We’ve talked about how to avoid abandoned carts and how to get those customers back again. What you may have learned from those earlier blog posts is that the checkout page is pretty important.
In fact, it may be one of the most important factors for keeping buyers focused and ready to buy. If your checkout page is a mess, you could be turning buyers off without you even knowing it. Fortunately, we’ve got the goods for you. Take a look at your ecommerce checkout page and compare what you see against our "checkout checklist."
1) Calls-to-Action
Make it easy for buyers to see the next step. Whether it’s “Enter Payment,” “Check Out Now,” or “Go to Secure Checkout,” some kind of direction is needed. Your CTA should tell them exactly where they’ll go if they click that button -- so don’t try anything tricky.
2) Progress Bar
No one wants to go through 400 steps to buy that funny mustache-shaped doormat, but they’re more likely to hang in there for the whole process if you at least let them know how they’re doing. Otherwise, they might get to step 399 and give up, not knowing their victory is just around the corner.
3) Thumbnails of Purchases
We guarantee more than one person has made an accidental purchase because they didn’t see what they were buying once they reached the checkout page. Remind them what they put in their carts, or they may hit the back button to remind themselves. If they hit that back button, they may never complete the purchase.
4) Edit Items
Again, the back button is not your friend. That’s why you should allow for cart editing even while on the checkout page. If a buyer needs to back up to make a change, they could get distracted or maybe even just frustrated. Forward motion -- that’s the name of the game when buyers reach the checkout page.
5) Back to Shopping Button
Okay, so you do want people to move forward, but if they’re determined to go back, make it easy for them. With this button, they can be sure the products they placed in their cart will be available when they return to pay. Also, if they’re shopping for more stuff, that’s always a good thing.
6) Cross-Selling Suggestions
Asking buyers to pay for more stuff after they’ve already completed their purchase is a little cheeky. There’s nothing wrong with making some suggestions before they enter payment info, though. Just be sure the suggested items really do match the buyer's past shopping habits. Relevance is key.
7) Upselling Suggestions
Maybe you don’t have matching items to complete a set, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have other upselling options available. This particular example shows how to send buyers flying back to the product pages for more stuff, simply by showing how much more is needed to obtain free shipping.
8) Customer Service Contact Info
Sometimes, something will go wrong during the payment process. Maybe your buyers aren’t comfortable sharing financial information online, or perhaps a coupon code isn't working. Whatever the reason, contact info readily present could mean the difference between a sale and an abandoned cart. If you can provide more than one option for customer service, you could see even better results.
9) Cart Saving Option
It happens sometimes: Someone’s card gets rejected and they don’t have another way to pay. Or they get distracted and can't finish the payment now. Will they come back the moment they get their next paycheck (or a second to complete their purchase)? Maybe. And just in case, you should let them go ahead and save their cart now.
10) Various Payment Options
The previous scenario could be avoided if you provide more than one payment option. PayPal and similar services are excellent additions to the usual credit and debit options.
11) Visible Security Seals
Many companies are now linking to security information, but we maintain nothing inspires trust more than visible security seals. Make sure they’re on every page of the checkout process, because someone might not think to look until the very last page. You don’t want to miss a sale because they got cold feet.
With these in place, you’ll have a checkout page that’s easy to navigate, makes buyers feel comfortable, and moves everyone along to the last step: payment. If you’re missing one of these key factors, you might want to hit up your web designer for a quick fix.
11 Critical Elements of Effective Ecommerce Checkout Pages
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