Why a High-Converting WooCommerce Checkout Matters

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Imagine a customer going to a retail outlet and picking an item they liked. Next, they proceed to the billing counter where the staff enters the product price and other details that are needed for billing the product. Before paying the money, the customer decides that they don’t need the product anymore and walks out of the store. Sounds pretty weird right?
Now replace the retail store counter with a WooCommerce Checkout. The same situation suddenly sounds extremely normal, which is why the average cart abandonment rate in the e-commerce industry is 70.19%(Baymard Institute).

Before we go any further, we need to discuss two terms that are often used interchangeably—cart abandonment and checkout abandonment. These two are equally problematic for e-commerce stores, but the reasons that contribute to them are slightly different.

Cart abandonment

When a customer adds items to their cart and abandons the site without proceeding to checkout, it is called cart abandonment.

Checkout abandonment

In checkout abandonment, the customer moves from the cart to the checkout page but abandons the purchase without finishing the checkout.

In this blog, we will be focusing mainly on checkout pages, checkout abandonment and how to design checkout pages that convert better.

Types of WooCommerce checkout designs

WooCommerce Checkout pages can be designed in two ways: a one-page checkout (single-page) or a multi-step checkout. Both have advantages and disadvantages.

Single-step checkout(One page)

A WooCommerce one-page checkout is preferred for its ability to simplify the entire checkout experience and reduce the load on customers. Since all the details are available on a single page, it reduces a lot of confusion for the customers as they have a clear understanding of what information they are expected to provide. A single checkout page will also feature the payment information on the same page allowing customers to verify the trust badgers and the credibility of the website before making the purchase. However, in checkout pages where a lot of data collection happens, too much information on one page could be overwhelming for customers.

Multi-step checkout

WooCommerce multi-step checkout splits and organizes the different stages of checkout into different pages, giving a more organised version of a checkout page. The address information section will be separated from the payment section. This can make it less taxing for customers to enter the information. However, if a clear progress bar mentions how many sections are left along with the names of the different sections, a customer might feel hesitant to proceed.

Now that we discussed the types of checkout pages and what checkout abandonment is let’s look at the main reasons that contribute to customers abandoning a purchase during checkout:

Top reasons for checkout abandonment

Given below are the top 10 reasons for checkout abandonment according to Baymard Institute.

Assuming, you now have an idea about the top reasons for checkout abandonment, let’s find out how can you evade this issue and improve your customers’ overall checkout experience.

How to create a high-converting checkout page

Avoid additional charges

A customer decides to buy a product when they feel that the price is worth paying for the quality of the product. So, when you add additional charges during checkout, a customer might feel surprised. One of the most common reasons for checkout abandonment, this is an area which needs to be taken care of if you don’t want to disappoint your customers. So make sure to clearly mention all the additional charges that might get applied so as to avoid last minute surprises to your users.

Allow Guest checkout

Not every customer who visits your website will be interested in divulging too much data and creating an account. They may want to finish their purchase with minimum hassles. So, including a guest checkout is essential if you want to improve your customers’ shopping experience. This will make their purchase faster and improve their trust in your brand.

Simple and clean layout

A clutter-free checkout with minimal distractions is always an advantage as it puts customers at ease. A simple checkout also allows customers to stay focused and increases the chances of purchase.

Mobile responsive designs

In this era of omnichannel personalization, optimizing your WooCommerce checkout for mobile screens is something you cannot compromise on. Customers are highly likely to find your ad on their social media accounts and switch to your website to shop. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that your checkout pages load properly, even on mobile screens, to provide your customers with a seamless experience.

Enhance Your WooCommerce Checkout Page for Mobile Devices

Include trust symbols

Make sure to reassure your customers that their data will be safe by including trust badges on your website. With many fraudulent websites siphoning money off customers, it is natural for them to doubt the credibility of your website if you don’t display relevant security information. Displaying trust signals from reputed security providers will instil confidence in your customers and reduce the possibility of last-minute cancellation of payments.

Arrange sections logically

There is a logical sequence for designing a checkout page so that customers can complete their orders with minimal hiccups. This can be achieved by grouping related elements together. This helps customers complete their purchases with minimum hassles.

Include a Progress indicator

If you have a multi-step checkout page then it is essential to include a progress bar on top of your checkout page with clear labels insdicating the current step adn the upcoming steps. This will clear any doubts a customer could have about the number of steps they will have to go through and also reduces the complexity of the checkout process in their head.

Multiple payment options

Include multiple payment methods to cater to every customer’s preference. Different customers might prefer different methods to make their payments, so make sure to allow payment through debit cards, credit cards, digital wallets, and bank transfers. This will increase the chances of your customer completing their purchase.

The 5 best best payment gateways for WooCommerce

Add data validation and notification

Implement data validation to let the customers know when they enter incorrect information. Clear messages will allow the customers to know and understand where exactly they have made a mistake.
It is also important to add notifications on the checkout page whenever the user completes a purchase to reassure the customers that they have successfully completed the transaction.

Reduce loading times

Nobody trusts or likes a website that takes forever to load. People generally tend to lose interest in minutes, if not seconds. So once a customer decides to finish a purchase, make sure that your checkout page loads quickly if you don’t want them to lose interest in the purchase.

Skyro WooCommerce checkout – The checkout that converts

Addressing so many aspects at once might seem like a daunting task. However, with the right WooCommerce checkout plugin, checkout abandonment can be tackled easily. Skyro WooCommerce checkout aims to simplify the process of creating high-converting checkout pages. Our templates have been designed with the logical flow a customer goes through during checkout in mind. All designs are clutter-free and mobile-friendly, and they allow you to display trust factors. When used in combination with our powerful tool, Checkout Field Editor, Skyro becomes a one-stop solution for all your checkout woes.