Checkout Optimization Design Elements

Its been couple of months now since I started working on the checkout optimization project.  Personalization! Reducing Friction! Reducing customer anxiety! Simplicity! Professionalism! Security! are just few of the long list  that should be kept in mind while designing any new checkout.
Now that these checkouts have been completed and we’ve been able to gather the necessary data sets I’ve been analyzing companies performance pre and post checkout.    I feel very proud that at Solid Cactus the designers are very well trained in customizing and optimizing the checkout and the end result is that I have yet to come across one client that did not improve in their conversion rate after the new checkout publish.

Based on our experiences,  market research and the data trends there are a handful of elements that stand out as having the largest effect.    All the suggestion that are made to the design team based on the market research and studies are very well taken and implemented. I feel really good being part of such a team.

I would like to present the elements that we consider and optimize when doing checkout re-designs:

Header:
This is the place that tells the customer where they are. Hence, it is essential that most of the design elements on the header are continued from the main site. The basic elements that are essentials are the Logo and the Tagline. The placement and the fonts of these two elements should be consistent with that of the main site.

Contact Info:

The other elements that holds vital importance during the checkout process is the contact information. Whenever the customer has any doubts about the product or the checkout process the first thing that comes to mind is to call the store. Hence, providing the phone number is the bare minimum that is recommended  in the header.

Checkout Steps:
Steps towards checkout should be clearly marked and prominently visible.

Continue Shopping Link:
This link in provided as an option to the customers who want to change their minds from checkout to keep shopping. This link is not recommended to be very prominent as it might distract the customer from the final checkout step, leading to cart abandonment. I would recommend keeping this link in simple text.

Checkout Button:
This link is recommended to be prominent to avoid any second guessing or target missing. The placement of this link is recommended on right hand side, under the cart description.

Secure Ordering:
This button is recommended to be placed after the checkout link. Make this link a hovering link that will expand to a mini window once the cursor is put over it. This will list the secure policy of the store. I would recommend giving fixed amount of characters for this space to clearly explain the security of your site without overwhelming the visitors.

Store Policy:
This link is recommended to be placed on the right of the secure ordering link. It should open in a similar hovering window like the secure ordering.  The reason for this is so the site visitor remains in the checkout funnel.  This will state major store policies and a link that will enlarge all the store policies in front of the cart blinding the cart.
Store policy button is not very highly recommended as they are lot more potentials issues that can be foreseen.

Cross Sell:
Although it is highly recommended to use cross sell on the checkout page, not all site visitors like to use this option.  Cross selling products should be placed after the checkout and the secure ordering link.

Credit Card and Security Icons:
These icons provide added reinforcement about the security and the cards accepted on the site. It is highly recommended to make this a standard practice of having these links at the bottom of the checkout process.

By changing these elements in accordance with best practices you’re almost guaranteed to see increased conversion rates.  And as the holiday season approaches what could be better.