The Four Pillars of a Successful Checkout Page
Tags: ecommerce
Published: 2020-09-04 07:39:08

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title: The Four Pillars of a Successful Checkout Page
published: true
description: 
tags: eCommerce
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Cart abandonment is a common issue across the board for eCommerce businesses. While some part of it is unavoidable and almost an integral part of the business, there is a lot that retailers can do to bring down cart abandonment rates and improve conversion rate.
Checkout pages are key when it comes to cart abandonment. Superior checkout pages help maintain a healthy conversion rate and are fruitful for any eCommerce business. So it's better you first polish the checkout page and then look for more ways to improve conversion rates.
Any impeccable checkout page rests on four pillars: design, convenience, payment and trust. We will focus on these four key features and improve upon them on the checkout page. Let’s jump right into it then.
##1. Design
There is plenty more to design than just the aesthetics. Right from the placement of form fields to the colors of CTA buttons, everything falls under the umbrella of an eCommerce checkout page design. It’s easy to get caught up in the bid to create stunning designs and templates. But that’s no use if the checkout page isn’t good at conversions. Create simple designs that don’t intimidate shoppers.
Our pro tip is to get rid of the usual header, footer, and menu options from the checkout page and make it a blinker for the process.Another damaging yet common distraction for shoppers is an unnecessarily long process. This one didn’t occur to you, did it? Well, now you know it. Keep it short, and include just the required fields.
You can induce FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) by showing the number of remaining units or perhaps you can show them how much you care through customer loyalty programs. One-page checkouts have become quite popular lately, and rightly so. They speed up the checkout process and improve the overall conversion rate. Baymard’s research suggests that 21% of shoppers abandon carts because of a long and complicated process.
##2. Convenience
Take care of customers and they return the favor by making more purchases. Convenience has become one of the most influential factors affecting the overall conversion rates. In fact, 83% of shoppers agree that they value convenience more compared to 5 years ago. So give shoppers what they want, even on the checkout page.
Forced registrations are annoying and responsible for 28% of the cart abandonment instances. With the guest checkout option, you are bound to improve the conversion rate. To get shoppers to subscribe to the store, you can always provide the registration option at the end of checkout.
Let shoppers use their social accounts such as Google and Facebook to register on your marketplace. The cross-platform functionality not only makes it a breeze for the shopper to login, but you also get access to some pre-vetted user info. 
Pre-filled fields add convenience, speeds up the process, and leaves shoppers with less time to even think about abandoning the cart. A common practice for pre-filled fields is to store the user’s info in small packets. This way, the shopper has to select just one of the many saved delivery and payment options.
##3. Payment
Second thoughts swoop in as soon as shoppers discover even the slightest irregularity in the payment module. It is why every eCommerce business needs to curate it’s payment section carefully. Let’s look at some of the strategies that can help you prevent those hasty retreats from the payment section.
The eCommerce ecosystem is playing host to nearly 140 online payment methods. We don’t advocate using all of them, but the more the merrier. Find the more preferred payment methods of your target demographic, and then add some more to them. 18% of cart abandonment instances occur because customers can’t see the total cost upfront. Some businesses hide the extra cost and display it only at the very last minute. But such strategies turn out to be self-destructive for businesses.
Make the product summary comprehensive so that shoppers can easily find all the relevant information. It goes without saying that this feature would elevate the conversion rate for the store. Sometimes it’s not about how expensive the product is, but how much the shopper could save with a discount on the product. Tell shoppers how much you’ve helped them save. Show the original price and the difference between what the shopper is going to pay.
##4. Trust
Once you win a shopper’s trust, it’s smooth sailing afterward. 17% of cart abandonments happen because of trust issues. So, it makes sense that you remind customers of all the reasons they should trust your brand.
It’s up to you to showcase all the security measures employed in the store. Use security badges and trust seals on the checkout page. It will give users that extra ounce of confidence needed to trust your business and complete the checkout. It’s also critical that you use the right badges at the right place. Display product ratings in the summary to give the customer yet another reason to buy the product. Showing reviews on the checkout page can be tricky, though. You can leave it altogether or somehow include a summarised version of reviews. But adding a link for reviews that takes shoppers to another page is nothing but a distraction.
No matter how hard you work to counter them, cart abandonment instances are inevitable. But don’t let that demoralize you. Use exit-intent pop-ups to get an insight on why shoppers left your cart.
Focus on these four parameters and ways of improving the checkout page will come naturally to you. If you wish to learn more then our article on [checkout page optimization](https://www.simform.com/checkout-page-optmization/) is good read. It will give you a better understanding of these four features and all the different elements of a checkout page associated with them.