1. OPTIMIZING YOUR CHECKOUT PAGE
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2. CHECKOUT IMPORTANCE
The checkout page is one of the last steps in the sales
process – and also one of the most important if you’re
hoping to turn buyers into repeat customers.
This presentation will go over the five main areas to focus
on if you want to optimize the checkout process.

3. THE FOCUS OF THE PAGE
Your checkout page should be
focused on exactly one thing:
getting customers through
the process and keeping
them happy with the
experience. There are several
things you can do to improve
the focus, including:

4. THE FOCUS OF THE PAGE
• USING CALL TO ACTIONS:
Prompt the customer to move
forward in the checkout process.
Use a stand-out color, a positive
shape (arrows going to the right
are a popular choice), and keep
it simple. The fewer words you’re
using, the better.

5. THE FOCUS OF THE PAGE
• REMOVING CLUTTER: If it’s not important for the checkout
process (or fixing something, like modifying the contents of the
cart) then it doesn’t need to be on the checkout page. Stop
advertising and just focus on providing the information the
customer needs to know. Don’t be afraid to put information on
multiple pages if it makes sense to do that.

6. ASSURING THE INFORMATION
People want assurance that they did
the right thing when they’re checking
out. This means:
1. Telling Them Their Payment Options
2. Avoiding Unexpected Variables
3. Providing Safety Signs

7. ASSURING THE INFORMATION
• AVOID UNEXPECTED VARIABLES: All costs should be noted in
the early part of the checkout process – customers don’t like to
see added fees later on. Avoid those and perhaps even mention
that there will be no further costs to them.

8. ASSURING THE INFORMATION
• TELLING THEM THEIR PAYMENT OPTIONS:
Most sites prefer to use small, simple
logos (PayPal, MasterCard, Visa, etc.)
to clearly and quickly explain the
payment options that customers
have. When they see these,
customers will know whether
or not their preferred method is accepted.

9. ASSURING THE INFORMATION
• PROVIDING SAFETY SIGNS:
Hacking is a real concern –
buyers like it when they see
assurances that their
information is protected.

10. CLARIFYING THEIR PROGRESS
If buyers don’t know where they are in the buying process, you have
a problem. They should always know how close they are to finishing
the checkout process, and this can be easily accomplished by adding
a simple progress bar at the top of the screen.

11. DEALING WITH TIME
It's very important to ensure that your checkout page loads quickly. If
someone's made the decision to buy, you want them to buy, and taking
more than a few seconds to give them the option could result in them
leaving to purchase a product elsewhere.
Also, consider increasing the amount of time that cookies will be saved on a
given computer. Many customers won't buy a product right away - it could
take a week or more for them to make a final decision. If many of your
customers take days to buy, add a "Save It For Later" option that
permanently saves the product to a list for easy access later. That list is one
of the few things that you can (and, indeed, should) show on the checkout
page before they make a payment.

12. SOCIAL CONNECTIONS
That's right, you may want to have some social proof on your
checkout page - again, before someone enters the payment process.
After that, there's no need to try and convince them. However,
social connections can be distracting - focus on designing them so
that they always provide visual guidance towards the form fields and
anything else you want them to pay attention to.

13. SOCIAL CONNECTIONS
Good choices for social connections include testimonials, notes of
who else uses the product (especially if their names are
recognizable), and exactly how many people have already
purchased the product.

14. CLARIFYING THEIR PROGRESS
You should also take steps to clarify what products are in the
shopping cart – images are particularly valuable here, along with
text highlighting all relevant information (size, quantity, color, etc),
as are in-line validation techniques that tells customers when each
field has been filled in correctly.
This smooths the checkout process along and ultimately helps to
improve conversion rates.

15. For more tips on ecommerce, business, marketing, and branding
visit cortexcommerce.com