also, if it lacks adequate information, you’re guaranteed to lose many visitors.

Your website’s checkout page should have a convincing tone and give all the necessary information needed to checkout.

Have the billing options at reach

Even before your visitors’ check out from your website, make it clear what the billing options are. You can achieve this by placing payment buttons or cards on the header or footer of the checkout page. Including these options earlier makes your eCommerce site more user-friendly and easily responsive.

Customer care and real-time support

Provide smooth customer care experience and real-time support to your customers. With the advancement of technology, providing customer support through live chat is now easier. You can incorporate a bot that will automatically answer frequently asked questions or redirect your user to real-time support. These features increase the trust between you and the user, which is fundamental for fluid transactions.

A good checkout is responsive and prioritizes user experience over anything else. Many companies design and build functional checkouts that simplify the checkout process for users.