How to Create Seamless Checkout Experiences on Shopify

On Shopify, where competition is fierce and user expectations are high, a smooth and efficient checkout process can make all the difference. In this article, we’ll explore actionable strategies and tools to optimise your Shopify checkout flow, reduce cart abandonment, and maximise sales. Whether you're just starting out or looking to refine your existing setup, these tips will help you deliver a superior customer journey. ,

The checkout process is one of the most crucial parts of an ecommerce store because it is the final step in the customer journey where browsing transforms into buying. Shopify is no exception and relies heavily on delivering a smooth checkout process. One of the most important ways to ensure a successful Shopify store is to provide a seamless customer checkout experience. This means ensuring that your Shopify checkout page is simple, easy to navigate, user-friendly, mobile-responsive, fast loading, enables guest checkout and provides multiple payment and shipping options.

By optimising your Shopify checkout experience, this can help grow your conversion rate, reduce cart abandonment and increase sales. A recent study found that 69.57% of carts are abandoned globally, which shows why improving your Shopify checkout should be made a priority in your marketing strategy.

If you need some help in getting started, we have put together an expert guide on the best Shopify checkout optimisation tips and tricks that you can use. These will allow you to improve customer satisfaction, enhance your brand reputation and boost your revenue.

Before we begin, let’s give you an overview of what Shopify checkout is and how it works.

Take a look!

Introduction To Shopify Checkout

What is Shopify Checkout?

Shopify Checkout is a secure payment gateway system used by Shopify merchants that allows their customers to purchase products online and for merchants to accept or query orders. It handles the final stages of the shopping journey, where customers add an item to their cart and input their shipping and billing information, select delivery options and make payments. Merchants can customise their Shopify checkout design and functionality to match their branding and improve conversion rates. The Shopify Checkout system also supports multiple currencies and payment options, from PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay.

What Is Shopify Checkout Customisation?

Customising your Shopify checkout is essential for maximising conversion rates and reinforcing trust with your brand. You can customise your Shopify checkout in many different ways to ensure your customer shopping experience is quick, simple, convenient and secure and customers can make a purchase without any obstacles or friction points.

The customisations should be focused on optimising various aspects of the checkout flow, design and functionality. For example, enabling guest checkout, one-page checkout, express payment options to personalising the experience.

The Key To Optimising Checkout Design Elements

How To Optimise Your Shopify Checkout Page Design

1. Enable Guest Checkout Option

According to a recent study, 24% of users abandon their shopping carts because they were asked to create an account. This request is found off-putting for many consumers. By allowing customers to check out without creating an account, this helps them to complete their purchase without having to enter any unnecessary details and speeds up the ordering process. This also simplifies the user experience and accommodates those customers who are reluctant to share personal information or commit to an account. As a result, this lowers cart abandonment and increases conversion rates.

2. Accept Multiple Payment Methods

It is best practice to offer a diverse range of payment options in your Shopify checkout, including debit or credit cards, shopping apps such as Shop Pay and PayPal, digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay and local methods. By having multiple payment choices, this makes it more convenient and easier for the customer to complete their purchase and allows them to choose their preferred payment method. It may also appeal to customers who prefer to spread out payments by enabling them to buy now and pay later with the option of interest-free installments

Benefits of multiple payment options on Shopify checkout:

• Increases average order value (AOV)
• Attracts more buyers
• Maximise convenience
• Speeds up the checkout process
• Increases conversion rate

3. Simplify The Checkout Process

A great way to simplify your Shopify checkout process is to reduce the number of steps required to complete the purchase. For example, enabling one-page checkout, reducing the number of form fields that users have to enter, enabling form autofill for returning customers or using Google auto-address completion. Shopify merchants should also consider improving the navigation of the checkout page and making it clearer for users to navigate. Aim to reduce distractions such as excessive banners and ensure the layout is clean, mobile-responsive and easy to understand.

All of these optimisation techniques help to streamline the checkout process and saves customers the effort of re-entering lots of information. This also minimises the clicks and pages required to complete the checkout process, which reduces the likelihood of cart abandonment and increases the chances of conversion.

4. Install A Checkout Progress Bar

Online shoppers visit various pages on a website before choosing a product and completing their purchase so it is easy for users to sometimes get lost during the checkout process. By installing a progress bar this makes the checkout flow more visible and displays the steps of purchase in a clearer layout. A checkout progress bar can be displayed at the bottom or top of the page and features the different steps the user needs to take to complete the purchase. This helps users to visualise where they stand in the checkout process and gives them direction on what the next stage is. This helps to reduce friction in the checkout flow and increase customer confidence.

5. Make a clear CTA

It is important to place a clear and prominent call to action (CTA) button on your Shopify checkout page as this is an effective way to encourage users to take a specific action and helps move them closer to becoming a customer. It also helps users identify the next step to complete their purchase. You should use a bold and contrasting colour to help your CTA button stand out from the rest of the page. Examples of strong CTAs include phrases like ‘Continue to shipping’, ‘View my bag’, ‘Continue to checkout’, ‘Complete order’ and ‘Apply Discount Count/Voucher’.

6. Offer A Multi-Language Checkout

Optimising your Shopify checkout to support multiple languages is a great way to attract new sales and can significantly enhance the shopping experience for international customers. Language barriers can cause confusion and hesitation, leading to abandoned carts. By offering a localised experience with a checkout process in their native language, customers feel more comfortable and confident to complete a purchase. You can also expand your market reach and stand out against your competitors.

7. Use Shopify One-Page Checkout

To simplify the shopping experience for customers it is a good idea to implement a one-page Shopify checkout process. This makes it easier and faster for customers to complete their purchase as it condenses all necessary checkout fields, such as billing, shipping and payment, into a single page.

Unlike the default multi-step Shopify checkout, this layout provides instructions clearer and more concise so that shoppers can understand what information is required for them to enter. It also minimises clicks and scrolling to allow for a more seamless checkout flow. A one-page checkout is a useful way to reduce cart abandonment and improves the overall purchase experience.

Benefits Of Shopify One-Page Checkout

• Single-view layout
• Reduces number of page loads
• Improved experience on mobile devices
• Higher conversion rates
• Reduced cart abandonment rate
• Faster purchase completion

How To Set Up One-Page Checkout in Shopify

For Basic, Shopify, and Advanced plan users, your checkout will default to the new one-page design. You may change back to the three-page layout from your Online Store Editor, in the Checkout section of Theme settings. Here are the key steps to follow:

Go to your Shopify Admin > Settings > Checkout In the Checkout customisation section, create a draft checkout, or customise an existing one. In the checkout editor, click on the settings icon in the far left column and scroll down until you see the layout switcher at the bottom left corner. Here you can preview the one-page design and switch between the two layouts. All your customisations and extensions will integrate seamlessly.

For Shopify Plus merchants, you can customise your checkout process with access to Shopify’s checkout.liquid file. If you are still on checkout.liquid, consider upgrading to Checkout Extensibility today to gain access to the one-page design. Head over to settings > checkout and click on “Create draft” to get started.

8. Provide Real-Time Customer Support

Your Shopify checkout needs to make it easy for customers to access support. Offering real-time customer support such as live chat or telephone support during the checkout process can make all the difference to a customer’s experience as it gives them immediate assistance, allows them to ask questions about their next purchase and gives them confidence to complete the checkout. A live chat support should always be clearly presented through a chat popup or bubble in the corner. There should also be clickable telephone numbers available to give customers another option to get in touch for advice in real-time.

9. Optimise The Speed Of Your Checkout Page

It is important to have a strong Shopify checkout page speed and loading time when it comes to optimising your Shopify checkout experience. By improving the page speed of your Shopify checkout page, this will create a more seamless shopping experience for customers and enhance the mobile responsiveness of your checkout process. The faster the checkout process, the more likely your customers are to complete it. With the majority of users now shopping via mobile devices, it is now crucial that your checkout is mobile-friendly and easy to navigate on smaller screens. We would recommend testing your Shopify checkout responsiveness and loading time on PageSpeed Insights from Google. Simply enter your Shopify checkout page URL and click ‘Analyse’ then it will give you an in-depth report based on the performance of your page loading times.

You won’t be able to fix or improve all of the findings as many of them will require further support from an expert Shopify developer.

However here are some best practices for ensuring a fast loading Shopify checkout page:

• Compress the size of any large images that could be slowing down the loading time
• Avoid using any large scripts or assets
• Optimise the file format type of your images to WebP as they are usually smaller than JPEGs and PNGs, so they can load faster.
• Minify codes to improve page speed
• Reduce the number of form fields

10. Optimise Shopify Checkout On Mobile

Optimising your Shopify checkout for mobile is critical, as a significant portion of e-commerce traffic now comes from mobile devices. Here’s how to ensure a seamless mobile checkout experience:

Use a mobile-responsive design – Test the checkout process on various devices to identify any layout or functionality issues that need to be fixed. It is best practice to avoid small fonts and crowded layouts; ensure all text is easy to read on smaller screens. Our trusted Shopify designers are always available to help if you require support. Implement Express Checkout Methods – Enable Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay and other options to allow customers to complete purchases with saved payment and shipping details, reducing clicks and typing. Simplify Form Fields – Make sure the form fields enable autofill for returning customers and use address auto-completion to minimise errors. Collect essential information only (Email, Address, Payment) Reduce Page Load Times – Compress images and minimise scripts to ensure your checkout loads quickly on mobile devices. Optimise CTA Button Placement & Size– Improve your CTA buttons by making sure they are a large enough size, easily tappable and spaced far enough apart to prevent accidental clicks. The button colour should be bold so that it is visible on smaller screens.

Why Consider Implementing Express Checkout Options?

Shopify Express checkout is an accelerated checkout that allows customers to complete orders in just a few clicks by saving their payment and shipping information. This means that if a returning customer gets to the checkout, their information will be automatically pre-filled in the correct fields to save them time and effort.

Here are the main Express Checkout options for Shopify:

• Shop Pay: Shopify’s own express checkout option with features like fast processing and tracking.
• Apple Pay: For iOS users, integrated seamlessly into their devices.
• Google Pay: For Android users, offering a similarly smooth experience.
• PayPal Express Checkout: A trusted option for millions of shoppers globally.

How does Express Checkout work on Shopify?

• At checkout, customers select the express checkout option (e.g., Shop Pay, Apple Pay).
• The system fetches their pre-stored shipping and payment details.
• The purchase is finalised quickly, often with just a single click or a quick confirmation.

Express checkout offers several advantages that improve customer online shopping experience, increase conversions and reduce cart abandonment.

It is particularly useful for mobile shoppers as it reduces the need for typing on smaller screens and is compatible with mobile-first payment methods.

Importance Of Personalising The Checkout Journey For Your Shopify Store

Personalising your Shopify checkout is an effective way to improve your customer experience, increase sales and reinforce your brand’s identity. A personalised checkout experience is more tailored to the customer’s needs which increases the likelihood of conversions and enhances customer loyalty.

There are many techniques you can use to personalise your Shopify checkout experience. One example is to customise the page with your brand’s colours, fonts and logos to create a consistent look and feel that is familiar to customers. If a customer completes their purchase, it is important to use tailored messaging, such as ‘Thank you for shopping with (Brand Name) as this makes customers feel valued.

You should consider using personalised touches with your checkout process, such as pre-filled forms or highlight related products for upsell opportunities that are relevant to the customer’s needs/previous purchased items.You could also feature loyalty discounts, promotional codes or incentives that may encourage repeat purchases.

One of the best ways to personalise your Shopify checkout experience is by providing a localised checkout process that offers the customer’s native language, local currency and region-specific shipping options. This makes the customer feel more comfortable and confident to complete the checkout.

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Discuss Your Shopify Checkout Needs With Us

If you would like our help in customising your Shopify checkout to grow your ecommerce business, please do not hesitate to contact our Shopify experts. We have an experienced in-house team of developers and designers who can assist you. It would be great to hear from you!

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We are one of the world’s most trusted and experienced Shopify Plus Partners. A full-service, fully in-house digital agency of over 50 talented people, we’ve helped hundreds of ambitious brands exceed their goals.

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Eastside Co leads the way in UX-focused Shopify web design, results-driven marketing strategies, and best-in-class Shopify applications and software. We help online businesses escape the ordinary and achieve ecommerce success.