{"id":2811569,"date":"2020-10-20T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-20T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-rocket.me\/?p=2811569"},"modified":"2021-07-29T10:17:39","modified_gmt":"2021-07-29T08:17:39","slug":"optimize-checkout-page","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-rocket.me\/blog\/optimize-checkout-page\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Optimize Your Checkout Page"},"content":{"rendered":"

You can\u2019t force someone or something to take a specific action. All you can do is provide a clear path and hope that they make the right choice. <\/p>

This is especially true when it comes to WordPress eCommerce websites. Specifically, checkout page optimization. <\/p>

Your checkout page is the finish line. That\u2019s true whether you\u2019re using WooCommerce or another WordPress-friendly eCommerce platform. It\u2019s the final destination for a prospective customer. When they reach the checkout page, they\u2019re just a few clicks away from conversion. <\/p>

But a lot of them never click that checkout button. <\/p>

In fact, on average up to 75.6%<\/a> of shopping carts are abandoned before checking out. That\u2019s a combined $4 trillion in revenue worldwide, with $260 billion of that being recoverable with follow up and optimization. <\/p>

In this article, we\u2019re going to show you how to make improvements to your WordPress checkout page that will entice users to make a purchase, lower your abandonment rate, and increase profits across the board. <\/p>

Why Do Customers Drop Off At Checkout?<\/h2>

Before we can touch on how to stop customers from dropping off, we first have to look at why abandonment happens in the first place. <\/p>

There is no one specific reason, but there are a number of issues that studies have identified. <\/p>

\"Reasons
Most common reasons for cart abandonment – Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>

As you can see in the image above, the chief factor that leads to checkout abandonment is extra costs. <\/p>

This includes shipping fees, taxes, those pesky administrative service fees that seem to pop up everywhere, and any other little added expenditure. <\/p>

Second is the need to create an account on the shopping platform. Many users just want to make a purchase and move on. If you ask them to complete the several steps needed to register an account, there\u2019s a good chance they will throw their hands up and run in the other direction. <\/p>

Next up, we have the checkout process itself. If it\u2019s too complex or takes too long, the user will become frustrated and navigate away. <\/p>

After that, there\u2019s a slew of valid concerns, including a lack of trust in the site or company, slow delivery, a lack of preferred payment methods, and even website errors and crashes. <\/p>

All of these factors play a role in your checkout abandonment rate and your website\u2019s exit rate. One way to improve both of these important metrics is to ensure that your checkout page is fully optimized. <\/p>

Learn about more ways to reduce your site\u2019s exit rate<\/a>. <\/p>

Optimize Page Speed and Performance<\/h2>

The first issue we\u2019re going to tackle is page speed and performance. <\/p>

Your checkout page has to load fast. That\u2019s true of just about every page on your website from a product page to the cart page. <\/p>

Slow load times will decimate both your bounce rate and conversion rate. A delay of even a few seconds can cause 45.5%<\/a> of potential users to navigate away. At three seconds, you\u2019re losing more than half. <\/p>

\"The
Website abandonment stats – Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>

According to the BBC, for every additional second that your website takes to load, another 10%<\/a> of users will drop off.<\/p>

Installing the WP Rocket<\/a> plugin for WordPress allows you to increase load times exponentially. <\/p>

The plugin launches upon activation and improves your speed through page caching. It also loads images as a visitor scrolls, instead of all at once. That means pages won\u2019t be bogged down with heavy images right from the get go. <\/p>

Typically, the checkout page should be excluded from caching. It needs to remain dynamic in order to properly display customer specific information in real time. Since WP Rocket is fully compatible with WooCommerce, you won\u2019t have to manually exclude the checkout page from your cache. As a result, you\u2019re able to increase speed for the entire site while also saving time and ensuring that the checkout page remains dynamic. <\/p>

Learn more about why you should use a caching plugin<\/a>.<\/p>

It\u2019s also a good idea to compress the images that you use on the checkout page. That means once they\u2019re loaded in they will not become a speed sucking burden on the page. <\/p>

And take a look at which plugins you\u2019re using. A lot of times, WordPress users will activate plugins and just forget that they exist. Make sure that you don\u2019t have erroneous plugins activated that you don\u2019t need. If you do, deactivate them for the sake of site performance. <\/p>

While this seems like an obvious point, you also have to make sure that your eCommerce checkout page is functional. <\/p>

Learn more about how you can test your WooCommerce checkout process to ensure it\u2019s working to its full potential<\/a>.<\/p>

Simplify the Page<\/h2>

While page speed is a technical website issue, you also have to take the user experience into account. <\/p>

WordPress is a highly customizable platform, allowing you to include a wealth of information on every page. This includes the checkout page. <\/p>

But, just because you can<\/em> doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that you should<\/em>. <\/p>

When optimizing your checkout page, you want to make sure that the experience is smooth and free of friction. <\/p>

\"Friction-causing
Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>

Friction is any feature or add-on that might take away from the user experience or make it more complicated than it has to be. <\/p>

Obviously, it\u2019s tempting to try and gather as much information as possible from your customers at checkout. Data has become the backbone of modern marketing. But, if you ask for too much or overcomplicate the checkout process with data mining, you\u2019re going to drive people away. <\/p>

To that end, you have to simplify the page. A few key decisions go into this.<\/p>

Single Page Checkout vs. Multi Page Checkout<\/h3>

Single page checkout is exactly what it sounds like. It is everything you need to complete the checkout process compiled onto one page. Fewer clicks are involved, so it\u2019s faster. <\/p>

In the image below, you\u2019ll find a classic example of an optimized single page checkout.<\/p>

\"\"\/
Single page checkout – Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>

Everything is there in one central location of the online store. You can see literally everything you have to do all at once. It\u2019s less taxing on a customer and far less annoying than entering information, clicking, waiting for another page to open, and then having to enter even more information.<\/p>

The layout of this page is excellent because it negates the need for a lot of scrolling. By laying everything out in three side by side columns, you\u2019re optimizing the experience and allowing the customer to see the entire checkout process at once. <\/p>

Multi step checkout is a process that encompasses many different pages. You might enter your email address and shipping address on one page. Then, on the next page you enter your billing information. After that, on yet another page, you\u2019d review your order before finally submitting it and getting a confirmation. <\/p>

It gives you more opportunities to collect data, but don\u2019t go overboard if choosing this option. <\/p>

A modern shopper can see through data collection efforts right away. Ask for too much and you could make them uncomfortable and drive them away. <\/p>

Make the Process So Easy a Child Could Do it<\/h3>

Back in 2017, Amazon paid more than $70 million<\/a> in refunds to exasperated parents because their children made unwanted purchases on the platform without their knowledge. <\/p>

That\u2019s because Amazon has one of the simplest checkout processes on the planet. <\/p>

It\u2019s so simple that children were able to do it. <\/p>

They\u2019re also the number one eCommerce platform in the world. <\/p>

That\u2019s not a coincidence. <\/p>

\u201cIf you want people to do something, make it easy.\u201d That\u2019s a direct quote from consumer behavior expert Richard Thaler in the Financial Times<\/a>, and it is highly relevant to the checkout process.<\/p>

Your goal is to make the entire process so easy that a child with no technical knowledge could figure it out. <\/p>

Just don\u2019t try to convince kids to make purchases without their parents\u2019 permission and you\u2019ll be ok.<\/p>

If you overcomplicate the checkout flow, consumers will give up. Make sure you\u2019re only asking for vital information that you actually need and don\u2019t waste the customer\u2019s time with a slew of data-driven requests.\u00a0<\/p>

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