When you’re designing an e-commerce website, the checkout experience is absolutely crucial. If the checkout experience isn’t easy for customers, they will sign out and shop somewhere else. That’s why you need to get it right. Here’s how to do it.
Provide a Guest Checkout Option
Providing a guest checkout option, allows your customers to shop with ease. Customers can easily check out without having to create an account or sign up. They simply enter their email address and choose how they want to pay for the items in their cart. Allowing a guest checkout option speeds the process of purchasing products up, as it skips over some extra steps like creating an account or signing up for newsletters.
Make Payment Options Obvious and Easy to Find
We all know that losing customers during the payment stage is never good, so make sure that this part of your site is easy to find. Make sure your payment options are clear and well-labeled on every page of your checkout process from start to finish – don’t miss a step. You can also improve your checkout experience and drive more sales by offering alternative payment options like PayPal or Apple Pay. That way, you appeal to a wider audience of shoppers looking for different ways of paying online.
Use a Simple and Responsive Design
When designing your e-commerce website, keep in mind that you’re not only designing for desktop users. You need to consider how your design will look on tablets and mobile devices, too. Using a simple and responsive design is key to ensuring your checkout experience works perfectly for all types of devices. This allows more consumers to use the site effectively while browsing and will ultimately boost sales as well.
Make the Shipping Process Visible
This is an important step in the checkout process because it’s where your customers will find out how much their order will cost – and extra costs can be a deal-breaker for shoppers. That’s why you need to make sure that this part of your site is clear and accurate. Providing estimated shipping time frames for each location is also helpful, as it allows your potential buyers to know exactly when they can expect their products.
Additionally, make sure customers aren’t forced to register before viewing the shipping rates. By limiting the shipping options to registered users only, you force more potential customers away from purchasing items on your site. So, even if they are willing to create an account just for the shipping rates, this makes them less likely to make a purchase. If they have to register and create an account for the site in general, then you’re even more likely to lose their business.
Offer a Discount to Customers That Have Left
Look at the best online casinos that payout USA. They provide discounts for customers that have left. That’s because they know the value of each customer. You should do the same. Offer a discount for customers that have left, as it’s better than having no one at all! That way, those customers are more likely to come back and shop on your site and you might even get them to make another purchase in the future.
Include a Live Chat Feature
If you want to improve your e-commerce checkout experience, then you need to provide the best support possible. One way to do that is by offering a live chat feature on your site. It allows online shoppers the opportunity to ask questions about their order or even get help with technical difficulties they might have before purchasing an item. Providing such a service eliminates any potential chances of losing customers because it allows them the chance to get instant support when they need it most.
Insert an Order Tracker
This is an excellent way to improve your e-commerce checkout experience and allows potential buyers more visibility over their orders. Some people enjoy knowing the status of their purchase as soon as possible, so tell them exactly what’s going on with their order from start to finish. This feature will prevent some users from clicking away from your site and give you a higher chance of converting visitors that come across it into actual customers.
Remove any Distractions
Every distraction reduces your e-commerce checkout experience for the customer. That means you’ve got to remove distracting links from your site, as well as any other unnecessary features that could potentially lead a user away from making a purchase. Additionally, always make sure that every page on your site is secure. You don’t want people worrying about their personal information or credit card numbers when they are trying to complete a purchase.
Present the Option to Sign Up Through Social Media
This option will work for those consumers that want to create an account on your site, but don’t want to go through the hassle of actually registering. Plus, when you let them sign up with social media, you’re also giving them a chance to connect with friends and family who might be interested in buying from your site as well. Just make sure that sharing the option doesn't distract your target audience. Make the process easy by streamlining it so users can quickly get signed up - then they're more likely to buy.
Provide First-Time Customers a Discount
Offering a discount for first-time customers is a great way to improve your e-commerce checkout experience. Not only are you giving them a chance to get something off their purchase, but you’re also likely to make a return customer out of them. Offer the discount at the end of their transaction so they aren’t distracted by it during the process and are willing to complete payment.
In summary
Taking these steps is important in order to ensure that customers navigate the website with ease. Customers want to be able to get in, purchase their items and get out as efficiently as possible so keeping your checkout process simple is crucial. It may seem hard initially, but it will all pay off when you start seeing an increase in conversions and revenue generated from sales.
