Optimising your online shop

An online shop can be well visited and still sell disappointingly little.

The reason is almost never a lack of interest, but small points of friction between “add product to cart” and “complete order”. That is exactly where most purchases are abandoned. These ten measures start right there.

1. Show shipping costs from the start

Nothing frustrates people faster than surprise shipping costs in the last checkout step. If shipping costs are visible on the product page or at the latest in the cart, there is no nasty surprise at payment that leads to abandonment.

2. Allow guest checkout

Forcing people to create an account costs you customers who just want to order quickly once. An option like “Order as guest” next to account creation noticeably lowers the barrier without giving up accounts for regular customers.

3. Reduce the checkout to a few steps

Every additional step in the ordering process is another opportunity to drop out. A checkout with address, payment and order summary on as few pages as possible – ideally with a visible progress indicator – keeps more buyers on board until the end.

4. Offer several payment methods

If you only offer advance payment or only credit card, you lose customers who prefer to pay by PayPal, invoice or direct debit. Depending on your target group, it's worth providing at least two or three common payment methods instead of forcing one preferred method on everyone.

5. Place trust signals in the checkout

An SSL seal, a clear note on the right of withdrawal and visible quality seals take away the uncertainty first-time buyers feel about whether their data and money are safe. If such signals are missing right at the till, the abandonment rate rises noticeably.

6. Improve product images and descriptions

If the size, material or function of a product remains unclear, people would rather not order at all than risk getting the wrong thing. Several image angles, a zoom function and a complete size chart answer the questions that would otherwise stay open.

7. Communicate availability clearly

A clear note like “In stock, ships in 1–2 days” creates clarity and urgency at the same time. If availability remains unclear, many buyers hesitate rather than pay for a product that may not be deliverable for a long time.

8. Test the checkout on mobile

A large share of orders now starts on a smartphone. If input fields are too small on a phone or the pay button only appears after a long scroll, exactly those buyers drop out who had already decided.

9. Follow up on abandoned carts

Not every abandonment is final. A friendly email reminding people of the cart they left behind, possibly with a small incentive, reliably brings back some of these buyers – provided the contact details were captured beforehand.

10. Check load times of product pages and checkout

A slow product page or a sluggish checkout costs customers at exactly the moment the purchase decision has already been made. Compressed images and a lean checkout without unnecessary scripts often make more of a difference here than any additional advertising.

Conclusion

Most abandoned carts are not caused by a lack of interest but by friction in the last step before buying. If you show shipping costs early, slim down the checkout, build trust and test mobile ordering, you get noticeably more revenue out of your existing traffic – without any additional advertising budget.

At webagenten.eu many of these points are already a fixed part of our shop packages, from Shop Start to Shop Pro.