21 WooCommerce Checkout Page Optimization Hacks to Minimize Abandonment
Tavleen Kaur
February 19, 2021
WooCommerce Checkout page optimization on your mind?
The native WooCommerce checkout page is plain jane, it can collect payments for you, sure.
But can it persuade on-the-fence users? Can it instill confidence in anxious prospects?
Can it proactively prevent checkout abandonment from happening?
No and no.
So when users switch to optimized WooCommerce checkout pages, irrespective of the template they use - they report astounding results like these:
And no, these are not atypical results, you can get them too!
In this post, I'm sharing with you 21 checkout page optimization hacks that you can easily implement. You don't need all of them, right now. Start with three, and deploy them.
You'll start noticing a difference in conversion rate right away. On that note, let's get started.
If you prefer video over text, then here's a quick video about our 21 Checkout page optimization hacks.
Contents
One website saw a jump of 300% in their conversions when they swapped a one-page checkout with a multi-step checkout form.
How it looks
Take a look:
The layout is clean and distraction-free.
How to set it up
FunnelKit (formerly WooFunnels) Checkout lets you create a one-step, two-step, and three-step checkout process.
First, select the method that you'd like to use to create your checkout page i.e., Built-in Customizer, Elementor, Divi, Gutenberg, Oxygen, or other page builders.
You can decide which fields you want on what step from the 'fields' tab in the Checkout page editor.
Check it out - there is a brilliant post on checkout page optimization related to fields on your form.
A multi-step field preview enables users to view the information they filled out on the last step.
They can hit 'Change' to edit anything if needed.
How it looks:
Some of the fields from the previous step appear on the current step:
How to set it up
Go to the Optimizations tab and select the field(s) that you want to show as a preview.
Simply check the boxes, and they'll be displayed when the user proceeds to the next steps.
The progress indicator helps people know where they are in their checkout journey.
A study shared by Kissmetricss showed that respondents felt more engaged when filling out a survey with the progress indicator.
Therefore, the next Checkout page optimization hack is to display the progress bar indicator.
How it looks:
The progress indicator shows users which step they’re on and how many steps to go.
How to set it up
FunnelKit (formerly WooFunnels) Checkout offers you a choice between single-step and multi-step forms. Select from a two-step or three-step checkout page template.
If you're using a pre-built Elementor template, then you can go to the 'Steps' section to set up your progress bar indicator.
You can choose the type of progress bar you want to show - Breadcrumbs or Tabs.
A similar option is available in the Customizer and other page builders as well.
Filling out your complete address before buying sure is a frustrating process, and many customers may abandon it at the sight of the extra work.
But with Google Address Autocomplete, you can optimize your checkout page process.
How it looks:
The user types the first few characters of their address and sees a list of potential address suggestions.
Take a look:
How to set it up
First, you need to get the Google Maps API Key from here. Then go into Global Settings and paste the key under the Address Autocomplete option:
Next, go to the ‘Optimizations’ tab of your Checkout page and enable Google Address Autocompletion.
Google Address Autocomplete works accurately in most parts of the world, but you can disallow certain countries.
That's it! Your users will now be able to use it!
74 of the top 100 US retailers have adopted express checkout options for their business. It means they allow people to checkout via methods like Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal Express, and more.
This method is 60% faster and saves them an entire minute during the checkout process. {Source: Apple Pay for WooCommerce}
Another brilliant checkout page optimization technique to implement!
How it looks:
The customer selects their preferred Express Checkout option and logs in to make the payment:
How to set it up
First, ensure that you have the express checkout payment gateways configured and activated. You can do this by going to WooCommerce > Settings > Payment.
Next, go to the Optimizations tab > Enable Smart Buttons for Express Checkout.
You can also pick a position to display the Express Checkout Buttons - at the top of the checkout page, after order summary, and so on.
Ever had to scroll multiple times while finding your country in a drop-down?
It’s time-taking, argh!
Another great Checkout page optimization hack, isn't it?
You can make your top-selling countries appear at the top of the list so that most of your visitors can pick from this mini-list.
How it looks:
The user sees a mini list of countries at the top and the remaining follow in alphabetical order.
Here's how:
How to set it up
To set it up, you can enable the 'Preferred Counties' option under the 'Optimizations' tab and then select the list of countries that you want to show at the top.
When a user sees an empty coupon field on the checkout page, it leads them to search for it everywhere on the internet.
But if you auto-apply the coupon code, not only do you discourage people from going on a search but also show them how much they can save by making the purchase.
How it looks:
The coupon is already applied on the checkout page, and the new order total gets displayed.
Take a look:
How to set it up
In the 'Optimizations' tab, click yes to auto-apply the coupon.
Next, specify the coupon code that you want to auto-apply at the checkout.
You also have the option to disable the coupon field altogether, in case your store doesn’t offer coupon codes.
This checkout page optimization hack works best for one-page checkouts when you’re running targeted ads.
Research by Baymard shows that websites with fewer form fields have higher conversions.
In the majority of cases, people have the same shipping and billing address. So make sure you place the shipping field before the billing field.
This is another checkout page optimization hack for making the process frictionless.
How it looks:
Once the user has filled out the shipping address, they can tick the box to enter a separate billing address:
How to set it up
Go to the ‘Fields’ tab in Checkout > Place the ‘Shipping Address’ field before the ‘Billing Address’ field.
Here’s how:
Next, click on the pencil icon to edit the billing address field. And turn the visibility ON for the ‘Use a different billing address’ option.
Take a look:
Once done, hit the ‘Save Changes’ button to save the changes made to the checkout page.
Adding clear labels to your checkout form fields so that the user knows what areas they're filling out.
Besides, you can add placeholder text i.e., the text, which appears when a user clicks on that specific field.
You can use the placeholder text to justify a specific form field:
How to set it up
Go to the fields tab and click on any of the fields that you see there.
This pop-up opens up, allowing you to write custom labels and placeholder text for each:
Also, you have the option to mark the field as required or optional.
A sticky CTA button saves space on the mobile device. The user does not have to scroll to the bottom of the page to find the button.
It's a user-friendly Checkout page optimization hack, especially for mobile users.
How it looks:
How to set it up
If you're using an Elementor checkout template, then click on the 'Checkout Form' widget built by FunnelKit (formerly WooFunnels). Here you'll find the option to make the button sticky on mobile.
Just hit yes to enable the option:
Apart from that, you can set the button color, label, padding, margins, and even add a privacy statement below the button.
The same option is available in the built-in Customizer.
By making the order summary collapsible on mobile, you can conserve the space well.
When the user taps on it, they'll see the full breakdown, and then they can collapse it back:
To set this Checkout page optimization hack in Elementor, go to the widget - 'Checkout Form' and edit it.
In Sections, you'll see the option to make the Order Summary collapsible:
There are similar options available in the Customizer.
With this checkout page optimization technique, you can make the coupon field collapsible so that it’s not very prominent.
Those who have the code can click on it, enter the code, and proceed.
How it looks:
Look at the collapsible coupon box:
You can also add custom text to congratulate them when the coupon code gets successfully applied.
How to set it up
Go to the 'Fields' tab in Checkout > Click on the 'Coupon' > Check the 'Collapsible' box.
Create checkout pages built to sell that one product you believe in, or it's one of your best-sellers, or maybe the item's trending.
Look at this one-page checkout template built using Elementor:
The top section highlights the USP of the product. You can have a demo video of the product here because seeing the product in action is a great confirmation.
You can also have some bullets and reviews that are specific to that product.
Want to implement this Checkout page optimization hack on your website?
How to set it up
In the 'Design' tab, you'll find a bunch of product-specific checkout page templates.
No matter what method you select to build a checkout, there are product-specific checkout templates under each.
Select any of those, and you're good to go!
Read this post on how to customize your WooCommerce checkout page.
Let's say you are launching some exclusive products.
And you would like them to be available for a specified period, after which the product won't be available for sale. Or maybe the discount is time-bound.
So you can create a dedicated one-page checkout and set its expiry.
Once the page expires, you can direct them to a page saying, 'Sorry! Time-out' or 'You snooze, you lose!'.
This Checkout page optimization works perfectly every time!
How to set it up
In the settings section, you have two options:
Take a look:
Enable one of the options by clicking on ‘Yes.’
Choose from one of the available options and provide a redirect URL. That's the URL your visitors will be sent to if they visit the checkout page after the offer has expired.
Make sure email and phone are your top fields on the checkout page. Let these be among the first few fields that a user fills out.
The advantage of this checkout page optimization technique is that even if the user abandons the checkout, you have a way of reaching out to them. Use a good abandoned cart recovery plugin that live-captures prospects' emails.
How it looks:
Capture their emails and send out cart recovery emails or SMS.
SMS's have an open rate of 98%, which is way higher than emails. So it makes sense to reach out to them using both mediums.
How to set it up:
In the Fields tab, FunnelKit (formerly WooFunnels) gives you the ability to drag and drop to change the order of fields simply.
So you can drag-and-drop the email field and place it at the beginning of the checkout form.
So what are credibility markers?
These are sections on a checkout page like the 'Why Buy From Us' section, 'Customer Reviews/Testimonials', and more that make the page appear trustworthy.
Take a look:
These sections put a stamp of approval on the purchase, and they confirm to the users that the decision they're making is the correct one.
The testimonials are a great Checkout page optimization hack to implement on your WooCommerce store.
How to set it up:
If you're using an Elementor template, then you'll find these sections pre-created.
Edit and customize them to make them look exactly the way you want. Click on the pencil icon of the widget, and you can make the changes.
If you're using the built-in Customizer, then you'll find a widget for each of these sections.
You can configure them, and your checkout page will start looking credible.
Order Bump is a small element on the checkout page where you can pitch a complimentary item.
You can create order bumps based on the items in the cart, cart total, and more intuitive rules.
Here are some ideas - WooCommerce Order Bumps: Ideas, Examples, Scripts & Step-by-Step Tutorial
How it looks
The user can add the bump offer to their order by simply ticking a checkbox. The order total gets instantly updated and the item gets added to their cart:
How to set it up
First, configure the rules, i.e., where you’d like to specify where you’d like to display the bump.
Next, select the product you'd like to sell as your bump.
Then design the bump section and configure its position.
That's it! You're ready to display the order bump on the checkout page.
Let's move onto the next Checkout page optimization hack.
Conventionally a user has to go back to the cart page to adjust the quantity of a product or delete an item.
But now no more, you can append a mini cart on the checkout page. So it reduces friction and saves them one extra step!
How it looks
Here's the quantity adjuster and delete option on the checkout page:
How to set it up
If you're using a Customizer template then click on the pencil icon on the cart widget on the right-hand side.
The cart customizer opens up and all related options are now visible:
Check the box against Quantity Switcher and Allow Deletion.
That's it! You have enabled this impressive Checkout page optimization technique!
This is an incredibly effective Checkout page optimization hack.
If you've created product-specific checkout and the user has to select one of the options from a list then always highlight the best value option with a tag.
This gives the ability to influence your prospect's decision on the checkout page.
How it looks
The tag could be a 'SuperSaver' tag, 'Value For Money' tag, or the 'Best Value' tag.
How to set it up
Go to the 'Fields' tab and click on the pencil icon on the 'Products' field.
When you click on the pencil icon to edit the 'products' field, this pop-up opens up:
So you can choose the option from the first drop-down, add a custom label, and define the position for the tag. That's it!
Another interesting WooCommerce checkout page optimization hack.
If your users return after abandoning the checkout, you can show them pre-filled fields with the information they previously entered.
This tells them there's not much they have to do on the checkout page and can fill the remaining details to complete the process.
How it looks
When a returning user lands on the checkout page again, the data they had entered is present. It’s only the case when they visit again from the same device.
How to set it up
Enable this feature by going to the 'Optimization' tab and hitting the 'Yes' button below the 'Prefill Form for Abandoned Users' option.
Your checkout page must inspire trust and confidence.
It must not overwhelm users by asking for too much information.
Yes, splitting the form into multiple steps does make it look approachable.
And Express Checkout does reduce the time spent on the checkout page hence leading to higher conversions.
So go ahead and pick any three checkout page optimization hacks that you like and implement them.
I am quite confident you'll start noticing an instant jump in conversions!
Attention!
We're bringing some quality updates and amazing features to revamp our funnel builder!
Here's the quick sneak peek or watch this video: