Oops! We could not locate your form.
What makes a positive online checkout process experience? Here are 10 things I think all ecommerce websites should try to achieve for an optimal user experience.
The checkout process experience provided by an e-commerce website plays a huge factor in whether I’ll shop with that business again.
A poor user experience will send me running for the hills, and it’s not just me. Studies have shown that a staggering 89% of users will shop with a competitor after a poor experience.
With so much choice out there these days, shoppers can afford to be picky. You have to do a lot more than simply exist, if you want to win customers and retain them.
Here are 10 things that can add to a good checkout user experience:
My colleague has ranted about this before, so I’ll be more concise here.
Forcing account creation on a user can be very off-putting. It feels like a big commitment handing over information to a company you have yet to get the measure of. Not to mention the annoyance of constantly having to create new accounts and passwords, which can lead to account fatigue.
People want convenience and speed, not another obstacle. Obstacles lead to more drop off. Give them the choice.
A 2022 study suggested that up to 56% of British shoppers prefer a guest checkout when shopping online.
Only take the information you actually require. Especially for guest checkouts, but even if someone is creating an account.
In recent research conducted by Baymard Institute, they concluded that the number of form fields a user must complete has more impact on user experience than the number of steps that the checkout process has overall. More form fields create greater perceived checkout effort in users.
Our research shows that, in general, the number of form fields in a checkout impacts overall usability far more than the number of steps.
Baymard Institute
Long forms that require you to enter your life story are extremely irritating. They are time-consuming and often feel like they’re overstepping the mark on privacy.
Think about what data you truly need to collect, how many fields you can collect it in, and what is unnecessary.
For example, rather than separate first name and surname fields, use a single full name field. I cannot count the number of times I’ve accidentally typed my full name into a first name field. You can remove this point of frustration by simply having a single field for name collection.
Many sites I come across still have separate fields for mobile number and home number. Why not just have a single field that can accept mobile or landline numbers called ‘preferred contact number’?
If a user is creating a new account, could you save some data collection for later, when trust has been built? Perhaps in the form of an email to sign up for a loyalty programme that rewards them on their birthday?
Having this feature can hugely speed up address entry. Although, remember to have an option to switch to manual entry. If you’ve lived in a new build property you’ll understand the frustration that comes with new postcodes not being found.
A tick box for ‘same as billing address‘ to save double entry where it can be avoided is also good practice.
Consider what can streamline the process and make life easier for your customer. Can their account have an address book? So they can select a previously used delivery address for speed, or quickly add a new address when required?
Baymard recently shared that 55% of the eCommerce sites reviewed in their study didn’t provide an automatic address lookup feature.
Let people know how far through the checkout process they are at any given point!
A simple indicator showing a user how far through the checkout process they are can work wonders.
If a user has no indication of how long the process will take, they may not stick around. Transparency and clarity are important in building trust, even more so when people are handing over their hard-earned cash.
I’ve shouted at the screen in the past when about to finish the checkout process, and suddenly there are additional fees or charges added. These unexpected costs will almost always result in me abandoning my cart.
If I’m spending £10, I don’t want to discover last minute that shipping and handling fees are £8. I’ve just spent my time entering all of my details. Had I been made aware that shipping was going to be nearly the same cost as the item, I wouldn’t have had my time wasted, and the seller wouldn’t have an abandoned cart.
Be clear and upfront about additional charges, including shipping options. Don’t leave it as a nasty surprise at the end. Not only may this cause someone to abandon cart, but it also creates a bad impression, and breaks trust.
On the topic of shipping, wherever possible, offer people options. Even better, where possible, free shipping is a massive attraction.
I’ve often spent an extra little bit to get free shipping. Even if it would have worked out a little cheaper just to pay for shipping in the first place. I think many of us get tempted in by the idea of free shipping on orders over a certain amount.
If you don’t offer free shipping, or for orders that don’t meet the minimum for free shipping, providing a variety of services can be another great option.
Expedited shipping options like next day, alongside some cheaper, slower options for those not in a hurry, can make purchases more attractive.
Also, display realistic shipping and handling times. If there is a manufacturing period before dispatch or similar, make sure this is clear from the beginning.
People don’t always feel comfortable entering their card details directly, even if you have a secure payment gateway in place.
For example, I usually prefer to pay with Paypal or Google Pay. I find that limited options can be quite off-putting (I’m looking at you Amazon!).
An express or one-click checkout option can be very useful, either for returning customers, or one-off purchases. There are many options available, depending on how the data is to be stored. Stripe has Link, WooCommerce has WooPay, and Paypal, Google Pay and Apple Pay can all provide this functionality.
You can offer a range of options, including a flexible payment option like Paypal Credit, Klarna or Clearpay. Buy Now Pay Later solutions have soared in use in the last few years, particularly among Gen Z. These allow people to pay in instalments. It will make buying from you a more enticing option than from your competitors without these options. It can be particularly useful for those who are paid weekly or fortnightly.
This one is dependent on your marketing practices. If you use voucher codes as part of your marketing or offer gift vouchers, make sure that it’s easy to find the code input box! If you have a points or rewards system, you could integrate it with your checkout so your users don’t have to work to apply their rewards.
The number of times I’ve been sent a discount code by a company, only to have to spend ages hunting out where to enter that code. Even worse, when you’ve received a gift voucher, and struggle to redeem it!
If your business doesn’t use vouchers much, or you don’t do gift vouchers, it’s better to make the coupon field less prominent. Use a reveal, or make the coupon area very subtle to avoid your users leaving the website to hunt for a discount code.
Design can play an important role in establishing trust and credibility. If your site and checkout process look credible and professional, users will feel more comfortable buying from you. Just as I’d be more likely to buy from a clean and welcoming physical store, over someone selling from their car boot.
This shouldn’t need repeating, but make sure your checkout is secure! Use tried and trusted checkout/payment solutions. Make sure you have the right security certificates in place and be sure to display any relevant security badges. This can help build trust and give customers peace of mind that you’re keeping their data safe.
Regularly test the user journeys through your site, and the entire checkout process. From both the user perspective, and from a tech perspective. Make sure that anything that should be happening behind the scenes is working.
Things go awry and errors, performance issues and broken functionality will drive users away.
Make sure buttons are working, stock notifications are correct, order emails are firing, and payments are going through successfully. Test thoroughly and often. It’s beneficial for your users and helps you quickly identify issues that might be costing you revenue.
There you have it, 10 of the things I look for in a good checkout process online. Have I missed any, or are there any others you would add?
There’s obviously a lot more that can be done to create a seamless checkout experience for your customers. Just because it falls at the end of the buying journey, doesn’t mean that it should be a neglected step in your website strategy.
If you’re looking for help integrating payment gateways or redeveloping your eCommerce website? Get in touch with the team today.
You can also take a look at some of the WooCommerce websites we’ve built on our case study page. See how we transformed the purchasing user experience for Don’t Buy Her Flowers, which has scooped up a number of awards and nominations.
Is It Time For A Website Redesign?
If you’d like to learn more about our website redesign approach and if it could be a good fit for your business, drop us an email or give us a call.
