A shopper who reaches checkout has already decided to buy, so the job is to avoid losing them. This guide covers what to check, what to fix first and how to test changes.
A good checkout lets a shopper pay with little effort. Offer guest checkout, ask only for fields you need, show the full cost before payment, support the payment methods your shoppers use, explain errors in plain words and confirm the order clearly. Test on a phone, fix faults first, then change one thing at a time.
What checkout optimisation covers
Checkout optimisation (checkout optimization in US English) is the work of removing whatever slows or stops a shopper who has already decided to buy. It covers the basket, the forms for delivery and billing, the choice of delivery and payment, the final review and the confirmation. It does not cover why shoppers fail to add products to the basket, which belongs to product pages, prices and traffic.
Work in this order: faults, then friction, then opinions. A payment method that fails on one phone is a fault and you fix it at once. A form with more fields than it needs is friction and you cut it. Whether the order summary sits on the left or the right is an opinion that needs testing, and it matters least. How far you can change a checkout also depends on your platform, which is covered further down.
Walk through your own checkout first
Place real or test orders as a first-time customer would, and write down every point where you hesitated.
- Use a phone on mobile data, in a private browser window, with no saved details.
- Buy one simple product, then a product with variants and a quantity above one.
- Try each delivery country you sell to and each payment method you offer, using your payment provider's test mode where it has one.
- Cause failures on purpose: a declined card, a wrong address, an item that has just gone out of stock, an expired discount code.
- Count the steps, screens and fields. Note every place where the page jumps, reloads or asks for something you already entered.
- Check the confirmation page and the confirmation email, and see the order in your admin.
Then ask someone outside the business to buy something while you watch without helping. Where they pause is where shoppers leave. If your analytics tool has checkout or funnel reports and they are set up properly, they show which step loses most people, but they cannot say why.
Guest checkout and accounts
Offer guest checkout and make it the easy path. Forcing a first-time buyer to create an account before paying adds work at the moment they want to finish. Google's web.dev guidance on payment and address forms recommends making guest checkout the default for this reason.
You can still build customer accounts, but later. After the order is confirmed, offer to save the details the shopper has just typed, with a single password field, on the confirmation page. Returning customers can then sign in, and the first purchase is not held up.
Some businesses do need accounts, for example for subscriptions, trade price lists or orders that need approval. Where you do, say why at the start and let the shopper see the basket first. Do not hide the requirement until payment.
Fields and forms
Every field should earn its place. Ask for what you need to take payment, deliver the order and contact the customer about it. Marketing questions belong after the sale, not before it.
| Field | Suggestion | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Email address | Ask for it first | You need it for the receipt and order updates. |
| Name | Use one name box, or allow names that do not fit a first and last name pattern | Naming customs differ by country. Google's web.dev guidance says not to restrict names to Latin characters. |
| Phone number | Ask only if the courier needs it, and say why | A required phone field with no explanation makes shoppers wonder how it will be used. |
| Company name and second address line | Make them optional | Most orders do not need them. |
| Address | Adapt the fields to the country chosen | Address formats differ. In some countries a postcode is not part of everyday addresses, and the order and labels vary. Say postcode, ZIP code or postal code to suit the country. |
| Billing address | Default to the delivery address, with a link to change it | Most shoppers use the same address for both. |
| Marketing sign-up | Use a separate, unticked box, if you ask at all | Consent rules for marketing differ by country. Ask a lawyer. |
| Discount code | Use a collapsed link, not a prominent box | An empty box can invite shoppers to leave and search for a code. |
Some form details are technical and worth asking your developer to check. Google's web.dev guidance advises using the right input type for each field, such as the email and telephone types, and the standard autocomplete attributes, so that browsers can fill in name, address and card details. It advises against the number input type for card numbers, and it recommends validating fields as the shopper types instead of only on submit. Give every field a clear label. Write error messages that name the field and say how to fix it, and keep what the shopper has already entered when an error appears.
Show the full cost early
Costs that first appear at the last step feel like a trick, so show them earlier. Give the delivery charge, or a clear way to see it, on the product page or in the basket, and show the total before the payment step.
- Delivery: offer options with prices and delivery dates you can keep, based on what your courier really does. If you do not deliver to a country, say so before the shopper fills in the form.
- Tax: some countries expect displayed prices to include sales tax or VAT, and others add tax at checkout. Follow the rules in each country where you sell, state clearly whether prices include tax and ask an accountant if you are unsure.
- Import charges: on international orders, customs duties and import tax may apply on arrival. Say whether they are collected at checkout or by the carrier on delivery, because a surprise bill at the door invites a refund request. Rules and options differ by country and carrier, so check yours.
- Extras: do not pre-tick optional extras such as insurance or gift wrap. Pre-ticked extras are restricted in some countries and irritate shoppers everywhere.
- Discounts: show the saving applied in the order summary.
Suggestions for extra items belong in the basket, not in the payment step. The guide to upselling and cross-selling for online stores covers where they help and where they get in the way.
Payment options and failed payments
Offer the payment methods your shoppers expect in each market. Cards are common nearly everywhere, but digital wallets, bank-based payments and instalment services are popular in some countries and not in others. Ask your payment provider which methods are common in the countries you sell to and which it supports. Add a method because shoppers use it, not because a long list looks impressive.
- Use your provider's hosted or embedded payment fields, so that card details go straight to the provider. Never ask a shopper to send card details by email or message.
- Some regions require an extra authentication step on card payments. Use your provider's test mode to see how it behaves on a phone, and check that the shopper returns to the right page afterwards and that the order is recorded.
- Write failure messages in plain words: say what happened, whether the shopper was charged and what to do next. Keep the basket and the details entered, and offer another method.
- Test every method on at least one phone and one computer after any change to the theme, an app or the platform.
Trust and help at the point of payment
Shoppers about to pay look for reasons to stop, so remove them with plain facts. Show a one-line delivery and returns summary with a link to the full policy, a way to reach a person, and the name and address of the business. Use security signals that are true. The padlock comes from a properly set up secure connection and not from a badge, and you should not display badges or logos for schemes you do not belong to.
Reduce distractions. Many stores trim the header and menu during checkout so the shopper stays in the flow. Avoid pop-ups at checkout, especially on phones. Keep a thumbnail, name, variant and quantity for each item in view throughout, so the shopper can confirm what they are buying.
Mobile checkout
Test the checkout with your thumbs. Buttons should be easy to tap, fields should bring up the right keyboard, and nothing should be hidden behind the on-screen keyboard. Saved details and wallet options reduce typing. An order summary that can be opened and closed keeps the screen short. Try the whole journey on a slow connection too, since heavy scripts and images slow the last step, and check it in the browsers most of your visitors use, which your analytics will show.
What your platform allows
How much you can change depends on the platform. Hosted platforms usually let you change fields, wording, branding and payment methods within set limits, and the limits vary by platform and plan, so read the current documentation before you plan a change. A custom store lets you build the checkout to your own rules, but you then also carry the work of keeping it secure, tested and compatible with payment providers. The guide to a custom ecommerce website vs Shopify compares the two routes. The Liftup ecommerce solutions page describes the stores the team builds.
Checkout and search
Cart and checkout pages serve people who already have items, so they have no reason to appear in search results. Check how your platform treats them, and make sure basket or session addresses are not flooding Google's index. The guide to common ecommerce SEO audit problems shows how to check what is indexed, and ecommerce SEO for beginners covers how search brings shoppers to the pages that lead to checkout. Talk to your developer before you block anything the platform needs in order to work.
Test and measure changes
Define the measure before you change anything. Usually it is the share of shoppers who start checkout and then complete an order, and the share that reaches each step. Record the date of every change and compare similar periods, allowing for sales, seasons and campaigns. Most small stores lack the volume for formal split tests, so change one thing at a time, wait long enough to see a pattern and keep a log. Read customer messages and failed-payment records as well, because they show faults that totals hide.
| Order of work | What to fix | Why |
|---|---|---|
| First | Faults: payment failures, broken buttons, wrong totals, forms that lose what was typed | Nothing else matters if shoppers cannot finish |
| Second | Cost surprises and unclear delivery | They break trust at the last step |
| Third | Forced accounts and unnecessary fields | They add work for the shopper |
| Fourth | Payment methods and failure messages | They match what shoppers expect |
| Fifth | Layout, wording and design details | These are questions for testing, one at a time |
Questions and answers
What makes a good checkout?
A good checkout lets a shopper pay with little effort. It offers guest checkout, asks only for fields it needs, shows the full cost before payment, supports the payment methods shoppers expect and explains errors in plain words. It works on a phone and ends with a clear confirmation of the order and what happens next.
Should I offer guest checkout?
Yes, in most cases. Forcing a first-time buyer to create an account adds work at the moment they want to pay, and Google's web.dev guidance recommends guest checkout as the default. Offer to save their details after the order is confirmed. Keep accounts compulsory only where the business needs them, such as subscriptions, and say why at the start.
How many steps should checkout have?
There is no correct number. A single page and a short multi-step flow can both work. What matters is that each screen asks for little, shows progress and keeps what the shopper has typed. Test the version your platform supports on a phone with real shoppers.
How do I find where shoppers leave checkout?
Use the checkout or funnel reports in your analytics tool, if they are set up, to see which step loses the most shoppers. Then watch a person use the checkout on a phone, and read customer messages and failed-payment records to learn why. The numbers show where, and the observation shows why.
What payment methods should I offer?
Offer the methods your shoppers use in each country you sell to. Cards are common almost everywhere, while wallets, bank-based payments and instalment services vary by market. Ask your payment provider which are common and supported, and test each one on a phone before you add it.
Should I remove the menu at checkout?
Many stores trim the header and menu so the shopper stays in the flow, and it is a reasonable choice. Keep the logo as a link back to the basket or store, and keep delivery, returns and contact details in view. Test the change and watch whether more shoppers finish.
How do I test checkout without real orders?
Use your payment provider's test mode, which accepts test card details from its documentation and records no real charge. Run through each payment method, delivery country and failure case, including a declined card. Then place one genuine low-risk order on a live store before you advertise it.